What do you know about Semarang?
Lawang Sewu, Kota Lama, Simpang Lima, lumpia, and bandeng presto.
Brilliant! your answers are same as mine.
I didn’t really know what I was going to do and to go when I decided to go to Semarang. I just wanted to see the city just because I have never been there. I just wanted to visit some popular destinations when I arrived, then after talking to my host and browsing, I knew where to go.
Following are worth visiting places in Semarang when you just stay in the city. All of them are accessible by public transportation.
- I walked from Kota Lama to Lawang Sewu. I did it on purpose just because I wanted to enjoy the city on the first day of my first coming in Semarang. If you come by train and get off at Semarang Tawang Station, it means you are on Kota Lama area. Just walking through the road covered by paving block, until you see a red-doom church, it means you are on the right tract. It’s called Gereja Blenduk. This area surrounded by old buildings built in colonial era. While some buildings are well-reserved, the other ones are abandoned as old buildings and look spooky.
- By going down the street of Kota Lama, you’ll find Jalan Pemuda, one of the main streets of the city as you will find a monument signed as Semarang Nol Kilometer.
- Again, I walked along Jalan Pemuda to see what it had. Themain offices of local government agencies, including the office of the Mayor are on the street, as well
as Paragon Mall. - Then, I found Lawang Sewu at the end of the street. I saw roundabout that I thought as Simpang Lima, but it was not. There is a high monument called Monument Tugu Muda in the middle. Honestly, this is the good point to take picture of Lawang Sewu. Before visiting, I thought Lawang Sewu was just an old building with many doors and haunted. In fact, it was an office of railways, therefore visitors will find many pictures and stuff related to train and construction process of the building. It’s not scary, though.
- Then, just across the street, there are Museum Mandala Bakti and cathedral church.
- Little bit outside the city, there is Pagoda Avalokitesvara. It’s vihara where you can see reclining Buddha beside only pagoda. It’s only about 20 minutes from the city center, by angkot and then by bus heading to Ungaran, or you can take BRT until Terminal Cangkiran, and then walk for about 15 minutes, or take a bus to the vihara.
- If you are familiar with the history of Laksamana Cheng Ho, you have to visit Sam Poo Kong Temple or Gedung Batu, because this is the place where he has came over while he landed in Indonesia. It’s full of red and so Chinese.
- One thing that I didn’t expect to do in this trip was visiting a mosque that I have seen before but I didn’t know where it was. Yeah, Masjid Agung is well-known for its hydraulic umbrella and four beautiful minarets, similar to mosques in middl-east countries. Interestingly, you can go up to the tower and look over Semarang from there. To get this place, you can take BRT or angkot heading to Penggaron, and stop at Makro/Lotte bus stop. From here, just walk down to the intersection to take ojek or becak because there is angkot. I walked at the time, it was just about 25 minutes.
- Last but least, you have to take a chance, especially in the evening, to look around Kawasan Simpang Lima Semarang. It is a super large roundabout surrounded by shopping centers. The sidewalks are full of food stalls, so it’s a nice place to have dinner. On another side, there is a big mosque, called Masjid Baiturrahman.
