Happy Birthday, Surabaya! A Homesick Field Guide (from a Girl Not There)

1:34 AM

I’m writing this from far away with the emotional stability of a dropped birthday cake.

Surabaya turns another year older; I turn into a walking “miss you” sign.

The icon, the myth, the muscle memory

(got the pictures from Koko DettaP-man)

Shark + crocodile. Sura + Baya. An argument about who gets to be strongest that somehow raised a city. The statue still flexes. I still look up.

What to do when Surabaya is throwing a party (and you’re late)

Heritage hit list:

House of Sampoerna a.k.a Surabaya Heritage Track. Free(ish) bus tour, history you can sit down for, and excellent “I’m cultured” selfies.

Kalimas River area.

The kind of walk that turns into a story if you let it.

Tugu Pahlawan (Heroes Monument).

Tall, solemn, and a good place to remember why Surabaya has “fight” in its bones.

Festival FOMO survival:

If you miss the parade (me, always), chase the leftovers: banners, buskers, tired confetti.

Cities keep their blush on for hours.

Food of legend:

Semanggi Surabaya, if you can catch it

Semanggi is a scavenger hunt dressed as lunch. It’s rare, it’s street, it’s Surabaya.

If you see a seller, bless them.

Stop.

Order.

Don’t blink.

(Bring cash and appetite; leave with bragging rights.)

Tiny rules we pretend not to need

No littering. Keep the green green.

Cities have birthdays because someone cleans up after them.

Why I’m dramatic (and right)

I say I’m bored and then Surabaya hands me things to do:

Getting gloriously lost on the Heritage Track.
Bargaining with snacks at Kalimas.
Playing food heist with my friends’ plates.
Standing under Tugu Pahlawan, small in the best way.

And yet I’m here, not there.

Homesick = loving something you can’t hold but still carry.

Practical bits for first-timers

Start at the Surabaya Tourism Information Center.
Ask for current events, routes, and maps; they’re friendly and won’t judge your confused face.
Hydrate + sunscreen. The sun here believes in character development.
Cash for street food. Semanggi waits for no card.
Plan B for rain and parades. The weather and the crowds are both dramatic. Adjust like a local: shrug, smile, eat.

A small prayer to the skyline

May the parks grow kinder, the buildings smarter, the buses more on time.
May the myth beasts keep arguing overhead so we remember to be brave underfoot.
And may I see the next birthday from the sidewalk, not the screen.

Happy birthday, Surabaya.

I miss you in loud, embarrassing fonts.

How do you spend your hometown’s birthday?

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