Historic Building in Malang Popular with Tourists

Strategically situated between two tourist destinations (Jogjakarta and Bali), East Java offers several tourist objects and attractions to tourists. Surabaya, the second biggest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, is a destination for those tourists intending to spend holiday while doing business. Such is reported by the journalist of Bali Travel News on participating in the Development Information Week (PIP) programme that is carrying out a comparative study to Surabaya and Malang.

East Java is a province being rich in scenic panoramas and archaeological relics that are easily accessible to tourists. The Juanda International Airport, Surabaya is the main gateway for passengers heading for or departing from East Java. In addition, this region can be accessed by sea transportation by jetfoil or via land transportation by train or bus.
One of the most-liked tourist destinations is Malang. This tourist resort has a cooler climate and occurs 90 km south of Surabaya. Since the Dutch colonial administration, Malang has been known as a tourist destination. Crowds of foreign tourists, both group and individual, were from the Netherlands. They visited this destination because a nostalgic feelings.
According to Maskur, the Public Relation Officer of Malang Municipality, the main tourist objects of the city are historic buildings constituting the relics of Dutch colonialism. These buildings can be encountered on Jalan Ajen Malang. To preserve these buildings, the city government issued Regional Legislation (Perda) on Culture Preserve where every historic building is marked with a signboard so it could not be changed or demolished. "For instance, there is a shop named OEN that is famous for its ice cream and confectionery imported from the Netherlands," he observes.
This city has 48 hotels consisting of 2, 3 star and non-star category. Similarly, there are some restaurants, shopping malls offering the distinctive food of Malang such as crispy chips and clear soup. High season of tourist visits normally occurs during the July-August period. "Most of them are from the Netherlands, while the Japanese, Australian and Europeans prefer to spend their holiday in Batu," he adds.
In Malang there are 30 beaches with natural infrastructure. Point of interest is Balekambang Beach, 57 km south of Malang. Balekambang Beach is not only known for its alluring beach but also for its uniqueness. For the Hindus, this beach is better known as a venue of the Jalanidhipuja ritual held once a year. The ritual is performed at Ismoyo Island that is separated from the beach and only connected by a wooden bridge.
Ngliyep Beach nestled in the west of Balekambang. The beach has steep coastal rocks. Its waves are huge and is facing the Indonesian Ocean. Once a year, in accordance with Javanese calendar, a traditional ritual called Labuhan is held here.
With the exclusion of historic buildings and beaches, Malang territory also retains a tourist object named Batu. This city is situated on the altitude of 600 m above sea level. It’s only 15 km from Malang city. Batu has several recreational parks, hotels, villas, bungalows and sport facilities like lawn tennis and swimming pool.
Batu is renowned as vegetable and apple producer and is also famous for its Songoriti recreational park having natural hot spring and public bathing place. Similarly, there is the Agro Kusuma Recreational Park equipped with hotel facility, swimming pool and restaurant. (BTN/015)