Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the great British explorer and governor general of Java, rediscovered Trowulan in 1815, and though it was choked in forest, described the ruins as ‘this pride of Java’.
The remains of the court are scattered over a large area around the village of Trowulan, 12km from Mojokerto. The Majapahit temples were mainly built from red-clay bricks that quickly crumbled. Many have been rebuilt and are relatively simple compared to the glories of structures such as Borobudur, but they do give a good idea of what was once a great city. As the temples are spread over a such a large area, it’s best to either hire a becak or come in a car.
One kilometre from the main Surabaya–Solo road, the impressive Trowulan Museum (admission 10,000Rp; h7am-3.30pm Tue-Sun) houses superb examples of Majapahit sculpture and pottery from East Java. Pride of place is held by the splendid statue of Kediri’s King Airlangga as Vishnu astride a huge Garuda, taken from Belahan. The museum should be your first port of call for an understanding of Trowulan and Majapahit history, and it includes descriptions of the other ancient ruins in East Java.
Some of the most interesting ruins include the gateway of Bajang Ratu, with its strikingly sculpted kala heads; the Tikus Temple (Queen’s Bath – used for ritual bathing and cleansing); and the 13.7m-high Wringinlawang Gate. The Pendopo Agung is an open-air pavilion built by the Indonesian army. Two kilometres south of the pavilion, the Troloyo cemetery is the site of some of the oldest Muslim graves found in Java, the earliest dating from AD 1376.
Trowulan is refreshingly hawker-free, though as there’s a distinct lack of information on site you may want to hire a freelance guide (there’s often one waiting at the museum). Expect to pay around 100,000Rp for a half-day.
8Getting There & Away
Trowulan can be visited as a day trip from Surabaya, 60km to the northeast. From Surabaya’s Purabaya bus terminal, take a Jombang bus (12,000Rp, 1½ hours), which can drop you at the turn-off to the museum; a becak tour of the sites will cost around 50,000Rp for a half-day excursion after bargaining.
Pulau Madura
Pop 3.6 million
The flat, rugged and deeply traditional island of Madura may now be connected to Java by Indonesia’s longest bridge, but the character of the people and scenery feel like somewhere far away in time and geography.
Traditional culture is strong, the sarong and peci are the norm and the people are deeply Islamic – virtually all children attend pesantren (religious schools). Most famous for the colourful pageantry of their popular annual bull races, Madurese have a reputation throughout the nation for their quick tempers and brusqueness – perhaps an offshoot of their popular virility drink, jamu madura. While the Madurese can be disconcertingly blunt at times, they are more often extremely humble and hospitable.
Madura's southern side is lined with shallow beaches and cultivated lowland, while the northern coast alternates between rocky cliffs and great rolling sand-dune beaches, the best of which is at Lombang. At the extreme east is a tidal marsh and vast tracts of salt around Kalianget. The interior is riddled with limestone slopes, and is either rocky or sandy, so agriculture is limited. Sumenep is the only town, and unless the bull races are on, it attracts but a trickle of tourists.
History
In 1624 the island was conquered by Sultan Agung of Mataram and its government united under one Madurese princely line, the Cakraningrats. Until the middle of the 18th century the Cakraningrat family fiercely opposed Central Javanese rule and harassed Mataram, often conquering large parts of the kingdom.
By the beginning of the 1700s, however, the Dutch had secured control of the eastern half of Madura. The Cakraningrats then agreed to help the Dutch put down the 1740 rebellion in Central Java, but in the end they fared little better than their Javanese counterparts and ceded full sovereignty to the Dutch in 1743.
Under the Dutch, Madura was initially important as a major source of colonial troops, but later it became the main supplier of salt to the archipelago.
Overpopulation and poverty in Madura during the 1960s and 1970s lead to a policy of transmigrasi as millions of Madurese were resettled across the nation. Today the diaspora is one of Indonesia's largest, and you'll find communities of (often staunchly traditional) Madurese in Kalimantan, Papua and Sumatra.
