The name Surabaya is derived from the symbol of the city - a shark (Suro) fighting with a crocodile (Boyo). There are many myths explaining how the name of Surabaya came to exist. The most commonly accepted is that of a prophecy from a 12th Century king, Jayabaya who foresaw a fight between a large white shark and a large white crocodile. This is widely held to symbolise the conflict between the Javanese King Raden Wijaya’s Majahapit troops (Suro - crocodile) and the invading Mongol armies (Boyo - shark) of Kublai Khan which took place on May 31st 1293.

The Javanese troops were successful in defeating the Mongol invaders and this date is considered as the founding of the city of Surabaya.

Other etymologies include two heroes - Sura and Baya - fighting one another to be king of the city as well as a more recent interpretation of the prophecy concerning the 1945 Battle of Surabaya between native Surabayans and allied invaders.

This icon of the city is symbolised in a large steel sculpture situated, interestingly, in the middle of a park/skatepark (of all locations) on the edge of the banks of the river Kalimas.

Although beautiful the sculpture seems a little ‘hidden’ as it were in that location. I can’t help but feel that such an icon, which is an integral part of the city’s history and origins, would be better served in a more prominent and dedicated location without the distractions of the surrounding environment.

That stated there appears to be a much larger and prominent sculpture of the city’s icon situated outside Surabaya zoo (although I only found out about this at the time of writing this article).

I have to confess though that seeing the skatepark definitely stirred up a lot of memories from my teenage years although my presence there was greeted with some skepticism by the local skateboarders. I guess I’m at that age now where I definitely don’t fit into such environments like I used to - even as a tourist admiring the huge steel sculpture of the city’s icon.

I guess this is what happens though when you shift into a different season in your life…

Getting there

Patung Suro dan Boyo is located in a skatepark on the banks of the river Kalimas approximately 10 minutes walk from the nearby Monkasel tourist attraction.

As Surabaya, like many Indonesian cities, is not particularly pedestrian friendly your best bet to reach this location is by taxi/bike.  If you’re using Bluebird, Gojek or Grab simply download the app and book a journey to the following address: Jl. Gubeng Pojok No.410, Ketabang, Kec. Genteng, Kota SBY, Jawa Timur 60271, Indonesia.

Fee

The location is free to visit and is open 24 hours a day.