A piece of Holland in Malang

Like I wrote in my story “Why Malang? “, this city was a favourite place in Indonesia for Dutch people during the colonization time among others Dutch pensioners who lived here to enjoy their retirement. You can still see the influence of Dutch presence here, especially in the architecture of buildings. Houses in the boulevard of Malang, jalan Ijen (Ijen street), were of the high ranks officials. The lower owned houses on the side streets of jalan Ijen.

The houses on jalan Ijen are big houses with big garden. Very nice to see but I’d prefer not to live there. The jalan Ijen is a busy street and you always have to watch the traffic if you go out the house. Beside Malang has a 3-days feast every year on the street, Malang Kembali . The street is closed for traffic and along the street at both sides are stalls, of food, handicraft, old books, podium etc. So if you live on the street you should stay a couple of days somewhere else.

Some people say that this street with the palm trees on both sides is like a beautiful South France. I’ve never been to South France so I cannot compare them but I agree that it is beautiful. I hope the owners of the houses always maintain their houses well and keep the original architecture.

The houses on the side streets of jalan Ijen are beautiful and nice as well although they are not as big as jalan Ijen’s. I can see the same ornament or shape and architecture of the houses as houses in Holland. These pictures are some of those houses.










Like in Holland some of these houses also have name; a Dutch name, like Augusta, Ernestine, Huize Inna (house of Inna), Marianne, Huize Victoria, etc.



Our previous house in Malang was also an old Dutch house. The ceiling is 4 meters. It makes the house cool and there are a lot of big windows so it ensures good ventilation. The architect built the house with the adjustment of environment.

Indonesia is a tropical and humid area so ventilation is important to reduce humidity in house. Although Malang has cool weather it can also be very hot here. With high ceiling the warmth can go up and it is not so hot inside the house. This is our first time in Indonesia that we don’t use AC (Air Conditioner). A saving for electricity and a help against global warming although at the time it is built, they never heard about global warming. It is too bad that houses that are built now don’t take the benefit of old houses. Okay, it costs more money to make higher ceiling but it is for a long time benefit. Sometimes you can see that old houses are stronger than the new ones.

Houses with Dutch influence are not only on jalan Ijen area. You can also find in the other area of Malang. Not just houses but also other buildings, like churches, hotels, schools and shops. Many houses there were changed to restaurants and shops. Some have made it nicely but many neglected the original beauty of the building. I became a bit sad and disappointed to see that but I can imagine that maintenance of such houses needs a lot of money and if you don’t have enough money you cannot just sit and enjoy the architecture of your house. You also need to eat. Maybe the government would have later a better policy to protect old buildings/houses. Who knows?

Beside mother I am also driver of my children. The benefit of not having a driver beside saving your money and your car is you know more about streets and places. Most people will remember much better how to drive to a place if they drive by themselves.

Beside bringing and picking up my children to and from school or to and from their friends’ houses, I also need to know and drive to markets, garage, banks, and other service offices. Malang is not big so you can reach the other side in a short time. My husband works outside Malang, that’s why I know the streets in Malang better than he. During my driving to these places, I got to know that there are many other buildings with Dutch influences.

There is a restaurant that also still has Dutch influence. It has been opened in the time when Indonesia was a colony of Netherlands. It operates till now. The name is “Toko Oen” (Oen’s shop). Oen is the name of the founder and owner of the restaurant, a Chinese family. But it has been taken over to someone else. I wonder why their name Oen is. In Dutch it means dummy but maybe it has another meaning in Chinese. Maybe in Chinese it means survive.

They keep the old interior. You can seat on their old lazy chairs who bring you to a relax position. There is a banner with a Dutch text to welcome the guests. When we brought my parents in law there, he was surprised to read it. The menu is also written in Dutch. But don’t worry, they write it in English and Indonesian as well. This is a fixed place for tourists in Malang to visit. This is also a meeting place for Dutch people; most of them are pensioners, on Saturday noon.

Could it be a reason that I felt home fast in Malang when I arrived here? That I get and feel a piece of Holland here? I don’t know. It could be.