It is a fact, that the temples found in East Java are not as grand as the Borobudur or Prambanan in Central Java. This historical relic of the kingdoms of Kediri, Singasari and Majapahit are few consisting of ancient bronze and terracotta. Its cultural wealth is not as best preserved as that of West and Central Java. It does, however offer an unsurpassed varieties of natural beauty.

East Java, as is the case with West Java, can boast of its natural beauty. East java is also known of its karapan sapi (bull race), kuda kepang (horse dance), and the traditional reog.

Besides having all the elements of adventure and exploration, East Java still has many other things to offer: hill towns, hot springs, and resorts.

Historically, the number two city of Indonesia with a port second only to Priok in Jakarta, both in size and importance, the capital of East Java, Surabaya, is a vital, progressive center of trade and manufacturing. Almost nothing remains of the colorful past. An early morning stroll along the wharves at Kali Mas at the far north of the city, the world of black sail Makasar schooners will whisk you back to the closing decades of the 16th century when Surabaya, once known as Ngampel, was master of Sedayu, Gresik, Jaratan, Pasuruan, Panarukan and Blambangan, before bowing to the on slaughter of Mataram. Jumping back to the 20th century, in the annals of the history of Republic of Indonesia, you will read of the importance of this number two city of the Republic.Surabaya’s ancient reputation as a major trading port is still upheld today.

Surabaya’s cultural diversions are mainly related to dance, and mostly to forms, which are deeply rooted in traditional folklores. The oldest among them is probably Reog Ponorogo, named after the town lying to the south of Madiun, where the dance was most often performed. Its origin remains obscure.

There may be a grain of truth in the Reog adherents’ claim that the venerable Balinese barong dance was derived from Reog, following the dispersal of Java’s Hindu powers in the 16th century. A suggestion, which is naturally strongly disputed by the Balinese. This does of course beg the question of its real origins. Both Reog and barong perhaps may owe something to the celebrated Chinese lion dance, but even this is conjecture.

The most striking aspect of Reog Ponorogo is the huge and ponderously heavy headdress worn by the main dancer: a tiger mask of ferocious mien surmounted by a magnificent fan of peacock tail feathers.

The mask weights between 40 to 50 kg and is supported by a mouth strap clenched in the dancer’s teeth. It is said that the Reog dancer can be identified by an outstanding muscular neck.

Other participants include a small group of kuda kepang (bamboo horse) dancers, and sometimes a trance dancer who does the usual grass and glass eating act. Kuda kepang can also be seen as a separate dance.

Although the Ramayana and Mahabharata have become the common cultural property of the whole of java, the eastern province may properly claim two of the most popular Mahabharata episodes. Namely Arjuna Wiwaha, an episode on the grant wedding of Arjuna with Subadra, composed by Mpu Kanwa during the reign of King Airlangga in the 11th century and the tumultuous Bharatayudha (the battles in the Field of Kuru, between the Pandava brothers and their cousins, the Kaurawas), another work by another Kediri poet some hundred years later.

Both episodes are regularly performed in the wayang wong theater in the Taman Hiburan Rakyat or THR (People Park). There is also a legendary historical episode of Damar Wulan, a hero of the Majapahit days and Menak Jinggo (the sworn adversary of Damar Wulan). Ketoprak and ludrug are also performed here.

Classical dance versions of these tales are on the program of the season of east Javanese ballet staged at the open air Candra Wilwatikta amphitheater at Pandaan, 43 km south of Surabaya on the road to Malang.

Since September 1971 when the International Ramayana Festival was held in Candra Wilwatikta many dance groups from Asian countries have performed national versions of the ancient epic. The theater has since been the site of a regular ballet festival held on the full moon nights of the months of June through November.

Surabaya also boasts a zoological garden located in the southeast comer of the city, which is well stocked and offers among other wild fife the famous Komodo dragon, the world largest dragon lizard which grows to more than 3 meters in length.

Among other interesting places to visit in Surabaya: In the Arab quarter clusters around.

Is the Mesjid Sunan Ampel, the city’s oldest mosque. The shopping along Tunjungan, where electronically gadgets are even cheaper than in Singapore.

