Uh, no, you still have the virtual keyboard in two orientations that changes with the needs of the apps you are using. It works fine without a surface. The iPad and it's Operating System were designed from the beginning to work without a physical keyboard. Windows was not. The virtual keyboards on the Surface are pasted on, and the apps are kludged to work with a screen keyboard.
I am having a hard time visualizing your using a keyboard with the ipad without placing it on a surface ...