8Getting There & Away
Buses go directly from Surabaya’s Purabaya bus terminal via Bangkalan and Pamekasan through to Sumenep (normal/patas 20,000/32,000Rp, four hours) roughly every hour. Buses also run to Sumenep (passing through Surabaya) from Banyuwangi (via Probolinggo), Malang, Semarang and Jakarta.
From East Java there’s a daily ferry (%032-866 3054) from Jangkar harbour (near Asembagus) to Kalianget (60,000Rp, five to six hours) in Madura. At research time it departed at Jangkar at 1pm and from Kalianget at 8am. Schedules are weather dependent and change regularly; contact the Sumenep tourist office to check times. Buses run from Situbondo to Jangkar. To get to Kalianget take minibus ‘O’ (3000Rp, 20 minutes) from Sumenep.
8Getting Around
From Bangkalan, buses run along the main highway to Pamekasan (26,000Rp, 2½ hours) and Sumenep (30,000Rp, four hours). Minibuses also travel along the northern route to Arosbaya, Tanjung Bumi, Pasongsongan and Ambunten.
Madura’s roads are almost all paved and in excellent condition, with relatively little traffic. As the island is mostly flat, Madura is a good cycling destination, although it does get very hot.
South Coast
The first port of call for most visitors is Kamal, a scruffy place of little interest. Many head directly to Bangkalan, the next town north of Kamal, to watch the bull races. If you’ve time to kill before a race, Museum Cakraningrat (10,000Rp; h8am-2pm Mon-Sat) will entertain you for an hour or so with displays on Madurese history and culture. For a day trip you could do worse than head to the beach at Sambilangan, 7km south of town, where there’s a lonely 90m lighthouse that gazes out over the Madura strait.
Sampang, 61km from Bangkalan, also stages bull races and is the centre of the regency of the same name. Further east is the important town of Pamekasan, the island’s capital. Bull races are held in and around Pamekasan every Sunday from the end of July until early October; during October each year the city throbs with the festivities of the kerapan sapi grand final. About 35km east of Pamekasan, before Bluto, is Karduluk, a woodcarving centre.
Sumenep
%0328 / Pop 101,000
Compared with the rest of Madura, Sumenep, in the far east of the island, is a sleepy, refined town, with a Mediterranean air and quiet, lazy streets. By mid-afternoon the whole town seems to settle into a slow, collective siesta. With dozens of crumbling villas and a fine kraton and mosque, it is easily Madura’s most interesting town.
Sumenep
1Sights
1KratonB2
2Mesjid JamikB2
3Royal Carriage-House MuseumB2
4Taman SariB2
4Sleeping
5Hotel C-1C3
5Eating
6Rumah Makan 17 AgustusB2
7Rumah Makan KartiniA1
3Entertainment
8Bull RacesC1
7Shopping
9Rachma BatikB3
1Sights
KratonPALACE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 6000Rp; h7am-2pm Mon-Sat)
Occupied by the present bupati (regent) of Sumenep, the grand kraton and its Taman Sari (Pleasure Garden; MAP GOOGLE MAP ; admission 2000Rp; h7am-5pm) date back to 1750. The bathing pools once used by the royal women are still here, though they’re no longer in use. There's also a small museum with an interesting collection of Madurese furniture, stone sculptures and binggel (heavy silver anklets worn by Madurese women). All were possessions of Madurese royals once upon a time.
The complex can only be visited on a guided tour arranged at the Royal Carriage-House Museum.
On the first Sunday of the month, traditional dance or gamelan practice is held at the kraton (from 10am to 1pm; admission free).
R
oyal Carriage-House MuseumMUSEUM
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; admission 2000Rp included in Taman Sari entry, traditional dance or gamelan practice admission free; h7am-5pm, traditional dance or gamelan practice 10am-1pm)
Opposite the kraton, the Royal Carriage-House Museum contains the throne of Queen Tirtonegoro and a Chinese-style bed, which is reputedly 300 years old.
Asta Tinggi CemeteryCEMETERY
The tombs of the royal family are at the Asta Tinggi Cemetery, which looks out over the town from a peaceful hilltop 4km northwest of the centre. The main royal tombs are decorated with carved and painted panels; two depict dragons said to represent the colonial invasion of Sumenep.
