Hey đ
Having company while exploring a place is a lot more fun than exploring it solo, donât you think?
Four days ago, my friend came to visit me in my new place from Yogyakarta. She has never explored Surabaya and was taking a 3 hour train ride to stay at my place. We planned on checking out some spots in Surabaya and were quite ambitious wanting to do so many activities but guess what? Iâll let you follow this adventure today!
We started our journey as early as 5 AM using the commuter line. Itâs a 2 hour train ride and we already had some lists including the zoo, old town area and even the east of Surabaya. We also wanted to travel reasonably by using public transportation but Surabaya is massive and their transportation system will make you give up. Once we reached Surabaya, we had breakfast at this famous local âwarungsâ just close by the train station. They are known for their local dishes âRawonâ and âPecelâ which were quite delicious. Itâs one of those âmust tryâ especially when youâre traveling into the area.
After breakfast, we wanted to try the Surabaya Bus. In the past, you could ride the bus just by paying with a water bottle but these days, you have to pay with e-money. Before getting into the bus shelter, we walked past a submarine monument, an authentic decommissioned submarine and an interactive place to see the inside of this Soviet made submarine.
Since our first destination is KBS Zoo, we tried riding the bus but we ended up getting lost in the middle and took the wrong bus. Since we had to actually cross a busy road and it was 38C, we gave up. We dropped just about a 10 minutes drive from the Zoo and took a grab to finally reach our final destination.
I donât think you should try this bus experience.
Well, unless you have a lot of time to kill and have a little time exploring the area. Otherwise, grab is your new friend in this city. Since Surabaya is sweltering hot, I donât think anyone could survive walking around town especially at 10 to 12 AM. Now, I learned my lesson đ
When we arrived at KBS Zoo, we got to see the iconic Shark and Crocodile statue. Itâs the landmark and icon of the city in which the name is from Sura [Shark] and Baya [ Crocodile]. KBS is an affordable destination for a lot of people to see various types of animals and even as a jogging track. In this place, a lot of kindergartners like to visit from across the region in East-Java. They have plenty of collections including a giraffe, hippo and tiger. Unfortunately though, I think this place isnât so well-maintained despite being a massive and interactive zoo.
This zoo had so many issues until recently where they did quite a bit of renovation and management. However, you can still see some poor conditions of the animals and being inside the place, youâd feel sorry for some of the animals. To think that this condition is still happening in 2025 is a bit outrageous. Though people said that the condition has improved, I think this place has a long way to go for more revitalization and conservation efforts of the animals in the place.
Inside the place, they have extensive collections of monkeys that they just know how to pose. Look at these monkeys!
We also checked out the deer area and they all look so friendly. When I look at them, itâs as if they have eyes that speak. They remind me so much of my cats at home. At the time, they had just finished breakfast, so I didnât want to bother giving them extra food which we could purchase in front of the enclosure.
There are also two giraffe in this zoo and some african animals which actually make sense to live in this area as it's extremely hot almost all-year round.
So, should you visit this place? Not really.
Even according to my friend, itâs a one-time- thing only. She didnât want to visit it again, citing some smells around the bird enclosures and around. To me, this is my first time visiting this place as an adult. I remembered the place used to be pretty okay and clean when I was a kid. Itâs a place my family loved to go since it's affordable recreational activities in the city. Would I visit this place again? not really but I still applaud their efforts in revitalizing the place since many children actually visit this place to learn about animals. There are better animal conservation effort like the Safari park but it's not as affordable as this one.
Once we exited the zoo, we walked around to find the nearest coffee shop. In that heat, I just couldnât think and I wanted to get something refreshing. We ended up finding a place called VISMA | Coffee, Art & Co. Itâs a coffee shop, co-working space and an art gallery. I didnât know this place and my friend never talked about it but now, this is a place I have to go back again since it was a pleasant experience being there.
My friend and I had some refreshments there and we looked at some cool pictures around. I didnât care much about it at the time but that made me have some mental notes that I need to go back there for it. It was a great place to be, especially after walking for an hour in the sweltering heat of Surabaya and especially around the Zoo.
Well, who would have thought I would go to this area quite often now đbut itâs like I unlocked so many new places and spots in that area I never thought about. While itâs like a 2 hour train ride with the commuter line, a trip there is always worth it because it offers the novelty I was seeking.
See you in my next adventure!
Back then I prefer traveling alone, that's how I imagined myself doing it. But now, I want to go to places with Mama. I'm more confident when i'm with her. Haha.
Anyways, what a fun travel day that is, though getting lost can be fun too but, its more of a hassle no haha esp if the weather is not that nice. And seriously, if they open a Zoo, number one priority should be the animals well beings coz they used them to earn. But if some are being neglected, then that's really sad. The Zoo surroundings looks okay but the animals should too no. Aigoooo. Or do they lack funds perhaps that's why they can't give much attentions to their animals?
But anyhow, i haven't visited any Zoo yet. i'd be really happy to see one. Sadly we don't have them in my area đ¤
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They definitely lack of fund and that's why they government takes direct management for the place. So they could get more funding but again that effort is going to take a while before they'll see significant improvement.
BTW how are you in the Philippine? Is everything okay and you're safe from the Earthquake?
It was great to see the deer. I really like deer.
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Woe, this is my kind of place. Technology, art, and wild animals.
If you had asked me to feed a giraffe, I would have put the food on the ground. This makes more sense!
đI don't know how to feed a giraffe but don't they only eat from higher grounds?
I'm sure the giraffe would not have been impressed if it had been me.
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The structural designs are a lot so good in the eyes. It's like when you see it you can say so wowwww. And the zoo is very lively
Wow, you were inside a submarine! That's something I could never have imagined experiencing.
I can relate to that sadness you feel when visiting zoos and seeing animals that are poorly cared for. It's not a pleasant memory or an experience you want to repeat.
The good thing is that you had a different kind of day with someone special. đđ
It was quite an experience visiting the zoo and that'll take them a long way to actually restore the place to be more habitable. And yes, it was a good thing that I spent the day with my friend đ
Wow the zoo looks like a work of art. It must be wonderful to visit such a place and enjoy a lovely walk.
It was indeed a lovely walk.
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This sounds like such a fun trip! I can imagine how exciting it mustâve been showing your friend around Surabaya for the first time.
It was a fun trip showing her around although it was really hot đ
It seems like a pretty hot place. I havenât been to the zoo in a long time either, and I donât think Iâll visit anytime soon because the memory I have of it isnât very pleasant.
Your outing was very niceâaside from the heat.
It's indeed pretty hot! I couldn't even stand being in that heat for so long. And yes, it was a great experience aside being extremely very hot.
What a very beautiful place to visit even though you getting lost in that place there are so much amazing views and places
hahaha yeah! getting lost is the part of an adventure :D