Saturday (9/27): We arrived at Juanda Airport around 7:00 p.m. A driver and a tour guide picked us up, taking us to the JW Marriott Surabaya. The main mode of Indonesian travel is scooters & motorcycles. They split lanes, drive on the shoulder, pass where it seems to be illegal, carry up to four people, drive the wrong way, etc. It’s chaos, chaos I tell you! Yet in ten days in Indonesia, I never saw an accident. 🤔
Sunday (9/28): We checked out, catching a ride with Riky Pranata — our trip-long guide — and his driver. Unless you are Indonesian, and familiar with the unwritten rules of the road, you do not want to drive there. Get a chauffeur, take a taksi, bentor (motorcycle rickshaw), whatever. Also, load up on rupiah at an ATM, which dispenses Rp 50,000 and 100,000 notes (Currently, ~Rp 16,700 to $1 US.)
No idea what roads we drove on out of Surabaya, but eventually we got on free-flowing, western-style freeway, Highway 13, a toll road. It was the sole exception to Indonesia’s vehicular chaos. In Probolingo, we exited south onto two-lane Highway 25. After 18 miles, just before Lumajang, we turned east onto two-lane Highway 3. It was another 36 miles to our hotel, the Aston Jember. It took almost four hours.
Monday (9/29): After breakfast, Riky & his driver picked us up for a tour of Jember. Because my father-in-law was a tobacco farmer, our first stop was the Tembakau Museum, next to the University of Jember, on Jl. Kalimantan Street. Admission was Rp 50,000 (~$3 US). Indonesia is inexpensive. The friendly docent — who for some reason wore a military-style uniform — spoke Indonesian, and Riky translated.
Our second stop was the BIN Cigar store on Jl. Dharmawangsa Street. I picked up a variety of cigars for various male relatives. I opted for boxes without gross cancer photos. (An apparently unevenly applied law.) Smoking an occasional stogie won’t kill you. Then a very nice, knowledgeable lady — who spoke excellent English — took us on a tour of the BIN Cigar “factory”. My wife Bernie was having flashbacks.
Third stop was a batik atelier. We watched a lady apply wax to cloth, for later resist dyeing. I don’t know about Bernie, but I wanted to buy everything in the shop. We had a laugh with our old friend the Tembakau Museum docent, who we coincidentally bumped into there.
Fourth stop was a local restaurant. No idea the name, but lunch was delicious. Bathrooms in Indonesia, in regional places not frequented by Euros, have squat toilets. A hose, or just a bucket, of water may be available for cleaning your hands / rear. No soap. May be free, may charge nominal Rp 5,000 if there is an attendant. Aston Jember had western-style bathroom amenities. The restaurant? No. 👀
Our final stop of the day was Rembangan, a resort on the lower slope of Mount Iyang-Argapura, a 10,131 ft. complex volcano. The 9th highest volcano in Indonesia, Mount Iyang-Argapura hasn’t erupted since at least 1597. Rembagan is at 2,100 ft., or ~1,700 ft. above Jember. Bernie’s family used to take holidays in Rembangan’s somewhat cooler climate. Rembangan has grown alot since the 1950s.
We finished our busy day back at Aston Jember, in their poolside bar, Planet Kopi. Even though the bar is open-walled, and the weather still hot & humid, Planet Kopi was pleasantly cooler. We ate there every night, getting to be friends with the chef, who one day made us a special batch of klepon. (A bright green desert made from pandan & glutinous rice flour, coated in grated coconut, filled with palm sugar.)
