Surviving Surabaya: $5 Meals, Broken Headphones & the Humid Heatwave

just woke up and the humid air already felt like a blanket over my head. i just checked and it's 30.2°C, feels like 34.79°C, humidity at 67%, a pressure low enough to make my ears pop but not enough to pop a balloon. the city never sleeps, but honestly, it’s more like a giant snoring beast that sometimes coughs up street vendors.

surabaya, *east java, isn’t exactly a instagram post waiting for a filter- it’s raw, gritty, and the kind of place where the warteg next door will shout your order louder than any barista. if you get bored, malang is just a short drive away, and if you want to see some beach vibes, probolinggo is a quick bus ride from the city centre. basically, this city has a lot of options but none of them come with a price tag of "free".

some hacks i stole from a drunk local:
- skip the touristy stalls on jalan raya and head straight to the tiny back‑alley kafe with a handwritten menu. the prices there are half of what you’ll see on tripadvisor. i got a fried egg on toast for 4,000 rupiah (~$0.25) and felt like a hero.
- haggle like you’re auditioning for a street‑art show. the fruit stalls on pasar gajah love a good barter, and i walked away with a bunch of mangoes for 5,000 rupiah instead of 8,000.
- carry a reusable bottle. the water fountains near merdeka square are clean enough to fill up, and the locals swear it’s the secret to surviving the humidity. (pro tip: add a pinch of lime for a cheap soda.)

someone told me that the old colonial building on sunda street is haunted by a former warteg owner who still haunts the kitchen, asking for his unpaid debt. i didn’t see any ghosts, but the ceiling fan did spin on its own after a rainstorm, so i’m keeping the story in my back pocket for when the next ghost‑hunter friend asks.

reviews? you’ll find a mix of overheard gossip and drunk advice. on tripadvisor the “best warteg” is listed as warteg omay, but i heard a drunk tourist claim it’s actually warteg ibu that serves the real soto ayam- the broth so thick you could float a piece of toast in it. i tried both, and honestly, the soto at ibu was just a tad richer. i think the real winner is the warteg that stays open 24/7 and serves a half‑fried egg with a side of kepiting (coconut‑crusted crabs). you won’t find that on yelp, but the local board bahasaonline.com had a thread warning folks to avoid the warteg that looks like a “museum” because the fryers are stuck at a constant 300°C and the smoke sticks to everything.

i tried kuda lumping a couple of nights ago because a random guy in a vintage clothes store said it’s the best way to get cheap laughs. it’s a mix of dance and trance that feels like a high‑school talent show meets a temple ritual. i got half a bottle of batavia beer for free when the band left the stage early- a sweet win for a budget student. the grass roots venue is cafe 1001, and if you’re lucky, you’ll catch a street artist doing live graffiti while they shout about future and hope.

the weather is a constant reminder that surabaya doesn’t have a “cool” season. i just checked and it's an unapologetic tropical heat that doesn’t bother to mask its sticky smell with a breeze. you’ll sweat, you’ll curse, and you’ll probably end up buying the cheapest gelato you can find to cool down. there’s a place called gelato mania that claims “gelato so smooth you’ll forget the humidity”, and while i can’t vouch for the ice cream, the tiny wooden chairs outside are great for a quick nap.

the humidity means everything feels soft- even the concrete. it’s a perfect excuse to stay indoors and watch the local netflix clones on a cheap kopi shop. i’ve spent entire afternoons in a tiny bookshop called buku bumi where the air is artificially cool and the smell of old paper mixes with a faint hint of coffee beans. you can argue that’s a good thing, but i’m just happy it’s not a sweat fest.

if you’re a digital nomad you’ll love the co‑working spaces on jalan dr. but as a budget student i stayed at a hostel that had a rooftop terrace with cheap framed fans. i’d recommend hostel 360 because they let you use the kitchen for free and the wi‑fi is as fast as the old bus that circles the city every hour.

i heard a rumor that the public transport (transjakarta) is sometimes replaced by “private pedal‑bikes” that charge a flat 2,000 rupiah per ride. i tried it and the rider- a kid in a vintage bomber jacket- gave me a tour of the side streets. i laughed, felt the wind, and realized that “budget travel” can mean more than just cheap food; it can mean adventure disguised as a cheap ride.

to recap: surabaya is a city of contradictions, where the old colonial buildings whisper to the new malls, where the street art clashes with the traffic noise, and where the weather never relents. i’m still learning how to survive the humidity, but i’m getting good at finding a batu (rock) of cheap happiness in every corner. if you ever decide to come, just remember- you won’t find a perfect itinerary, but you’ll find a perfect mess.

visit the official tripadvisor page for surabaya’s top warteg spots here

check out yelp for the latest reviews of gelato mania and the hidden kopi shops

drop a question on bahasaonline.com if you need insider tips on cheap eats

read more about the transjakarta* bus route on the local transport forum

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