In the month of May, Surabayans celebrate the birthday of their city. The main event, from what I understand, is a flower parade! I convinced Vallen to go and boy was it worth it. The floats (made primarily from styrofoam) are way better than the American floats I've seen, and the flowers were all fresh. I was delighted to realize halfway through the parade that I was only a week away from the American holiday Memorial Day, so I felt a little bit of home! Here are some shots from the parade bunga, pronounced "pah-rad-ah boon-ga".
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| The symbol of Surabaya is the shark (sura) and crocodile (buaya). The legend is that they fought all the time until they made a pact that the shark would rule over the sea and the crocodile would rule over the land. |
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| Balinese cock fight |
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| Komodo Dragon sculpture, representing the Surabaya Zoo |
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| One of my favorite floats...miniature cranes and shipping boxes you can find in real life at the harbour. |
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| Waterfalls of flowers from the Dinas Kebersihan (The Office of City Cleanliness) |
