Getting to Malang from Surakarta (Solo)
Despite its swarming roads and bustling cities, the miles between them can be a simply ravishing and serene journey while traversing Java, which we did in August 2024. And perhaps there’s no better way to see it than on the rails. Our longest train journey would take us six-hours from Solo to Malang through brilliant vistas with emerald rice paddies and the opportunity to witness one legendary volcanic peak rising to the next. Not to mention the sea of palm trees, and endless flowing waters, all which make Indonesia truly special.
The volcanic origin of the island chain provides vast areas of fertile soils, which here means…a lot of rice! In fact, we soon learned that Indonesia is the third largest producer of rice in the world. Most Indonesians eat it with breakfast, lunch and dinner and rely on it for 40-50% of their daily intake. The blanket of rice fields felt never-ending in Central Java.
Riding the train is straightforward and organized. Tickets can be bought online visa 12goasia, although seem to be slightly cheaper if you buy in person. The stations are clean, well-signed and comfortable with plump squishy leather chairs. Wow, what a vacation for your bum!
They’re even on time, which cannot be said for the buses! 🤣 And this time, learning from our last foray in train travel on Java, we sprang for the “premium” angled seats rather than the very upright school bus style. It was $16/ticket…definitely not the cheapest way to travel in Java but we’re glad we had the experience! We loved seeing the many stops along the way in the smaller Indonesian villages and towns.
At 6:30, the sun had dipped entirely below the horizon as we arrived by Grab ($1.63) to Navila Guesthouse in Malang, where we’d hunker down a week. ($18/night.) The room with private bath was spacious for working out, unpacking, and also had a shared kitchen which was basically ours because most other guests only seemed to stay 2-3 nights and not be using it. There was also a living room area, filtered water, and a dining room table.
It also had a beautiful courtyard pool which was a bit chilly, but perfect for lap swimming!
Bonus…a tiger named Mochi came with the guesthouse. She was actually quite affectionate. Uh….probably because we regularly fed her?!
So all in all this place was, a really great set up for us. The biggest downside was the neighborhood mosque was on the other side of the property making the five-times daily, 30-minute long (significantly longer than normal!) Call to Prayer starting at 4 am a bit…uh, sleep robbing.
Naturally, the call to prayer is something we’ve encountered in many countries and normally it’s a lovely and haunting sound. And it was here as well…for the first 15 minutes.
However, after these 15 minutes another imam crashed the loudspeaker for another 15 minutes of what seemed to be amateur hour. Five times a day. Even Mochi was covering her ears. OH. MY…Allah! 😳
On our first night, we grabbed fast food Korean at “Kober Mie” nearby where they did not post their (Indonesian) menu anywhere until you arrived to the register and you then had to make your order while a line of locals waited on you to figure it out. Always a fun time. 🤣
Using the “point and hope method,” we ended up deciding on a “Baby Seoul Yang” which turned out to be the best thing…a strawberry yogurt concoction.
Prices seemed to drop even more when we arrived to Malang. In addition to the drink, we got two noodle dishes, two plates of Korean sushi and Chicken Katsu, all for less than $5. Oh, it also came with a stomach ache.
Exploring and Living in Malang
When we weren’t chasing waterfalls or active volcanoes, we thoroughly enjoyed our downtime in Malang and thought it was a lovely place to just…be. During our week stay, we fell for the cooler temperatures and healthy breezes thanks to elevation, as well as the continued walkable and welcoming neighborhood enclaves, combined with the abundance of friendly felines always ready for the treats we carried. We also visited some unique food options, got our coffee fix (it’s Java, after all), and traded basic English with more kids than we can count. Malang (population 933k), and its people, are wonderful!
An example of such people, Karman & Ugeng, who were our hosts at Navila Guesthouse while in Malang. Karman also served as our driver to Tumpak Sewu waterfalls. They have been running the guesthouse for six years and had three children.
Every residential neighborhood in Malang, and a lot of Java, we noticed, has its own entrance, which is like entering a little secret pathway away from the bustle of the traffic. This time of year, near Independence Day, they seemed to be decked out in the country’s colors of white and red. The red is said to represent courage and the white, honesty.
Other things definitely make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time in Indonesia. For example, right behind our guesthouse, the rice farmers would regularly use water buffalo to plow their fields.
90% of people who live on Java are Muslims so it was not surprising to find a mini mosque, or three, in every neighborhood enclave. Most of them also announce the five-times-daily Call to Prayer, which as you imagine, makes for quite the cacophony of fierce competition.
