JAKARTA (dpa): It might be the second biggest city in the world’s fourth biggest country by population, but the malls, Dutch colonial history, and massive Chinatown of Surabaya in Java's east do not usually make for a first or even second choice stop for tourists.
A few hours' drive west from Surabaya in East Java is Borobudur, an imposing and ornate 9th-century Buddhist temple, and its popular gateway city, Yogyakarta.
A few hours farther west on Java - home to 156 million of Indonesia’s 280 million people and the world’s most populous island - lies the sprawling asphalt vastness of Jakarta, one of the world's biggest metropolises.
Meanwhile, a short hop to the east from Surabaya sits Bali, where beaches and bars draw millions of tourists each year and from where another couple of island-hops takes a visitor to Komodo, the island home of the fearsome eponymous lizards.
But according to travel booking website Agoda, an average room rate of "just $35 per night" makes Surabaya "a top choice" not only for holidaymakers hoping to save a few dollars, but "for those eager to embrace culture and adventure this summer."
One of Surabaya’s nearby attractions is Mount Bromo, one of dozens of active 'ring of fire' volcanoes dotting the 5,000-kilometre-wide Indonesian archipelago, popular for its nighttime hikes for thrillseekers hoping to catch a spectacular sunrise.
Tirupati in India was listed second by Agoda, which cited the town’s "renowned" Venkateswara Temple and "delectable" cuisine as reasons for a visit.
Hat Yai in Thailand’s 'Deep South' and close to the border with Malaysia was third on the list, in part for it being a "gateway" to beaches and white-sand islands such as Lipe, which sits 60 kilometres offshore where the Strait of Malacca meets the Andaman Sea.
Kuching in Malaysia, Dalat in Vietnam, and Japan's Nagoya were among other cities on the list, which Agoda said was based on average room rates in the ten most popular destinations in nine countries in Asia.