Mesjid JamikMOSQUE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP )F
Sumenep’s 18th-century Mesjid Jamik is notable for its three-tiered Meru-style roof, Chinese porcelain tiles and ceramics.
zFestivals & Events
The Festival of Sumenep is usually celebrated biannually on 31 October and marks the founding of the town, with a program of cultural performances.
4Sleeping & Eating
There are plenty of good, inexpensive eateries. Be sure to order the local speciality sate kambing (goat satay), which is often served with raw shallots and rice cakes. Soto madura, a spicy soup with nuts, lemongrass and beef, is another speciality. Good places to try these dishes include Rumah Makan Kartini ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0328-662431; Jl Diponegoro 83; mains 12000-20,000Rp) and Rumah Makan 17 Agustus ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0328-662255; Jl Sudirman 34; mains from 10,000Rp).
Hotel C-1HOTEL$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0328-674368; www.hotelc1.net; Jl Sultan Abdurrahman; r 125,000-400,000Rp; aW)
The smartest place in town, this modern hotel has a good selection of simple rooms decorated with hand-carved wooden furniture. Cleanliness standards are good, mattresses are springy and the linen is fresh. It's about 2km southeast of the centre.
BULL RACES
In Madurese folklore, the tradition of kerapan sapi began long ago when plough teams raced each other across the arid fields. This pastime was encouraged by Panembahan Sumolo, an early king of Sumenep. Today, with stud-bull breeding big business on Madura, kerapan sapi are an incentive for the Madurese to produce good stock. Only bulls of a high standard can be entered for important races – the Madurese keep their young bulls in superb condition, dosing them with an assortment of medicinal herbs, honey, beer and raw eggs.
Traditional races are held in bull-racing stadiums all over Madura. Practice trials are held throughout the year, but the main season starts in late August and September, when contests are held at district and regency levels. The finest bulls fight it out for the big prize in October at the grand final in Pamekasan, the island’s capital.
This is the biggest and most colourful festival and as many as 100 bulls, wearing richly decorated halters, ribbons and flowers, are paraded through town to loud fanfare. For each race, two pairs of bulls are matched. They are stripped of their finery and have their ‘jockeys’ – usually teenage boys – perched behind on wooden sleds. Gamelan music is played to excite the bulls and then, after being fed a generous tot of arak (palm wine), they’re released and charge flat-out down the track – often plunging straight into the crowd. The 100m race is over in a flash: the best time recorded so far is nine seconds, faster than Usain Bolt. After the elimination heats the victors get to spend the rest of the year as studs.
Pamekasan is the main centre for bull racing, but Bangkalan, Sampang, Sumenep and some of the surrounding villages also host races. The East Java calendar of events, available from tourist offices in Surabaya, has a general schedule for the main races, but if you are on Madura over a weekend during the main season, you can be guaranteed that races or practices will be held somewhere on the island.
Do note that animal welfare, to put it mildly, is not among Indonesia's major public concerns, and despite their luxuriant diet, the bulls are often treated harshly if they lose, and during training sessions.
3Entertainment
Bull RacesBULL RACING
( MAP GOOGLE MAP )
Sumenep is a centre for champion bull breeding, and on most Saturday mornings bull races can be seen at the Giling stadium. While the races are popular, it's worth looking into the animal welfare issues associated with this spectacle before opting in.
7Shopping
The main businesses in town are antiques and batik, and many homes seem to have something for sale. In the market, Rachma Batik ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) has good-quality gear and fair prices.
8Information
Sumenep's tourist office ( GOOGLE MAP ; %081 7933 0648, 0328-667148; [email protected]; Jl Sutomo 5; h7am-3.30pm Mon-Fri) is run by enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff, who can help out with most matters relating to both Sumenep and the island. BCA ( GOOGLE MAP ; h8am-4pm Mon-Sat) and BNI banks ( GOOGLE MAP ; h8am-4pm Mon-Sat) are on Jl Trunojoyo; both change cash. There's free wi-fi around the alun-alun.
