Living in Surakarta

Surakarta, or its popular name Solo, is the city wherein UMS is situated.

Located in Central Java (or Jawa Tengah in Bahasa Indonesia) and placed between the low lands of Lawu, Merapi-Merbabu mountains, Surakarta is also the 13th most populous urban area in Indonesia with a population of more than 1 million. The Solo River (locally known as Bengawan Solo), runs along the eastern part of the city.

Surakarta is most renowned for its culture, in particular, the batik clothing. The traditional Solo batik clothing symbolizes humility and simplicity through its earthy tones and small, geometric shapes motive, thus it is overall different from other batik cultures in different regions. Many batik craftsmen are spread throughout the city, though most notably, Kampung Batik (or Batik village) in Laweyan however, is the epicenter of batik culture and is just a short drive away from UMS.

Apart from batik, Surakarta is brimming with food culture. The city is one of the favorite destinations in the country for culinary tourism, offering special dishes ranging from main cuisines such as tengkleng (soup of boney mutton parts), nasi liwet (coconut infused rice with chicken and chayote), selat solo (vegetable salad with meat) to snacks like serabi notosuman (Solo style Indonesian pancake). These are just a few and there are many more delicious dishes that Solo offers. The best part is that many of these dishes are relatively affordable in many places.

In addition, Surakarta is one of the better planned cities in Indonesia. Surakarta is not such a big city in terms of size, thus going from end to end often does not take too long. There are walkable pedestrian pathways and bicycle routes scattered around the city, and besides that, the city has adequate public transportation.