One perk of working in Germany: holiday. Yes, we get 30 days of holidays a year and we can spend it however we like! This summer, I went back to Indonesia to visit my family and as always, we would go on a family vacation during the month of Lebaran (Ramadan) in Indonesia. This year, we decided to go on an adventurous route, hiking up mountains in East Java. My family and I, despite the fact that we have almost no physical prowess, decided to 1) chase the sunrise for 3 nights in a row, and 2) climb volcanoes. To reward ourselves, we closed our break with a relaxing three days in Indonesia’s not-so-secret paradise, Bali. Now that I have given you a snippet of the great time I had, I will take you with me with a detailed break down of my holiday!
Day 1: Malang, Batu
We landed in Malang, without our luggage. The airport decided to mess with our mood from Day 1. Let’s skip the part where we complained to the airline company and go to the happier part of our journey. We headed towards Mt. Bromo whilst passing through Batu City (Batu means rock). My father and I entered Museum Angkot (Museum of Public Transportation) which was basically a collection of old autos. What was surprising was that they had a performance similar to that of a Universal Studios show except with not-so-suitable actors. Fast forward to dinner, we had some ketan from a restaurant named Pos Ketan in the city. Ketan is a sticky rice that is generally enjoyed with one topping for example, durian, cheese, chicken floss, etc (sorry I did not take a picture because it was too dark). My favorite was definitely having it with the durian. After filling our stomachs, we went to Batu Night Spektakuler, a small theme park with a cheap entry fee that only opens after 7pm, and immersed ourselves in a colorful world of brightly lit lanterns. Although it seemed that we did a lot on our first day, the excitement continues to grow as we waited until 10 PM. We then left for Mt Bromo.
Day 2: Mt Bromo
We arrived at the foot of Mt Bromo at about 2 AM. We only had some shuteye during our way there and thus, we were still extremely tired. We switched our spacious Kijang (Indonesian SUV) with an old but durable 90s Jeep for its ability to hike up the mountain. After a 30 min ride up the mountain, we had to stop at the checkpoint as no more cars were allowed beyond it. We were starving and decided to get some food at a nearby post and were soon joined by many other tourists (Germans included!). At 4am, we climbed up for another 10 mins before reaching the viewpoint where we, and about 100 other people, waited for the sunrise. Everyone was either holding a camera, be it a pocket cam, iPhone, Canon 5D Mark II (like me!) or even a GoPro (I was holding one too!). I wiggled myself through the crowd into a good position and waited for the perfect shot. The time right before a sunrise is called the Golden Hour and really, I can attest that it really was the golden hour. Nature’s beauty really intensified with the golden color of the sun’s rays as it first kissed the summit of the mountain and then slowly lighted up the surroundings (okay, I’ll stop trying to be poetic here). During this hour, the clouds were perfectly aligned with each other, making the zeniths looked like floating islands.
After the sun has completely revealed itself, we headed back down the viewpoint to head to the crater of the volcano. Only 15mins of a bumpy Jeep ride was what it took to bring us to a desert. The ground was sandy and we were advised to wear masks to prevent sand or dust from entering our mouths. The walk was far. Apparently, we were at the foot of the mountain we just saw. It took us about one to two hours to reach the lip of the volcano and we immediately regretting not riding horses. There were plenty of horses raised and rented out by local farmers to scale the dusty mountain. We decided that we couldn’t bear walking anymore and used this service to ride down. After getting a well-deserved lunch of Rawon (Indonesian beef stew), we headed towards our next destination, Kawah Ijen.
PS: The top picture is also of Bromo
PPS: Since there is still a lot more to go, I have made a second blog post covering the coolest part of the trip!