And because of the Islamic reverence towards cats, it was also impossible not to stumble upon many during every stroll we took. Most of them were fortunately in good shape and clearly being taken care of. Dogs, considered impure, were unsurprisingly missing. In fact, we only saw two dogs during three weeks on Java and both were small personal pets.
Our favorite turmeric and ginger drink, Kunyit Asem, which we tried to get as much as possible. Loaded with health benefits, and usually, little to no sugar!
The market near our guesthouse, Warung Sayur Segar, carried enough supplies to create simple breakfast and dinners. The produce is quality, plentiful and cheap in Indonesia although the selection is far from what we had in Vietnam.
It was good we had grocery options because the dining out options weren’t too swell in our northeast neighborhood.
One lunch we tried to grab was at a Korean joint located nearby. We were hoping for some Kimbap (Korean sushi), but they didn’t have that. They were also “finished” with about every other menu item we tried to choose.
Ultimately, we asked them via Google what they did have and they pointed to one tiny section on the menu, which translated to “cheese.” Cheese seemed a bit bizarre for Korean food (?), but we were quite hungry so we pointed to two different options. Ten minutes later, they brought out two dishes that, although different with ramen and potato noodles, both tasted similar to Easy Mac from freshman year in the college dorms. Ugh. Well, at least it was nostalgic and only cost $2. Haha.
Walking home at dusk, we got a terrific view of Mount Bromo looming over the rice fields.
Some rich people neighborhoods had fancy pants entrances like this one. Our neighborhood entrance had its own guard station like the fancy people’s. We couldn’t feel more safe on Java roaming around after dark.
Speaking of fancy pants, Greg wanted to grab some coffee of high caliber so we checked out “Noise Coffee” where the barista, though he didn’t speak English, made up for it in his knowledge of grinding beans. Greg walked out with a $7 bag of coffee, which is kind of an absurd price for Indonesia, but he was smiling widely every morning for the next two weeks.
The barista also gave us two coffees on the house, which at 7 pm we would normally refuse to avoid the zoomies, but even a little missed sleep made this particular cup of java, on Java, worth it.
More Independence Day decor. What the….???
We drifted into the street food restaurant called “Bakso Raja Tega” on the way to Kampung Tridi because we hadn’t yet had the traditional dish (bottom left). Bakso is a meatball soup, which came with many other unidentified meat surprises. Greg choked it down, but probably wouldn’t order it again. Mandy ordered Mie Ayam, or a chicken noodle soup that strangely also had fishballs in it, but it was excellent. We’d go back for seconds of that dish for sure. Both dishes were less than $2.
We’d also go back because of this adorable couple that ran the joint. They seemed so excited to see foreigners and to serve us. She was so delighted that we liked her Mie Ayam. We tried not to comment on the other dish.
A minaret which looks like a lighthouse though there’s no sea in sight!
Mmmm…more coffee. This place is a must stop if you’re looking for a cuppa Joe! Another drink you gotta try while in Indonesia is a Cendol. It features a rich and creamy taste, made from coconut milk, green rice flour jelly, and palm sugar. The green jelly strands, often made with pandan leaves, are what give cendol its distinct look. Plus, they give you something to chew while you sip which is a common Asian “treat.”
Strangely another Asian treat in Malang, Indonesia is a “Madagascar Tour” in this Dragon Mobile filled with screaming children. It cruises alongside regular traffic and can be quite a fright when you’re in a Grab.
Like in Solo, we noticed that some buildings had a peachy keen 1950s vibe. While the street lamps are very ornate and reminded us of “Lumiere” on Beauty and The Beast, what we found odd was the sheer number of them in the center of Malang. They were spaced at what had to be a ridiculous two meters apart.
Adorbs.
An institution of Malang is a vintage Dutch bakery that has been open since 1930. We appreciated the retro decor, but more appreciated the real “treat”—a slice of Dutchy goodness piled inside their Nougat cake. ($2).
Speaking of Dutchy “goodness”….check out the street signs. Goodness is in quotes because like most colonists, they weren’t really that nice to the Indonesians.
The main mosque of Malang crowning the City Square. We got there in time to witness the daily Call to Prayer competition. It was a pleasant green space.
An impressive roundabout encircled by more dancing light posts.
When you’re away from the streets of excessive lumieres, or from rainbow-soaked revitalized neighborhoods like we’ll show you next, this is what a typical neighborhoods look like in Malang. From the center, we walked an hour home through more neighborhood enclaves, and loved seeing how they light them up at night. It was so tranquil.
