Day 3: Kawah Ijen
Kawah Ijen or Ijen Crater was the highlight of the trip. It is where we can see blue fire – a natural phenomenon that occurs for a short window of time blue “flames” dancing in the sulphur gas spewing out of the volcano. We arrived at our accommodation at about 9pm. We were staying at Pak Haji’s, a title Indonesian’s give to male Muslims who have gone to Mecca, house which was located in a small village at the foot of the volcano. They welcomed us warmly with a great dinner before having a short sleep as we have to be up by 2 AM. I could not sleep because I was afraid some ants will fall on top of my head (they were crawling on the wall above me). Ants 2 – Kenny 0.
We left for the hike and found ourselves in front of a sign letting us know that Kawah Ijen is 3KM away by foot. After getting ourselves a cup of coffee, we were pleasantly greeted by the darkness to start off the hike. Let me tell you, it was not an easy feat. It took us (an unfit family) a total of three hours to hike up the volcano which was filled with stops to rest our aching muscles. As we were hiking up, we encountered several people who were carrying empty yokes up. The guide told us that they are miners who mines daily for sulfur in the crater. Some of them already had their yokes filled and were descending the mountain. While we were resting, one of them came up to us and tried to sell sulfur soaps. We bought several bars of soap and as an act of gratitude, he helped us find our way to the top of the volcano. Once we reached the top, we had to climb down another 800M to get to the crater. This was, by far, the most difficult part as it was dark and there was no actual footing for people to step on – one small mistake and it could be your death. Furthermore, we were overwhelmed by the choking scent of sulfur. Up until today, the scent never left me; it is stuck on my hiking attire. Nevertheless, it took us another hour to descend the crater and finally, saw the blue fire with our very own eyes.
Wow.
These blue “flames” are due to the refraction of light from the sun just before sunrise mixed with the yellow sulfur fumes that were spewing out of the crater. For a moment, these blue flames were dancing but afterwards, the wind began to pick up. In a minute, I was engulfed entirely by sulfur. I could not do anything except stay still and hide under my thin jacket. We waited until it all calmed down which coincidentally happened as the sun rose, The sun ray allowed me to realize that we were standing deep in the crater. The crater was massive and as we ascended back to the top, we saw that everything was yellow, the color of the sulfur. I remembered taking my final step to the top of the crater and find myself in awe of the view of the glorious mountain range behind us. What the night was blanketing was pure beauty, something I do not get to see very often from living in a well modernized city. Finally, we trudged back down to the foot of the mountain, grabbed lunch and headed for the next destination, Baluran National Park.
We arrived at our destination after 6 hours of our much-deserved sleep. The accommodation was lodge fitted with 6 guest rooms and was very comfortable. Apparently, the owner was a Professor in eco-tourism and was passionate in saving the nature of Baluran. Again, we wanted to catch the sunrise, so we left at 5am towards the savannah. Ok, so let’s skip the formalities and jump to the fact that I saw two male deer clashing with each other over a territory! Aside from that, we saw bulls taking a shower, peacocks crossing the street, chickens running and monkeys grooming each other. With that, we bid farewell to the adventurous part of the trip an onwards to paradise!
Day 5: Surabaya
Our next stop was finally a nice hotel that we can relax in. Of course, we did a bit of sightseeing around the second biggest city in Indonesia, Surabaya (which means shark and crocodile).
Day 6: Lombok
Apparently, our trip to Lombok was delayed and eventually cancelled due to the eruption of Mt Raung which we actually saw on the way to Ijen crater. The volcano blasted out smoke and dust to be carried by the winds towards the direction of the airport. This causes the airport to shut down for a day to ensure the safety of everyone. Thus, we spent the night in a hotel before heading out back to Jakarta. So, I will skip to day 8.
Day 8 – 11: Bali
Bali. The sun, sea and sky welcomed us with open arms. I can’t say much about what we did in Bali because we only ate and went to the beach and ate again. Repeat that over the course of 3 days. Oh, we did go snorkeling and found some blowfish along the way!
So that marks the end of our trip. I must admit, it was pretty rough and tiring, but as they say, no pain, no gain. Hope you enjoyed these posts! Look out for our next one! (Psst! It has something to do with temples and fast trains)