Surabaya is also very proud of its water skiing and boating at PORAS (Surabaya Water Sport Club) near the harbor. You can also rent a prahu at Kenjeran.

If you prefer, you may visit the Joko Dolog, a statue sculpted at the close of the 13th century to commemorate Prabu Kertanegara king of Singasari, which now stands at front of the Government House.

Only 55 km south of Surabaya, Tretes is one of the prettiest and most pleasing of Java’s mountain resorts. The air is fresh, the nights are cool, and the views are simply breathtaking. Walks through the hillside tracks are incredibly beautiful.

There are many losmen, guesthouses, and hotels to suit your preference and taste in Tretes, a place for horse riding in the morning, to visit three lovely waterfalls, all within easy riding distance. At noon you may enjoy your siesta and later after lunch you can sip your coffee or tea in the afternoon.

Candi Jawi, 7 km downhill from Tretes on the Pandaan road, is worth a visit. It was built about 1300, after the death of King Kartanegara, and sometime later, possibly after the earthquake of 1331,a Buddhist stupa was added to the top level of what was basically a Sivaistic structure. The story behind the attractive reliefs on the temple base is still a riddle.

At the slopes of Gunung Penaggungan there are 81 sanctuaries at height between 750 and 1,500 m dating variously from 911 and 1511, which are difficult to track down, though the hunt is an excellent excuse for horse riding and hiking, and some of the horse guides know a few of the sites.

The most striking are the remains of ‘Airlangga’s Bathing Place’ at Belahan, approached from about 5 km north of Pandaan on the road to Surabaya. Another ancient pool is found at Jalatunda, near the village of Trawas. This romantic site is the starting point to follow the ancient pilgrimage trail up to the summit. To visit the temples you need a guide and camping gear, the expedition will take a couple of days.

As has been described by Tome Pires, a peripatetic Portuguese who lived in Malacca between 1513 and 1517, Gresik is the jewel of Java in trading ports where the ships at anchor are safe from the winds, with their bowsprits touching the houses, it is called the rich people’s port (where) many foreign merchants have settled.

Maulana Malik Ibrahim, one of the great Islamic wali, lies buried in Gresik, alongside with his wife and children. His tomb, dated 1419, is generally regarded as the oldest Muslim gravestone in Java.

At Giri, 2 km to the south of Gresik, is the tomb of Wali Sunan Giri, who like most of his brethren, combined spiritual and temporal powers. He was the founder of a long lived dynasty as a desa perdikan or holy tax except village until over whelmed by Mataram in 1680, long after the other coastal states had fallen.

A regular car and passenger ferry service operates from L.C.M., dock (Jalan Kalimas Baru) at Tanjung Perak, Surabaya’s harbor, in 25 minutes will get you across the narrow strait to Kamal on Madura, and this is still the only way to get to the island, as there are no airport on the island of Madura.

The independent spirit of Madurese (whose language is quite distinct from Javanese and Sundanese) meant that Madura never took kindly to invaders and overlords. It was a fractious ally and (later) a vassal of Majapahit. Sultan Agung’s forces conquered it in 1624, when the puppet Raja of Sampang was put on his throne, but under Prince Trunajaya during the 1670s it was a thorn in the side of Both Mataram and Dutch East India Company (VOC).

A divided state after 1705 when the Dutch controlled the eastern half of the Island, Madura became an ally and later a sworn enemy of Batavia under Cakraningrat in the 1740s, and was a supporter of Prince Diponegoro in his heroic but futile rebellion of 1825 to 1830.

What definitely you can find in Madura are two among its main treasures: karapan sapi and salt, since the last mentioned being the main produce of this island.

Madura is the place of origin of karapan sapi, which is a strange sport. According to the Madurese, karapan began long ago when a plough team was pitted against plough team over the length of a rice field. Today, stud bull breeding is big business on an island where the land is too wretched and poor for any more than the sanctuaries agriculture, and the races, with progressively bigger and better prizes offered by local government, have become a real incentive for stock improvement.

One hour’s drive to the west of Surabaya, Trowulan, the capital of Majapahit, ancient Java’s greatest empire, is little more than the main road, a handful of houses, and the museum.