Of course, walking through neighborhoods often comes with some excitement in a city like Malang. It didn’t take long before we had a whole parade of curious kids stalking us after grabbing mom’s phone for some photo opps with the Americans. Of course, if you look closely not all the kids were as sweet as the others.
Kampung Tridi & Jodipan (The Rainbow Villages)
We’ve stumbled across a lot of vibrant places, but roaming into the villages of Kampung Tridi and Jodipan just might bear the punchiest palate of them all. But the real icing on this striking cake? It’s a true success story of revitalization in a once depressed, deteriorating and polluted environment, making it an absolute must see during any visit to Java.
It’s hard to believe that once upon a time (only pre-2017), this oasis of color featured rows upon rows of monotonous white houses with drab brown roofs like the ones nearby. However, a handful of event management students from the local university decided to enact change. Inspired by the favelas (slums) of Rio de Janiero, they partnered with a local paint company looking to do a social responsibility project, which donated more than 6,000 pounds of colorful paint to transition it from a hueless village to an explosion of happy vibes. (Atlas Obscura) But the question is, can a makeover plastered with color really make you happy?
Turns out maybe. We certainly saw lots of smiles but today the villages are bringing in enough money and motivation to start dramatically raising awareness on improper sewage/waste disposal, drastically improving the quality of their river and increasing indoor plumbing. Today, every square inch of the rainbow village is plastered with Easter Eggy pastels to bright neon pops to seemingly every other color created by Crayola.
It’s located near the center of Malang so if you’re staying in the city, it would be such a shame to miss it. The cost is also nominal. About $2 USD for both villages for two people, but apparently those entrance fees go a long way in a place like this.
As you wander through the quite clean community, the people seem genuinely pleased to see you here. There were a handful of other tourists the morning we went, but it was mostly locals. For now…but also don’t think this place has #exploded just yet.
The colors are also accessorized with adorable paintings, 3D images and mosaics making it even more fun. The exploration feels endless!
From Kampung Tridi, you easily experience Jodipan as well, across the bridge. Jodipan was actually the first. It was so successful that it inspired its neighbor to follow suit because who wants to look like poo when you’re staring at a rainbow. Talk about keeping with the Joneses! It also inspired Kampung Pelangi near Semarang but we didn’t make it to that one.
The pedestrian bridge which Mandy perched on in this photo.
Yes, we turned up the saturation on this image! 🤣
It’s hard not to feel happy in this environment and amazing to see something like this in this part of the world. It feels very Latin American in many ways, and we loved it.
From the Jodipan side of the river, one gets a different perspective.
We deducted this boy was likely feeling bummed because he wasn’t attending the Independence Day festivities which were on the Jodipan side of the river, where kids were doing relay races in cardboard boxes.
Wow! Judging by their faces, it must have been an intense finish!!
If possible, Jodipan seemed to be even more explosive in color.
They definitely took it to the next level. Simply an astounding community project! We hope there’s a plan for keeping it up!
It feels like a children’s storybook…and then we even spied Little Red Riding Hood( (?)!
Fantastic murals show the true story of daily life in a village with poor sanitation, and also just some quirky fun!
Like walking in a Rubik’s cube.
Peeps inside daily life give way to some serious up-CYCLED art!
The 3D murals caught our eye the most. We have to be in Who-Ville!
Grabbing a drink near the top, we take in Kampung Tridi from the other side, which seems a bit more muted than Jodipan.
We also checked out how Jodipan sign was constructed using plastic bottles below.
These stairs are begging to be new profile shots. 🤣
Emerging from the top of Jodipan, we get a peep at yet another neighborhood across the road wearing another interesting ensemble…enter the Smurf Village.
Kampung Biru Arema (The Blue Village)
Proof that a little color and life can be contagious, across from Kampung Tridi and Jodipan, you can find yet another formerly downtrodden neighborhood laden with color though this one is more reminiscent of Morocco’s Chefchaouen than a bag of Skittles. Unlike the rainbow villages, however, Kampung Biru is free to roam and it’s less crowded, at least on the day we arrived.
Contrary to its color splashed neighbors, this kampung chose to paint its houses with blue, which is the color of their football club, Arema.
It showcased some tremendous art murals, and also had some very crafty decor using repurposed plastic bags turned into flowers, arches made of bottles, and streamers made of spoons. The people we encountered seemed warm and welcoming to see us, (especially when they saw us feeding the cats!)
