It has much to offers more than I expected.
If you’re traveling to Surabaya, especially exploring the city center, you will easily find this park. Apsari Park is located right across from the Grahadi building (a bulding that is often used for official events), which is also a few meters from Surabaya’s town square.
As a local, I personally spend quite a bit of time in this area, wether going to the public library or meeting friends at one of the stall around the park. However, I never really explored the park itself because I thought it would be a boring place compare to the town square. But I guess I was wrong.
In the front area of Apsari Park, you will find a big statue in honor of the first governor of East Java, and around it is a large open space with several seating area. Some people also use this open space area for skating, as the ground is relatively smooth and quite large size allow skaters to freely perform flat tricks here and there.
The next thing that you can see from the front area is this courtyard–which is used for playing socces and basketball. When I visited this park, many people were playing basketball in groups, and no one was playing soccer. So, like most public courtyard, I’m pretty sure people can use it interchangeably to play whatever sport they're interested in.
The courtyard isn't very large, but the ground looks quite smooth, and the color adds to the vibrancy that makes it looks alive too. The courtyard is also surrounded by a fence for security reasons, which I really appreciate, and somehow makes the area look neater.
Next is something that I never expected, there’s this cage in the Apsari Park. From the front, this park really looks like it’s filled with only a yard and open spaces for people to do various activities, so I doubt it has more things to offer.
However, inside the cage, there are several types of chickens living side by side. While it’s a simple feature, I think having animals in a park makes it more interesting for parents take their children to exploring around the park.
Speaking of children, I also never realized that this park has playground areas too. The rides are scattered around every corner outside the courtyard. With the pop up colors, this playground is definitely a fun place for kids to enjoy. This park is located on the side of the main road in the city center, so I think it would be fun to spend an afternoon around this area watching the cars go by, or perhaps enjoying the sunset as well.
Overall, a quick stop at Apsari Park is definitely worth it. The park is not huge, so if you only have a few minutes to explore, it would be nice to do. Thanks for reading as always, appreciate it :) have a nice day, hivers!