Justly famous for its Majapahit terracotta statuary, the museum sits splendidly in a large garden crowded with frangipani trees and brick bordered garden beds filled not with flowers but with thousands of archeological rejects: lumps of ornamented terracotta, weather ravaged stone carvings and countless shards of celadon gloze and blue and white pottery.

Everything in the Trowulan museum has reputedly been found within 10 km radius, an area which was probably the seat of Majapahit power. A detailed table top map on the porch of the museum is a useful guide to nearby sites and remains, including Wringin Lawang, a gateway which may have led to the residence of Gajah Mada, the famous prime minister of Majapahit.

Candi Tikus and Candi Bajang Ratu, neither of the two in fact a candi, in the sense of being a temple. Tikus is an ancient bathing place, once resplendent with three water filled pools which were fed through a series of stone kala head spouts Bajang Ratu, about 500 meters from Tikus, is a fine tall red brick gateway with striking terracotta kala heads.

Back on the main road, and heading east out of Trowulan, a further 10 km will bring you to Mojokerto which offers you with a number of pleasures: in the old quarter, west of the main street, are charming traffic free alleys (or gang) lined with miniature canals, there are many imposing columned houses from the Dutch time, and on Jalan Jenderal Ahmad Yani there is an excellent museum of Majapahit stone carving and sculpture.

The Finest works is probably a thousand years old magnificent ‘portrait statue’ of King Airlangga as Visnu mounted on a huge and formidable garuda, once the center piece of a sculptural group which decorated the Belahan bathing palace in the foothills above Pandaan.

Malang, 90 km south of Surabaya, is perfect base for temple tripping: a charming, clean, attractive town with a mild climate, often described as the most attractive town in Java. The town’s fortune dates from the closing years of the 18th century when coffee was successfully established as a cash crop. Today, tobacco and an important cigarette industry also add to its prosperity.

 Another good base for temple tripping is Selecta, a popular town sized hill resort set high on the southern side of Gunung Arjuna (5 km north of Batu, 20 km west of Malang). The climate is pleasantly cool the apples excellent, and there are good swimming facilities. Above Selecta, through a world of wild orchids, huge trees and damp clouds, the tiny mountain village of Sumber Brantas sits astride the source of the huge Brantas River.

To reach Candi Singasari, look for the Garuda Bioskop on the northern out skirts of the town of Singasari between Malang and Lawang, turn left (west) at the cinema and another 600 meter will bring you to the temple.

Candi Singasari was one of the last religious cum-commemorative monuments erected by the blood spattered Singasari dynasty, and was built about 1300 shortly after the violent death of its last king, Kartanegara. The main structure of the temple was completed, but the sculptors and masons responsible for the decoration never finished their task, due perhaps to civil strife and the dissension over royal succession.

About 20 meters beyond the temple is a pretty sweep of close cropped grass and huge shade trees, a rural village green/unremarkable, were it not for two monstrous carved figures of raksasa or dwarapala.

Candi Jago offers a fair share of conundrums. It also has some marvelous reliefs in the two dimensional wayang kulit style which is characteristic of much East Javanese temple carving, and includes some of the earliest known representations of the panakawan or servants, Semar, Gareng, Petruk and Bagong, still among the most popular of all Java’s wayang characters.

Candi Jago was started in 1268 as a memorial to another Singasari king; Vishnuvardhana. Changes and additions may have been made until as late as 1343, and further confusion is encountered in the form of Indian influences: Pala sculptural styles and the Nagari script.

There are still many other temples in East Java, namely Candi Panataran (11 km from Blitar), Candi Tegowangi and Candi Surowono, north not far from Pare, and still many more, like Candi Kidal (3 km from Tumpang).

The exciting hinterland of East Java should be explored either by train, car, on horseback or even by foot, or by any combination of these. By Mutiara Express train, which makes two journeys daily from Surabaya to Banyuwangi and the Bali ferry, will bring you from Banyuwangi to Gilimanuk the westernmost point of the Island of Gods.

