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Loitering for good: seeing the city differently with Suroboyo Ngalor Ngidul
What is really going on out there? Through urban exploration and loitering, this group is trying to present a different perspective on Surabaya -- Indonesia’s second-largest city.
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Improvised: Pop-up, barely legal markets such as the one pictured here in Dupak Jaya, Surabaya, are a common sight in the city's labyrinth-like kampung. (Courtesy of Suroboyo Ngalor Ngidul) (Courtesy of Suroboyo Ngalor Ngidul/Courtesy of Suroboyo Ngalor Ngidul)
W
hat is really going on out there? Through urban exploration and loitering, this group is trying to present a different perspective on Surabaya -- Indonesia’s second largest city.
We were pacing through the maze-like alleys of Surabaya’s Chinese Quarter when, suddenly, Anitha Silvia and Hilman Prakoso beckoned us to stop. “This is the Neighborhood Association Head’s house,” Anitha said, pointing to a cozy-looking house while her friend set a table for us in a clearing in the alley. “We can sit here. No problem.”
Within the hour, the Neighborhood Association Head rushed out to welcome us, and we were loitering in their kitchen while being served freshly prepared lunch. Neighbors, strangers and food peddlers alike greeted us like old friends. Even the dogs seem to loosen up in our presence. This, they assured us, was the norm. Explore the city long enough, and every corner can feel like home.
Formed in the early days of the pandemic, Suroboyo Ngalor Ngidul is a platform initiated by three individuals with a shared love of urban exploration. Inspired by the Javanese term ngalor ngidul (to wander aimlessly), they set out to discover the hidden side of Surabaya -- walking down strange alleyways, immersing themselves in pop-up barely legal markets and getting to know the regulars at decades-old coffeehouses and family restaurants.
“We want to feel a sense of ownership of the city,” explained Anitha. “If possible, we want to make an alternative mapping of Surabaya.”
The whole point of this, surprisingly enough, is not as straightforward as making a hidden gems-type content for well-meaning tourists to ponder over. Rather, irked by Surabaya’s lopsided development, Suroboyo Ngalor Ngidul aims to finally put the spotlight on the hidden but true majority of Indonesia’s second city: its mysterious, barely charted neighborhoods and the complex stories of the city’s migrants and diaspora populations.
