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The Daily FT participated in a familiarisation trip for media in mid-May organised by the Indonesian Embassy in Sri Lanka and Singapore Airlines, which comprised visits to Surabaya, Kota Batu and Madura in Indonesia, with transits in Singapore. The Sri Lankan media contingent was accompanied by Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Sri Lanka Second Secretary Economic Affairs Tranmike and Singapore Airlines Ltd. PR and Premium Services Manager Shihana Cader. The first article in this series explored places of interest in Surabaya city and the second article featured two places of interest we visited in Kota Batu – the Shwedagon Pagoda and Sleeping Buddha at Vihara Dhammadipa Arama and Jatim Park 2 Batu Secret Zoo and Museum. This third and final article features the visit to Museum Angkut (Transportation Museum), a trip around Madura Strait on the Artama III and a
visit to the Maduratna batik centre in Madura.
Text and pix by Marianne David
Museum Angkut
If there’s one place you absolutely must visit in Kota Batu, it’s Museum Angkut.
Asia’s first and biggest transportation museum, which honours the world’s transportation creators, boasts several elements, including education, art and entertainment plus live performances that are guaranteed to enthral.
Spread out over 3.8 acres, the museum features over 300 items in its transportation collection. Walking around the many areas visitors will be more than impressed and unable to stop themselves from lingering over each and every exhibit.
Beautifully and spotlessly maintained, well-lit and with experienced guides to show people around, this is a well-thought-out place where adults and children can spend countless hours lost in wonder. Motor enthusiasts will certainly keep going back over and over again!
Museum Angkut also puts on three shows – Gangster, Parade and Three Elements. We were just in time for Parade and were thrilled to bits by the fabulous performance. The song and dance acts had the audience cheering wildly and dancing along.
Even more impressive was the manner in which the stars of the show moved freely among the audience after the show, posing for countless pictures and chatting to the children.
The museum is divided into three main zones – American zone, European and Asian zones. The history of the vehicles is provided (mainly in Indonesian language) for most vehicles but those who cannot read Indonesian can see the printed name, year of production and engine capacity written on the vehicles’ registration plates.
The American Zone has a touch of old Broadway (New York City, USA), with Western style buildings, first editions of American cars and a few people in Halloween costumes. This zone features old collections of American cars like the early editions of Ford and Dodge.
The European Zone enables visitors to experience Europe during its industrial era in the 18th-19th centuries and see the earliest British car brands of Mercedes Benz and Rolls Royce.
Indonesian traditional transportation
The museum also displays Japanese and Western old bikes and motorbikes as well as Asian traditional transport, such as traditional animal-drawn vehicles and “man-drawn” rickshaws.
Also on location is a floating market which serves up delicious Indonesian cuisine and sells Indonesian handicrafts.
Museum Angkut (Transport Museum) opens from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Artama III harbour cruise
The best way to see Suramadu Bridge in all its glory is from a vessel out at sea and that’s exactly what we did.
The Suramadu Bridge, also known as the Surabaya-Madura Bridge, is a cable-stayed bridge between Surabaya on the island of Java and the town of Bangkalan on the island of Madura in Indonesia. It was opened in June 2009 and is 5.4 km in length. The longest bridge in Indonesia, it is the first bridge to cross the Madura Strait.
Aboard the Artama III for a harbour cruise which takes around three hours, we first received a briefing in the living area, after which we went up to the sun deck to look around and take in the sights of the sea dotted by many vessels and enjoy the cool breeze.
During the cruise we were able to see many ships up close, including a floating military hospital and the Jalesveva Jayamahe Monument. Seeing the Suramadu Bridge slowly loom up as we sailed towards it was a captivating experience and we weren’t able to tear our eyes away from the sight even from a fair distance away.
After we turned back from the bridge at the halfway point of the cruise, it was time to come back down and enjoy some lunch and karaoke on board.
The Artama III offers facilities to host meetings and parties and even enjoy some fishing. It also features dinner cruises and sunset cruises and is perfect for family gatherings. The food served up is limited in terms of variety but delicious in taste, while the karaoke system on board only adds to the fun.
Maduratna batik centre
Wherever you go in Indonesia, you will see the people – mainly the men – wearing batik clothes with eye-catching designs. A highly-developed art form, the batik clothes and fabrics here are a feast for the eyes, available in many patterns and colours.
Walking around the Maduratna batik centre, we were amazed by not only the variety at hand but also the reasonable pricing. Although there are thousands of different batik designs, some designs are traditionally associated with certain festivals and religious ceremonies.
Visa-free entry
The Indonesian Government recent offered visa-free entry to Sri Lankans. Singapore Airlines flies to Surabaya daily from Singapore and has SilkAir connections to Surabaya as well. The airline has introduced three additional morning flights from Colombo to Singapore (SQ 467), giving its passengers the convenience of choosing their preferred flight to travel.
