Mountain, Seasand, Waterfall and Crater : July 2011

14th July 2011

I and my travel buddy departed for Surabaya at night, and arrived Juanda airport a few minutes after midnight. Met Lintangbuana representative, Fandi and the driver, and started for a long trip heading to Sukapura. The journey took 4 hours (maybe more). We could hardly sleep as the ride were bumpy.

15th July 2011

Mt. Bromo (expelling fumes), Mt. Tengger and Mt. Semeru (back)

We arrived Bromo-Tengger-Semeru caldera, also gazetted as a National Park, around 4 am. It was cold and we started to put on our warm clothing.  At the foot of Mt. Penanjakan, we took a horse ride (Rph 100,000) to the peak fir the sunrise view. It was ok to walk but given the coldness and deteriorating stamina, it was worth riding the horse. There were so many tourists which I didn't expect this. My last visit in February was a lot less crowded, maybe because of the volcanic activity of Mt. Bromo did not encourage tourists to visit this place. This trip, however, was super awesome because the views were magnificent. Maybe couples of pictures will tell the whole thing.

Foggy and misty at the foot of the mountain

We couldn't view the sunrise as it was cloudy. After 45 minutes or so, we returned to our MPV and proceed to Whispering Savannah. It was summer so everything becomes dry, brown and less colourful. But I still consider it as an amazing place for photography. It was foggy and it was like entering a mysterious place. It wasn't spooky but it was more like being curious on what was there surrounding us. And it resembles paths heading any cowboy town, minus all the grasses and shrubs

Foggy day at Whispering Savannah

After a few minutes in Whispering Savannah, we passed through a sea sand on our way to the foot of Mt. Bromo. The sand texture is superfine and greyish as the product recent volcanic activity. We were told that after massive eruption, layers of volcanic ash may be formed up to several feet thick. Crops were severely destroyed and the green colours disappeared within a blink of the eyes.

There is also ceremonies held annually where the villagers will place offerings such as chickens, yellow sticky rice and fruit, at the lip of Bromo crater. They believe by doing so, they will appease the guardian of Mt. Bromo, thus lowering the frequency of volcanic activity/eruption. I think most villagers residing at volcano areas in Indonesia do have the same belief but maybe different ways of performing the rituals. There is also an ancient Hindu temple at the foot of Mt. Bromo. This temple is the place where the villagers will assembly before heading to Mt. Bromo.

Showers heading to the main waterfall

To get to the crater, we need to climb a steep staircase with 200++ stairs. It was quite tiring because we walked for 1-2 kilometers throughout the sand bed before arriving the staircase. There were horses that could bring us straight to the staircase but we thought it was best to just walk (it saved us another Rph 100,000 though :)). Word of advice, bring extra Rupiah notes if you feel like doing some shopping later.

After having quite enough times (I will never say enough for beautiful places like this) at this caldera, we had
breakfast at a hotel restaurant on our way down. I simply love Indonesian 'nasgor' (simply short form for nasi goreng or fried rice) and other Javanese cuisines. They are simple and healthy.
 
Next, we went to Madakaripura waterfall, located at Probolinggo district which is not far from Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park. This is another beautiful place which I have not seen anywhere in my home country. To get to the waterfall area, we walk for 1 km, following the concrete pathways and several river crossings (don't worry, it is no deeper than your calf/knee but beware, it's slippery). We had a short stop at the a small stall selling fried foods and drinks. We rented umbrellas as we would have to pass through a 'shower' before getting to the main waterfall. While passing through the showers, all items meant to be dry at all times must be kept in a plastic i.e wallets, cameras,handphones etc. We spent less than 1 hour here because we have to proceed to Ijen, which is very far (5-6 hours drive) from this waterfall. I think the place is not that far but due to the traffics and road conditions, it takes times to get there.

Madakaripura waterfall

 The long journey to Ijen were unpleasant and those who are unaccustomed to traveling by road for a long time, will probably get headache and nauseate. The scariest part was when our driver drove uphill to    Ijen area. The road was super horrible and no smooth surfaces available for a smoother drive. Rocks and rocks and holes. My worry was that the MPV would malfunctioned, and leaving us stranded at a place we definitely didn't wish to be, dark and far from anything. Given the circumstances, I think it's best not to panic and pray for the better things to come. So the better thing came. We arrived Caltimore Guest House after passing through jungles and coffee plantations. We checked-in, had late dinner and went to bed.

16th January 2011

This is how raw sulphur looks like

A sulphur miner heading to the crater

We woke up at 4 am and repacked our bags before having our breakfast and checked out. It was cold and we put on proper clothing to avoid discomfort while hiking towards Ijen crater. Caltimore Guess House is just a few minutes drive to the checkpoint post to Ijen crater. There are many checkpoint posts on our way to Ijen area and I realize that each time a vehicle passes through these posts, payment is applicable. I am not sure why those payments are imposed and not sure why there so many checkpoint posts here. I just hope that the payment will benefit all residents in Ijen, i.e road improvement, lamp posts etc.

Nice view on the way to the crater

Sulphur mine at Ijen crater

 We arrived at the parking area of the entrance to Ijen crater after 1 hour getting lost further up of the junction we were supposed to take. Our guide fell asleep and the driver did not know exactly where to go. The road condition became crappier and only 4WD could access that road. We got stuck for awhile when we turned back to the missed junction. The road was slippery with steep incline. With the help of several 4WD drivers, we managed to get through. Thank God!!

Foggy and sunless

At the entrance, we were told that the distance to the crater would be 3.5 kilometers. Yaikkksssss.....I couldn't remember when was the last time I walked that far. Good for us to warm up the day before when walking through the sea sand to Mt. Bromo crater. We walked uphills and downhills which were more challenging. The weather was good and chilly too, which was why we kept the difficulties away from our minds. There were also breathtaking views which made us forget the discomforts for awhile. Enjoying the walk was the right thing to do and we stopped whenever the limbs felt sore.

After an hour and a half, we reached the crater. Yeayyyy!!! But it was foggy and we couldn't get the nicest view of the crater as posted by previous travelers on the net. While sitting at the lip, we just observed the sulphur miners going down to the mining site and returning with sulphur blocks on the rattan basket. A miner may carry load up to 90 kg!!! That is something I can hardly believe because the miners are thin and some of them seem to be underfed. I felt sorry for them but in the same time, I admire their strength in living their life. By the way, Javanese are well known for being hardworking day and night. I pray that they live in a nice condition and happy.

 We left the crater and arrived the parking area earlier as going down was relatively easy than going up. The trick is to run or walk faster to prevent overexertion to the feet. It would be much painful if we tried to walk at a normal pace when going down. I couldn't explain this in proper scientific terms but this was what the mountaineers told me before. We stopped for a few minutes at the weighing post and this was the place where the sulphur miners would claim their pay of the day. We reached the parking area around 11 am. After leaving Ijen area, we stopped at one of the small towns for lunch. We had chicken and beef kebabs and lamb soups. They were really delicious, tasty, nice...whatever you call it. The journey back to Surabaya city is even longer. Traffics were horrible and we got stranded for couple of hours. We arrived Family Guesthouse Surabaya around 8 pm(or maybe 9 pm). Foods were not provided and neither we tried to look for food when our limbs did no longer willing to walk any further.

17th July 2011

Bye bye Indonesia. Gonna miss you a lot!!