I won tickets for the #Silkair Inaugural Flight to Semarang, Indonesia. Thank you Silkair! We arrived to fanfare at the airport... fire engine salute, colourful characters in costumes, lots of media reporters...
So we spent 3 days exploring the city, unfortunately we could not stay long enough to go to the Karimunjawa islands which would have been really fabulous. The islands are actually the highlight of Semarang- they are like the Maldives of Indonesia. The stars and the moon did not align for us to be able to make the trip...
We stayed at Crowne Plaza Semarang, which was a nice new hotel (cheap) with a great location- adjoined to the Paragon shopping centre which had an excellent cinema- we watched 3D wolverine for only $5! Semarang has a wide range of hotels at very low prices. The Superior room was very spacious, and had floor to ceiling windows. CEC Medispa was also nearby, recommended by the hotel staff to get a good massage.
We had dinner at Toko Oen, a very historical Dutch/Indo fusion restaurant with funky ice cream. The architecture of the building was preserved. It was quite near the hotel, and we didn't know the taxi fare minimum is 20,000 Rupiah. The meter only showed 7000 Rupiah. Even then, 20,000 is still really cheap, and most of the places you would visit would cost you just 20,000 Rp.
The most memorable meal was at Blue Lotus Coffee House. J tried the Kopi Luwak, and I had the hazelnut latte. Their coffee is definitely better than starbucks! It was a refuge from the hot scorching sun, it was so refreshing to take a break here! Signature dish here is the chicken cordon bleu.
We visited Gereja Blenduk in Semarang old town, the oldest protestant church in the province built in 1753.
Dinner was at Kampong Laut. Alot of tourists come here to eat seafood, so it gets crowded. Order early. The food is just average, I have eaten better at other places in Indonesia.
We will definitely be back to hop to the islands! Looking forward to Redang..... my next snorkeling trip in Malaysia!