8Getting There & Away
Sumenep’s main bus terminal is on the southern side of town, a 10,000Rp becak ride from the centre. Buses leave roughly hourly until 4pm for Surabaya’s Purabaya bus terminal (normal/patas 20,000/32,000Rp, four hours) and big cities across Java, including Malang. Bus agents along Jl Trunojoyo sell tickets. The Giling bus terminal for angkot heading north is right near the stadium, a short walk or becak ride from the centre. From Giling, minibuses go to Lombang, Slopeng, Ambunten and other north-coast destinations.
Around Sumenep
From Sumenep, the road to Kalianget, 10km southeast, passes many fine villas. About halfway between the two towns are the ruins of a Dutch fort dating from 1785, and a cemetery.
The Kalianget region is a centre for salt production – you’ll see great mounds of the white powder piled up for export if you pass by in the dry season. Daily boats sail from here for Jangkar in East Java and to other islands in the Sumenep district.
You can go snorkelling at Pulau Talango, just offshore.
WORTH A TRIP
NORTH COAST
Fishing villages and their brightly painted perahu (boats) dot the north coast. The coast is lined with beaches; few are particularly wonderful, though turquoise shallows do make a stunning contrast with the white-stone shore.
Near Arosbaya, 27km north of Kamal, the tombs of the Cakraningrat royalty are at Air Mata (Tears) cemetery, superbly situated on the edge of a small ravine. The ornately carved headstone of Ratu Ibu, consort of Cakraningrat I, is the most impressive.
The village of Tanjung Bumi is situated on the northwest coast of Madura, about 60km from Kamal. Although primarily a fishing village, it is also a manufacturing centre for traditional Madurese batik and perahu.
Pasongsongan is a fishing settlement on the beach, where it may be possible to stay with villagers. Further east, Ambunten is the largest settlement on the north coast and has a bustling market. Just over the bridge, you can walk along the picturesque river, which is lined with perahu, and through the fishing village to the beach. East of Ambunten, Slopeng has a wide beach with sand dunes and coconut palms. The water is usually calm enough for swimming, but it is not always clean. Men fish the shallower water with large cantilevered hand nets. Slopeng is also known for its topeng (wooden-mask) making.
The stunning white sands of Pantai Lombang, 30km northeast of Sumenep, make it the best beach in Madura; there’s no development here to spoil the idyllic scene. Locals harvest tree saplings for the bonsai market and sell coconuts to visitors.
Malang
%0341 / Pop 820,000
With leafy, colonial-era boulevards and a breezy climate, Malang moves at a far more leisurely pace than the regional capital, Surabaya. It’s a cultured city with several important universities, home to a large student population. The central area is not too large and quite walkable.
Established by the Dutch in the closing decades of the 18th century, Malang earned its first fortunes from coffee, which flourished on the surrounding hillsides. Today, the city’s
colonial grandeur is quickly disappearing behind the homogenous facades of more modern developments, but there’s still much to admire for now.
And with a number of Hindu temples and sights outside the city, Malang makes an ideal base to explore this intriguing corner of East Java.
Malang
1Sights
1Balai KotaD3
Hotel Tugu MalangC3
2Pasar BungaC3
2Activities, Courses & Tours
Helios ToursD2
Jona's HomestayD1
3Nuansa FajarC2
4Sleeping
4Hotel EmmaD2
5Hotel HeliosD2
6Hotel Sahid MontanaC2
7Hotel Trio Indah IIC2
8Hotel Tugu MalangC3
9Jona's HomestayD1
Kampong TouristD2
5Eating
10AgungC2
11Goreng KremesD2
12KertanegaraD2
MelatiC3
13Mie TomcatD2
14Night Food MarketC4
15Toko OenC3
6Drinking & Nightlife
16Ben HouseD2
3Entertainment
17Taman Rekreasi SenaputraC2
1Sights
The interior of the busy alun-alun in front of Hotel Tugu Malang is a lovely and lively park, with a monument at the centre of a pond floating with hundreds of lotus blossoms and surrounded by gorgeous spreading trees.
Across the main Surabaya road from the downtown area, the hazy, mystical and imposing silhouette of Mt Semeru looms over the wide avenue that is Jl Semeru. Gotta love symmetry.
Lonely Planet Indonesia Page 31