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More Than Friendly: Semarang, Indonesia [Part 6] – Lawang Sewu

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Sebelum ini: More Than Friendly: Semarang, Indonesia [Part 5]

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23 Disember 2012 [Hari Ketiga]

Bangun-bangun pagi, lepas breakfast kat hotel, tour guide kami pun sampai. Sebab dah dekat dengan Krismas, Jonathan tak jadi guide kami hari ni sebab dia balik kampung. Dia diganti dengan seorang guide lain [tapi aku dah lupa nama dia. Haha].

Hari ni kami diberitahu kami akan melawat ke tempat-tempat menarik sekitar Semarang. Memang sebelum ke sini, kami buat research, Semarang ni terkenal sebab sejarahnya. Macam Melaka lah, banyak bangunan bersejarah.

Tempat pertama kami tuju, Lawang Sewu.

Lawang Sewu...
Lawang Sewu…

Lawang Sewu ni dalam bahasa Jawa maksudnya Seribu Pintu. Tempat ni dulu dijadikan ibu pejabat syarikat keretapi Syarikat Hindia Timur Belanda. Lepas tu, bila Jepun jajah Semarang, bangunan ni sebahagiannya ditukar jadi penjara dan tempat execution. Sekarang, bangunan ni dijaga oleh syarikat keretapi nasional Indonesia [PERSERO].

The tower at Lawang Sewu...
The tower at Lawang Sewu…

Lawang Sewu ni letaknya dekat dengan jalan utama, dekat dengan kawasan Tugu Muda. Seni bina zaman Belanda boleh nampak kat hiasan luaran bangunan ni. Lawang Sewu ni ada beberapa bangunan, tapi bangunan A tak dibuka lagi kepada pengunjung.

The pedestrian bridge connecting the buildings at Lawang Sewu. The right building was not opened to public then.
The pedestrian bridge connecting the buildings at Lawang Sewu. The building on the right was not opened to the public then.

Bila kami jalan-jalan dalam ni, naik ke atas, baru kami faham kenapa dipanggil seribu pintu. Sebabnya memang ada beribu pintu kat sini. Dan sebab bangunan ni bangunan lama, yang ada sejarah orang mati kena bunuh, memang ada perasaan seram… Tak percaya? Jom!

Scary, isn't it?
Scary, isn’t it?
Thousand doors..which look...eerie~
Thousand doors..which look…eerie~
Mind boggling doors...
Mind boggling doors…

Dekat Lawang Sewu jugak, ada terowong bawah tanah yang dijadikan penjara oleh orang Jepun untuk seksa tahanan. Asalnya untuk cooling system. Dengar cerita, terowong ni berhantu. Sebab ramai kena bunuh kat sini.

Tak sah datang Lawang Sewu tapi tak masuk dalam terowong ni. Bila masuk dalam ni, diorang akan bagi sepasang but dan torch light. Sebab dalam terowong, gelap gelita!

Warning sign before you enter the tunnel : STRICTLY FORBIDDEN from doing any mystical activity at Lawang Sewu and its compounds...
Warning sign before you enter the tunnel : STRICTLY FORBIDDEN from doing any mystical activity at Lawang Sewu and its compounds…
Lawang Sewu's tunnel. We were told that a lot of people had seen ghosts here...
Lawang Sewu’s tunnel. We were told that a lot of people had seen ghosts here…
The cell where the Japanese imprisoned the locals...
The cell where the Japanese imprisoned the locals…
The Japanese killed the prisoners here...
The Japanese killed the prisoners here…
And the bodies were dumped here, to be thrown into the river nearby...
And the bodies were dumped here, to be thrown into the river nearby…

Ok, seram pulak rasanya. Haha. Dah habis tour Lawang Sewu, kami pun bergerak menuju ke  destinasi seterusnya…

BERSAMBUNG / TO BE CONTINUED

PART 7

Author

We are Khai and Amira, Malaysian travel bloggers behind Kaki Jalans. Our travels have taken us to almost all the countries in Asean and several countries in Europe. We are still actively travelling and adding to this list.

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6 Comments

  1. Pingback: More Than Friendly: Semarang, Indonesia [Part 5] | The Best Things in Life

  2. Hero Reply

    Interesting! Never heard of this before. “Dilarang Keras” just sound so wrong or probably it’s just me. anddd the hallway really mind-blowing eh. Best place for photography!

    • Khai Reply

      LOL. I’ve never heard of this place until we decided to visit the city itself ;p. I think Dilarang Keras is how they say it. In BM we normally just say Dilarang without the Keras. LOL. Yeah, the best place for photography. You SHOULD come and visit this place bro!

    • Khai Reply

      Yeah, it was scary and stuffy! Haha

      I’ve heard that a movie, Dendam Kuntilanak was also shot here. Hehe

  4. Pingback: More Than Friendly: Semarang, Indonesia [Part 7] – Gedung Batu | The Best Things in Life

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