It was amongst the peaks and high valleys of Blambangan that Hindu Java fought a stubborn rearguard action against Muslim Mataram, and it must have seemed that all was lost in 1639 when Sultan Agung’s troops swept through to the coast and even subjugated part of Bali which bounced back as though nothing had happened, pushed the invaders into the sea, and regained much of Blambangan as well.

For the next hundred years the area was a favorite of rebellious vassals who constantly harassed and harried a waning Mataram: Prince Trunajaya of Madura in 1674 (who sacked the kraton and drove Hamangkurat I into exile), the Balinese ex slave Surapati in 1703 (curiously allied with Hamangkurat III against the VOC), and a mass of predatory Balinese who once again overran Blambangan during the shaky reign of Pakubuwono I in the early years of the 18th century.

As late as 1715 Surapati’s sons were building themselves a little kingdom where Malang now stands, and it was not until well past 1730 that the Dutch Finally dared the area and enforced the peace in a drastically depopulated land.

Outside of the rich river valleys and large towns like Bondowoso, Jember, Probolinggo and Pasuruan, the population is still sparse (at least by Javanese standards), and even along the busy north coast road there is one long stretch with not a single building to be seen.

The North Coast is very sparing in its favors, and about as visually charming as an empty parking lot. Pasuruan offers a few gems of colonial architecture: a monstrous, turreted, gabled edifice now used by Palang Merah, the Red Cross. And an interesting pasar where you might find Madurese silver anklets. Probolinggo’s contribution is the turn off to Bromo. After patches of mangroves and occasional outrigger prahu, suddenly, you are in Pasir Putih.

The entrance to the BaluranNational Park is at Wonorejo village, 55 km from Situbondo, and 37 km north of Banyuwangi. At Wonorejo, 2.2 km from the main road, contact the Game Reserve officials (Pengawas Perlindungan Alam) for permission to enter.

They can provide transport in the park. About 12 km within the reserve, on Bekol Hill, there is a small guest house, a lockout tower, and a number of well plied tracks that will enable you to see the wildlife but keep you clear of the past, dangerous banteng or wildox. August to November is best, for in these dry months; the animals must stay near the permanent water holes.

Baluran national park is hot, thorny, and dry. Deer, buffalo, and banteng are easily seen, especially at the First light as they amble slowly from the wells near the watchtower and drift across the pampas seeking solitude and shade.

For birdwatchers it is another paradise: peacocks, tiny finches, golden breasted honeyeaters, masses of wood pigeons, black and white fantails, parrots. It is the sort of place where binoculars and long lenses are essential, thought it is possible to get within 100 meters of a herd of deer.

Banyuwangi is less than an hour away to the south on a road dominated by coconut groves, coarse rocky outcrops and the looming 2,800 meters of Gunung Merapi, the extreme eastern shoulder of the Ijen plateau.

The Bali ferry departs from Sukawidi, 7 km north of Banyuwangi. It leaves hourly. Arrive on hour early, if you are traveling by car.

In the hills above Banyuwangi, at Kaliklatak, a coffee plantation has been opened for visitors. The plantation has 14 spotless bungalow style rooms, each name dafter a different fruit. The plantation tour takes 4 hours.

There are two side trips off the Surabaya-Banyuwangi-Malang circuit, which demand jolt proof bones, a taste for the wilds and a modestly adventurous spirit. First is Ijen Plateau, highly recommended to mountain climbers and hikers, the second, Sukamade for coast watchers. Both are spectacular, and about the only thing they have in common is coffee.

The Ijen Plateau can be reached through Bondowoso from either the northern or southern coast: the former is faster, the latter more attractive, and it both cases it is wise to make an overnight stop nearby in readiness for an early start and a full day (try Pasir Putih or Jember for reasonable accommodation; Bondowoso has clean losmen).

Sukamade is possible but gulling as a one day venture, and really needs at least two days. Your arrival time is not important, so you could spend the previous night in Banyuwangi to the northeast, or in Lumajang (after Semeru) or Jember to the west.

Ijen is dormant, not dead. In the far southwest corner of the plateau, Gunung Raung (3,332 m) rumbles and frets; on the northeastern edge, 20 km away and less than 300 meters below the 2,800 meter peak of Gunung Merapi the Kawah Ijan crater lake.

