Surabaya, City of Heroes, is tucked into the north shore of eastern Java, flanking the Madura strait. Lounging at the mouth of the Mas River, it is Indonesia’s second-largest city and one of the largest in Southeast Asia.

Like its northern neighbor Jakarta, Surabaya is characterized by water. Unfortunately, its location in a river delta, coupled with an aging and inadequate city infrastructure, makes the city prone to flooding. Indonesia is principally Muslim so, as with elsewhere in the country, your slumber will be gently broken by reverent strains of the 4:30 a.m. call to prayer. While you won’t be expected to leap out of bed and prostrate yourself, expats moving here should make the effort to observe social norms, such as covering up shoulders and not baring too much skin.

Despite Surabaya’s residents being predominantly Muslim, you can buy and consume alcohol here, albeit at a relatively high price, and bars and clubs abound.
Surabaya is a port town that thrives off its major exports of tobacco, sugar and coffee. If you are ever gripped by the unlikely urge to visit a cigarette museum while you’re here, you are in luck: Surabaya has one. The former orphanage later served as a theatre that played host to Charlie Chaplin and President Sukarno, back in the 1930s.

By day, Surabaya and its residents will dazzle you with color. By night, the "Sparkling City," adorned with festive lights owing to local government’s latest tourism thrust, literally bursts into light as the sun dips below the horizon.