A shore excursion in Semarang with many fond memories

Our dearest guests from the United States, Lynne and Mark

Lynne and Mark, this remarkable couple had already made a contact with Bersukaria Tour on December 2016 and we agreed to meet up on January 10, 2017. Our very first guests in 2017 and we were delighted.

It was another busy morning for the Tanjung Mas Harbor of Semarang as it served couple of cruises who about to dock. Many people already gathered at the arrival gate very early because the ship should arrive at 8.00 AM local time, but there was a technical problem from the crew that caused the ship arrived two hours behind the schedule.Finally we Lynne and Mark could disembark from the ship in spite of delay but it didn’t ruin our spirit to discover and explore the beautiful city of Semarang.

We began the journey to visit the highest pagoda in Indonesia according to the MURI (Museum of Records of Indonesia). It was a great day to travel because the sky was so blue, a little cloudy and the weather was terrific. Our journey from the harbor to the Pagoda as well was really smooth because we already passed the rush hour and when we arrived at the Pagoda, there were few people visiting that place. We felt like we owned the whole place. The ambient was serene and as we walked in to the 45 meters (150 ft.) high pagoda, we saw the grand statue of the Goddess Kwan Im, the Goddess of compassion according to the Buddhism belief. After we took several pictures from the temple, we moved to another building that is also served as a ritual purposes such as praying that is located nearby from the pagoda. From that building, we could see the big statue of Buddha in the goldish color and we could see Semarang from up there because the temple is located about 300 meter (almost 1,000 ft.) above sea level, we could even see the sea from up there.

After the completion of the tour at the Pagoda, we moved the another highlight of the city of Semarang, the famous Sam Poo Kong Temple. This Chinese temple is the biggest Chinese temple in Semarang and it was also believed that the Great Admiral Zheng He from China ever set his foot at this temple on his voyage to the Middle East in the year of 1416. It was also believed that the Great Admiral Zheng He also discovered the new world in the year of 1421 or a century ahead of the Colombus. There are three main buildings at this temple. One is for the offering, one is for the fortune teller and the last one is for praying. The local also called this area Gedung Batu which means Stone Building because behind the biggest temple, there is a big stone the door in it and inside that door, there is a chamber. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to enter the chamber because this chamber is specially designated for praying purposes.

“I’m so happy I found these guys. They are top notch!

and this day ranks among my favorites.”

                                    – Lynne Castoldi

It was a lunchtime when we completed our tour at the Sam Poo Kong, now it’s time to try the local cuisine as well as the local beer at the famous Toko Oen restaurant that already opened since 81 years ago. The couple tried the local cuisine of Nasi Goreng or the fried rice accompanied with local beer. I also suggested them to try the local cookies from this restaurant. They also tried various type of paste and sauce such as chili paste and soy sauce to enrich the flavor of their foods. They loved the food and the restaurant that still preserve it’s old architectural design.

 

 Here come to our last destination, the most visited place in Semarang, Lawang Sewu. Lawang Sewu means thousands doors in local language and no one knows whether this building has more than a thousand doors or less. So maybe for you who would like to visit this place one day, you could put counting the door of Lawang Sewu as your number one activity on your things-to-do list when you visit Lawang Sewu. Originally, this building belonged to the oldest Dutch East Indies Railway Company, NISM, and served as the headquarter. The building was constructed in 1904 and was completed three years after in 1907. This building also has the most beautiful stained glass in the main hall of this building, in our opinion, it was also the best stained glass in Semarang. Lynne and Mark didn’t miss the opportunity to take the picture in front of this stained glass and also in other area of this building. Lynne told us that the place is so big that they could even get lost if they walk in to this building by themselves.

We completed the whole tour in a very short period of time and we still have hours prior to the ship left the harbor, so we invited Lynne and Mark to visit another remarkable place in Semarang, the old town of Semarang. It was a busy afternoon in the old town because this place that already been here since more than 300 years ago is still used by the people to do their daily activities. We were crossing the old building from one building to another as we told them the stories behind this antique buildings. We were happy to show Mark since he works in the insurance industry, the oldest insurance building in Semarang that is still operational until today and also another old British owned insurance company that is no longer operational.

 

We still had time after we made a whole turn in the old town of Semarang, so we decided to chill out at the most well-known bar in the old town, Spiegel. They did really enjoy to chill out there and we ordered another bottle of local beer but it was the different brand from the first one. They liked it, however the first local beer still won Lynne’s heart.

The chill out time was over and it was the time to take this cheerful couple to the ship. It was our honor to serve them, even though Mark felt a little bit unwell at that time, but he still managed to smile and enjoy the whole trip. They even taught us some new expression that they usually use, it was an unforgettable moment.

It was another great story from our clients who found us after she done a comprehensive research through various methods and had a great short period of time tour with us. We do hope that we can serve another cruise ship passengers like you if your ship happens to arrive in Semarang for a 10 hours refueling and resupplying at the harbor of Semarang.

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