So off we go! 4th Nov 16 haha
Lost and found our guide but his elder brother turned up instead so Mash picked us up. SIM card and a 3-hour bumpy ride later we reached Probolinggo.
Pretending to be busy LOL
Super cooling here at 14 degrees celcius so we changed out of our shorts and put on our jackets then off we go for dinner! Simple dinner (with complex MSG lol) then off to bed.
Woke at 230 and left at 3 on a jeep.
Miss 'smoking' in this kind of temperature, really brought me back to Stockholm days...
Best seat in the house without the best weather:
Sunrise was masked by a thick layer of clouds and people were definitely disappointed but I've also seen a very positive side of everyone cheering whenever we caught a glimse of the orange rising sun (about our eye level by then). Also had a real life geography lesson seeing all the clouds rushing up towards us at the edge of the peak.
K la got some flaming sun after awhile
Sky mischievously cleared after the sun rose above the clouds (also geography)! And the view was still stunning.
Look closer and you'll see the divide between nature and civilisation; this barrier that Nature sets up to keep its sanity
That's us, along with people mountain people sea. Especially liked the view of Bromo crater from afar.
Next up is Bromo itself. Switched our carriage for horse and these charming little things are really adorable.
Step by step
My bad for making you work so hard!
Journey to the Ash
Reached the rim of the crater and it was a majestic fumes of smoke with a subtle roaring sound. Somehow there's this irrational fear of it suddenly pouring its heart out to us while we were there.
Thankfully, that didn't happen. Just smoke
Got back down, and came back to our jeep via the horses then off we went to the next stop: "Teletubby Hill" or Savannah as they call it.
Inside
Out. Love the colour of the jeep
Was... Alright
Took some boomerang (main form of entertainment = self-entertainment) then off we go!
Next was whispering sand but we didn't hear any whisper so we improvised by... whispering amongst ourselves (please refer to Facebook video haha - self-entertainment at work yet again)
Trying to Google for the sound of whispering just to be sure. Error 404
So silent our inner yogi ignited. Tabletop lika mountaintop
Changed, breakfast, checked out and off we go to the waterfall. Swapped out our car again for motorbike this time round. Too many mode of transport in one day!
Ok thanks for reminding me of the name
Super underwhelming first waterfall which only "point of interest" is its v-shape and how we joked about us having v-shaped body, albeit an inverted one. Put on our poncho and got cleansed by the holy (says me) water falling from tens of feet above us. Went past a treacherous stream crossing track which I thought my slippers might not survive, then put our rock climbing skills to test scaling an almost-vertical rock face. Then *poof* into a wonderland inside a water hole.
So tall we had to use panorama vertically for the shot and iPhone couldn't deal with the difference in lumen.
Photo does it injustice. Gotta be there to feel it!
I swear Waitomo will have to give up its name seeing this paradise. The local guide was very skilful with his vertical panorama shots as well, on top of his perfect recommendation of random photo opps as we trekked. So from disappointment to pure amazeball, it was a good trip out! Once again, boomerang was our main source of self-entertainment.
Back to hit the road for a straight 6 hours towards Ijen with lunch and petrol breaks in between. Then finally here we are! Bird suggested we revise our geography before planning a trip next time cos, wow, Ijen is super near to Bali. Could have flew back from there instead of the 8-hour journey (to come) back to Surabaya. But oh wells. No ragraets
Only two guest houses for tourist in this whole miner town; not that we get to sleep much in it anyways
Blue fire was mesmerising but the miners stole the show.
Tried to take videos so no photos but these 70kg worth of sulphur rocks are hand carried up the super steep rock face to reach the top (we took half an hour to get down). And they do multiple trips per night. Mad respect... And when they grow too old for this, they earn tourist money instead by offering to drag them up the initial dirt track route up (which was even steeper though less treacherous).
Blue Fire was amazing too but - once again - you have to be there to see it cos it's just so hard to capture on photo. And look, they're mining right beside us and near the blue fire. So much health risk man. Everyone rented the $6 mask for a reason, even the local guide uses it.
Anyway, Indonesia is the second place to see blue fire. Guess the first? Don't hantum me, the local guide told me this...: the kitchen.
In other news, it was otherworldly after sunrise, above the clouds and sulphur cliff walls...
Pastel and Smoke
Sulphur snow
Dirt lost
Breaking dawn
Loving the sights despite a severe lack of sleep.
And so, we made it out alive! Thanks for keeping us safe, Mr I-forgot-his-name-shucks.
And then we were dragged to yet another waterfall which was super voluptuous but the main draw was this:
Hot spring water rich in mineral. Smelly ones though. Tired selves had no mood to appreciate these so we left in a jiffy
Packed up and didn't even have time for a nap (did shut my eyes and went unconscious for a good half an hour though). Then we left, and came across all the coffee and cotton plantations along the way. Quite intense haha. And then finally had the chance to try Rawon Daging (black soup with beef) when we had lunch along the way and I loved it!
This unappetising bowl of sauce and rice was truly impressive, at least for my palates
Took a long journey back to Surabaya then checked into our hotel.
Fancy~ but wifi sucks so sucks haha
Mas took us out for dinner with his family! Super cute sons.
Very guai also!
For this night, we are family. Teary eyes when talking about his eldest son who passed away from head injury that tormented them for a year. May he rest in peace...
Next morning's breakfast! She needs to take a photo first. Need.
Then it's city tour time!
Lesson time!
Sura: Shark
Baya: crocodile
Hence, Surabaya's coat of arm is - you guessed it - these two animals!
We learnt that Sampoerna (the cigarette company) originated from the 林 family in 福建 province; and changed to a Indonesian sounding name when they migrated over.
"Strictly No Photographs" *snap* - thug life
Tour bus wasn't operational so we counldn't see the underpass linkages between big buildings that's reserved for the bus. We did saw something interesting when we travelled on road though - SIM (legit the Singapore Uni) - so.. Yay? Haha
Also, time travelled to a scene from Singapore in the 1960s
War museum was alright but how Holland flag can become Indonesian flag by tearing off the blue portion got me checking
Merdeka!
Shopping cum lunch at a shopping mall (and Jap food for lunch don't ask me why) before more shopping for Oleh-Oleh at an outlet stall and souvenir shop thereafter. Still had some time so we went to a Coffeeshop to chill
Loving these snacks and missing it now as I type haha
Too many to choose from
Also, too many to choose from. So much more to explore in this thousand-island nation!
Thanks for the warm welcome, Mas!
Next was sadly the airport. Even then, boomerang was not forgotten and we had to self-entertain haha. Jo's friend also gave us free beer and curry puff onboard! NAISE.
Won't be the last time we travel as a group! Till next time, bitches...
