Semarang owes its look to the Dutch trading companies that, for three centuries, loaded Java's sugar, coffee and spices here. From that era, the city has kept an entire colonial quarter, canals and a railway monument that locals say has a thousand doors. The port call also attracts visitors for another, more distant reason: Borobudur, one of the world's great Buddhist sanctuaries, stands about a hundred kilometres inland, amid rice paddies and volcanoes.

Arriving at Tanjung Emas

Ships dock at the port of Tanjung Emas, a commercial area located five to ten kilometres from the centre depending on the sector. The passenger terminal offers the essentials: Wi-Fi, a currency exchange counter, tourist information and a taxi kiosk with posted fares. The ride to the old town costs little and takes about fifteen minutes; it's the simplest way to start the day. As soon as you leave the port, Javanese traffic sets the tone: scooters in clusters, carts, short honks and smiles at red lights.

Kota Lama, the old town between the canals

The historic district, which locals call Kota Lama, brings together the old trading houses, warehouses and offices of the colonial administration, packed between canals that recall the Netherlands beneath a tropical sky. Restored façades alternate with buildings weathered by humidity, and the lanes offer simple scenes of daily life: iced tea vendors, cyclists laden with baskets, wedding photo shoots in front of the arcades. You stroll on foot, with no set route, often looking up at the ornate pediments. Cafés set in renovated buildings let you take a break in the shade, a tamarind juice in hand.

Lawang Sewu, the house of a thousand doors

A few minutes away by taxi, the former headquarters of the Dutch East Indies railway spreads its white wings around shaded courtyards. Its nickname, Lawang Sewu, means "a thousand doors": rows of doors, cross galleries and tall windows designed to let the air of the plain circulate. The colourful stained-glass windows of the grand staircase alone are worth the trip. The building can be explored in about an hour, with an optional local guide, and naturally complements the walk through the colonial quarter. Fans of ghost stories will be well served: the legends surrounding the building are part of local folklore.

Borobudur, the long-haul excursion

The great Buddhist sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has to be earned: allow three to four hours by road each way from the port. Cruise lines offer the excursion as a full-day outing, and that's the option to choose, since it guarantees your return on board before departure. Those who make the trip come back with powerful images: the grey mass of stone emerging from the palm groves, the carved terraces, the latticed stupas facing the volcanoes. A long day, to be sure, but few port calls give access to a monument of this scale.

Planning your day

• Half day in town: Kota Lama on foot, then Lawang Sewu by taxi.
• Full day without a long drive: add a Javanese meal and a stop at a local market.
• Full day outside the city: organized excursion to Borobudur, accepting the road time.
• In every case: water, a hat and a tropical pace, meaning unhurried.

Leaving Java

On the way back, as the ship slowly pulls away from the coast, the Java plain fades into a warm haze. Semarang doesn't try to dazzle; it tells, to anyone who takes the time to listen, of three centuries of trade between Asia and Europe, and of the patience of an island that has seen many empires come and go. Passengers who ventured to Borobudur take away something older still: the silence of a sanctuary set amid the rice paddies for more than a thousand years.