Tour guide in Surabaya Jaka M.

Hello travellers, my name is Jaka, a name derived from the Javanese language which literally means "a virgin man"—a meaning no longer relevant since I am now happily married with three children. However, you can still call me Jaka. As an individual, sharing is a significant part of my life. When I'm not guiding, I am actively involved in women's entrepreneurship as their business trainer, thanks to the entrepreneurship certificate that I earned at an US college back in 2010. In my younger years, I was actively involved in many cultural exchanges. The first was with AFS (American Field Service), through which they sent me to Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan for a short-term exchange. The second was an inter-provincial youth exchange program by Indonesia’s Youth Ministry to Banten province, in the western part of Java Island. And the last, as I mentioned above, was sponsored by AMINEF (American Indonesian Exchange Foundation), a one-year professional certification program hosted at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota. You betcha! I was also chosen to be the official tourism ambassador of Probolinggo in 2008, actively participating in the development and marketing of our hometown's tourism. I am still currently active in the organization as a member of the honorary council, advising and mentoring the next generation of tourism ambassadors. As a tour guide, I see myself as an ambassador and advocate of Indonesian cultures and heritages. I can share many topics, but my favourite one is the old wisdoms or way of living as a Javanese that has been around since 65 BC – a proven 2,110-year-old method of living that gave us a prosperous and spiritually fulfilled life. I've been working as a freelance tour guide since 2007, and it has always been a pleasure for me to be able to give a proper impression of our cultures. My aim is to provide balanced perspectives on our country and people, not to justify, but to show you the other side of the story—sometimes, the untold one. The area I'm operating as a tour guide is an old one. Consists of two main parts, first one is my hometown of Probolinggo; a historical small town that is part of sugar production complex back at early 1930's that contribute to Indonesia as second larger sugar exporter after Cuba. There are also some historical facts that indirectly affected Indonesian history in this small town. This is the town where the father of Ir. Soekarno, our country's founding father and first president, was born and received his education at Kweekschool Voor Inlandsche Onderwijzers (Training College for Native Teachers) between 1892 and 1896. In this town, there is also a historical building belonging to Dr. Saleh, a founding father of the Indonesian Red Cross. This house, still intact today, was the first hospital here and the birthplace of the first Indonesian political organization called Partai Indonesia Raya (The Great Indonesia Party), co-founded by Dr. Saleh and his fellow Dr. Soetomo. Second is the famous Bromo Area, home of the Tengger people and culture. A society that dedicates their life as Gods' servant, therefore they are exempt from paying any kind of taxes by the king at that time. They are also directly connected to the old Javanese cultures and still preserve them until today. There are 11 known and recorded traditional ceremonies that they still hold, with the most famous one being the Kasada ceremony, a yearly sacrifice to remember their ancestor Raden Kusuma, who sacrificed himself into the crater to fulfil his parents' promise to The Creator. All the prayers of those ceremonies use old Javanese language, which is different from what we know as the modern Javanese language. In general, the Bromo area and its Tengger culture are a well-preserved sanctuary of what's left from the glory of the old Javanese Hindu Kingdom. It has witnessed the rise and fall of kingdoms but still remains true to its identity. I think that's enough introduction from me. Now it's your turn to come here and experience the full and immersive story of our hometown while breathing the fresh air of this sacred Bromo area. And, I'd be more than happy to customize the itinerary based on your interests. As the genie said to Aladdin, your wish is my command.