Despite the wasted potential, Semarang’s old town makes a pleasant, picturesque background for a walk. Garlands of shrubbery grow across chipped walls. The eighteenth-century Protestant church is scrubbed dental white and the former opera house has an unusual wooden ship deck ceiling. Gnarled men perched on rickshaw seats offer pedal-powered rides. The traditional market is paved and tidy, with batik-clad women shucking stinky beans from long, thick pods and wafting tenacious flies from the day’s fresh chicken.
Read more: Semarang’s old town: Worth fighting for
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