The Sukamade Baru estate was founded in 1927. Today it covers 1,100 hectares of which 310 hectares are planted with coffee, 330 with rubber and 100 with coconut palms for copra; what remains is riverbeds, the estate compound, a village, a bunch of almost inaccessible jungle-cla4 hills, and stretch of some of the most attractive coastline of Java.

To get there you turn south at Genteng on the main road between Jember and Banyuwangi, but you will need some preparation for the next 67 km, for on most maps Sukamade does not exist.

For the First 32 km to Pesanggaran you spin happily along a pretty canal side road lined with banana trees, coconut palms, contented villagers bathing and other picture postcard scenes.

Pesanggaran itself boasts several of the finest old Fords in captivity: they started running in 1929 and still carry goods and people; the fact that they still work is not so remarkable: that they should stay alive on the roads is astounding.

The next 33 km west to Sukamade takes a good 2 hours over potholes narrow bridges, river fords, and a minor hill through a rubber plantation, a major hill through towering natural jungle.

At the estate you will be made welcome by members of the managerial staff of the company, who know at least a little English.

Then at the estate’s pasanggarahan (guest houses) the surprises start. You will be shown to a clean, spacious room with sheets top and bottom. The bathrooms are big and hygienic, and when you have cleaned up you will be offered ice cold beer. There are many things to do and see on the estate, which bustles with activity.

The estate is in the heart of Meru Betiri National park, officially declared in 1982 to protect the last remaining tigers in the vicinity. There are now extinct, but small jungle cots still abound. The macan tutul, or spotted panther, and a number of sleek, long bodied wild cats which take scant notice of headlights as they saunter saucily across the rough tracks.

And there are turtles. Big, heavy ladies, tipping the scales at around 200 kg who emerge wet and glistening from the pounding surf and chug laboriously up the beach head as they seek a nesting place beyond the high water mark. On the beach there is a conservation station that make sure that the eggs are protected and properly hatched.

On the mount of Bromo, the sunrise can be seen from to vantage point, both spectacular, both quite different: the first is the crater rim of Bromo itself (approached from Ngadisari to the northeast), the second is the 2,340 meter Munggal pass (approached from Tosari to the west).

Both mean getting up in the very early hours of the morning. From Ngadisari to Bromo across the Sand Sea and back again takes roughly 4 hours by horse or on foot. It is possible to take a jeep as far as the edge of the Sand Sea, though the grades on both sides of the pass from Ngadisari are very steep.

There is another outstanding view of the crater complex, with Semeru glowering in the background, from Gunung Pananjakan (2,770 meters) on the north side of the Sand Sea. The best approaches from Ngadisari.

Gunung Bromo is not high. The story of the creation of Bromo, Batok and Sand Sea is similar to other mountain origin tales in Java: a smitten lover, an unwilling princess, a task to be performed between sunset and sunrise, the crowing of rudely awakened roosters signaling a false dawn, and the frustrated suitor slinking off into the darkness.

The princess in Bromo’s case decreed that a great inland sea should be dug around the volcano’s mouth. The tool used was the hard half shell of coconut which, flung away at the dawning hour, became Gunung Batok (or the Mountain of Coconut shell). The broad trench became the Sand Sea.

The Tenggerese, who live around Bromo, their lives are hard and frugal. Their religion, a curious blend of animism and Hindu beliefs, is simple. A flat smooth rock and two large overhanging trees are a shrine, and ritual gifts of vegetables and chickens are offered annually to the gods of the crater at the midnight ceremony held on Bromo’s rim on the 14th. Day of kesada, the last month of the Tenggeres year.

The trek to Bromo is an intensely personal experience. Sunrise over its savagely beautiful landscape is part of it. So too is the same blistered wilderness in the full light of day. It is realizing, joyous solitude of the Sand Sea, the sunlight discovery of gardens and enchanting pathways you passed in darkness.

It is saddling up before dawn and wondering, on windswept ridges, if you will ever feel warm again. (Gloves and a genuinely windproof jacket are recommended). It is an unheralded white plume from Semeru’s distant crater: turning pink in the dawn light. Strange, enduring, exhilarating. Another aspect of what Java is all about.