THE MORNING OUTSIDE THE MUSEUM IN PEKAN, PAHANG

   15TH SEPTEMBER 2025    ~ The plan was set to visit the few museums in Pekan, the Royal town of Pahang. What we did not know was all the museums in the state were closed on Monday. Puan Aunillah Hilmi, Puan Suriana Ali and I were not disappointed though as we were always ready with Plan B. Hence we roamed the open area in front of the main museum, Muzium Sultan Abu Bakar, and took as many photos as possible. I could just feel the teen spirit in the air at that moment.

  

There were actually many other visitors doing the same thing when we were there, but we managed to find spots when there were not many people around.

Another attraction of the museum was the Train Cafe. Unfortunately, the eating place was also not operating on Monday despite the fact that it was a public holiday and a big crowd came to visit the place. I am sure almost everybody would be eating there at that very time.

Now I have a reason to make a return trip to Pekan one day. We then adjourned to another site, for our gastronomic adventure as we were already thirsty after striking various poses everywhere.

GETTING INTO A SUBMARINE IN SURABAYA

   25th JULY 2025    ~ This should be my first time getting into a submarine and it happened in Surabaya city. After Monumen Pahlawan and Muzium 11 Nopember, we went to the next spot: Muzium Kapal Selam a.k.a Monkasel [TRANSLATE: Submarine Museum] in the heart of the city.

The vessel, which was named Pasopati, was built in Vladivostok, Russia in 1952. It was then used by the Indonesian Army from January 1962 until 1994. When the ship was no longer in service, it was disassembled and moved to a spot in the city which was later reassembled and converted into a museum.

the friendly museum guide, Ms. Siska

Mr. Yoga, the tour guide

It was in fact an interesting and educational visit. I just could not imagine living inside such a small space underwater for a long period of time - definitely not a spot for a claustrophobic person. One thing worth mentioning, a big size person might find it difficult to get from one end to the other as he/she needs to pass through the small, round door that connects the few parts of the submarine. Even I who had issues with my knees found it challenging to move inside the vessel.

 

We had to make our move to the airport as the other tour members would be arriving. However, before that, I was taken to the monument which was the icon of Surabaya. A statue of a fish and a crocodile, the two sea creatures from which the name Surabaya derived from. The Shark [Suro] represented bravery while the crocodile [Boyo] was the symbol of strength, or it could be the other way around. The two marine animals fought but there was no winner eventually.

Guess I had already learned a lot of things right after I set foot here. There would be more things to observe, experience and enjoy for the upcoming three days.

[MY SURABAYA TRIP MAIN PAGE]

ARRIVING AND VISITING THE MUSEUMS IN SURABAYA

   25th JULY 2025    ~ The original plan was to take the Grab Car from the airport and go to the museums in Surabaya city after landing, while waiting for the other six tour members to arrive from Kuala Lumpur 5 hours later. What I did not know was the tour guide and the driver were already there waiting for my arrival. The good news was that they took me to the city in the bus, and I was the only guest to be entertained for that period of time.

I was first taken to this site called Monumen Tugu Pahlawan [TRANSLATE: Monument of the Warriors]. The monument was built to commemorate the fight that took place on 10th November, 1445 between the people of Surabaya and the foreign soldiers who were speculated to try and colonize Indonesia again after it gained independence a few months before that.

In the same complex, there was a museum called Museum 10 Nopember which described the event in detail.

The museum was not that big so we spent just a short time inside and there was one more museum to be visited right after.

[FOOTNOTE: I actually had taken a lot of photos on my compact camera but realized there was an issue with its memory card. Hence, the photos of the first day in Surabaya could not be retrieved. Thank God, there were other sources so I still managed to get them posted in the blog.]

   RELATED LINKS OF MY SURABAYA TRIP:   

   PROLOGUE   

Blogging from Bromo View Hotel

Blogging from Surabaya City

Arriving and Visiting the Museums
Getting into a Submarine in Surabaya

Welcoming Friends at Juanda International Airport

Chasing Sunrise at Mount Bromo
Exploring the Crater of Bromo [PART 1][PART 2]

Savannah Hill in Bromo

Stopping by at ArRahman Mosque on the Highway

Exploring Kampung Warna Warni Jodipan [PART 1][PART 2]

   EPILOGUE   

Bidding Farewell to Surabaya from Juanda International Airport

[If you need to get a guide for your trip to Surabaya and Bromo, you can visit the website of Agent Surabaya Travel HERE.]