In Reply to: have you considered Solo? posted by sitas_pacar on Saturday, 27. November 2004 at 07:05 Bali Time:
I love Solo (much2 better than Surabaya) for everything except for the hot weather (I always thought that I am melting when in Solo). Always stay at Novotel (4 star hotel, in the central of the city). I was there last month. I will choose Solo rather than Yogyakarta because Yogya in my opinion is too full with people, the city is too crowded. In Yogya, if you a foreigner you will pay more for the food, while in Solo it is exactly the same with what local pays.
Although Surabaya is not great but the nearby is quite nice for sightseeing. Such as Taman Safari Indonesia II located in Pandaan (just outside Surabaya, refer to Clive & Peggy posting below), Malang & Batu this a nice and cool cities around 1.5 hour from Surabaya (stay at Hotel Tugu, without doubt it is the best hotel in Malang)
Bromo, well I am not so sure about it because I don't think I wanna climb those 250 steps ladder twice. Sun-rise watching is not on Mt. Bromo but on the next mountain, well I could not enjoy the sun-rise as there were hundreds of people in front of me :(