INDONESIA: Mount Bromo (Gunung Bromo)

This marks the beginning the Indonesia travel series which will be featured in the next few entries. The Indonesia trip is divided into three legs and Mount Bromo is the first leg and first installment. The next two will feature Bali and Jogjakarta. For more details on the route and costs, check below.

Kurt, my friend from Switzerland, and I went back packing in East Java, Indonesia. Our plane landed in Solo and from there we took a grueling 12-hour bus ride to Probolinggo, the jump-off point to Gunung Bromo. By this time, we were tired, sleepless and hungry. Our facial expressions started to look like a crumpled piece of paper.

In the bus to Surabaya

Kurt

Yours Truly

Night fell. We met a smooth-talking travel agent in Probolinggo. He did his usual sales talk, pulled out maps, showed us photos of white people smiling on a trek up the mountain, the works. Noticing that we were desperate for a clean bed and warm shower, he talked us into paying the fees up front by offering a big discount. We had no Indonesian rupiah left. With a grin on his face, he bid us goodbye and led us to the mini-bus that will take us up. Perfect.

Boycott this travel agency

We arrived the hotel close to midnight already. The plan was set. First, check-in and exchange money. Second, grab something to eat, take a warm shower and rest before the 3AM trek. As always, things did not fall into plan. We went in the hotel lobby to check-in when the receptionist said in a hard Indonesian accent, "Soreh sir, no rum! (Sorry sir, no room!)" Kurt and I exchanged amused looks and said, "Yeah, funny joke, man. We'd like to check in." The receptionist repeated, "No room," and showed us the rack where all the rooms keys were placed. It was empty. "Maybe you can try the other hotels," he continued.

Three-layers of clothes on 

(Photo by Kurt)

Perfect weather for Swiss Kurt

We looked outside the hotel window only to see a small mountain town blanketed in darkness. We stepped outside to find a place to stay but to no avail. All the hotels were fully booked. The hotels didn't allow backpackers to sleep in the lobby. The temperature was ten degrees and smoke started to come out of our mouths when we spoke. We wanted to exchange money to buy at least a hot drink to thaw our frozen limbs and spirits but the only the man who would buy our USD offered us 50% of the actual exchange rate. Holding tightly on our principles, we refused his offer even if meant going hungry for the next 12 hours. The locals said the temperature will dip to zero degrees by 3AM. The cold bites harder when you have an empty stomach.

(No photos at this point. Too annoyed and hungry.)

Aimlessly wandering, I suddenly stopped and stood in front of a house with some Indonesian students inside. I caught myself staring at the bowl of warm soup each had in their hands. Their couch looked so soft and inviting., almost seductive. Out of pity, I presume, one of the students invited Kurt and I to come inside. They offered us a bowl of soup. With broken bahasa Indonesia, I explained that we had no room to stay and they offered us their couch for the rest of the night. We eventually broke the ice and played cards.

Indonesians are warm people 

(Never found out their names.)

We woke up by 3AM to start our morning trek to Mount Penanjakan, the sunrise viewing point. A small jeep brought us close to the top then we continued by foot. There were about 200 people already there at such an early hour! Everyone was clad in thick clothes and a camera in hand to document the slow rise of that yellow ball of warmth. At one point, there were even fireworks for the tourists.

Our Gay Jeep

There were about 200 people waiting

Do you think he's a robber?

Sunrise

Sunrise from Bromo

When the sun completely rose, I was surprised to see Mount Bromo in its full glory. I didn't realize how high above ground we were. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. It seemed like looking at one huge front-cover photo from National Geographic crossed over my image of Jurassic Park. Where are the dinosaurs?

Welcome to Jurassic Park

Spot the T-Rex!

From the mountain top, we took the same jeep and headed down to the plain by the foot of the volcano. Here you can take the easy way up Mount Bromo by mule or horse. Or you can do it by foot. This will take about 1.5 hours, two-way. This was extremely tiring but as you go higher, the view from the volcano gets better. It's also quite an achievement to reach the mouth of the crater after a sleepless night, a dry throat and an empty stomach. At the top, the sulfur smelled like rotten eggs. It was suffocating so we quickly went down after taking a few photos.

At the base of Bromo

The Easy Way Up

Long walk before the volcano

This ain't a joke!

One step at a time

No turning back now!

Half-dead (Photo by Kurt)

Stinky Crater (Photo by Kurt)

View from Cemoro Lawan

The Mount Bromo trip is a perfect rest point in between a long haul trip from Bali to East Java. There's no need to stay longer than one day and night here. The volcano is the main attraction. The travel agencies offer an alternative trip which takes you on the other mountains surrounding Bromo. I think it's essentially the same though. At any rate, we went back to town and waited for the shuttle which took us to Denpasar, Bali.

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TRIP DETAILS:


Date: March 8-15, 2009
Main stops: Gunung Bromo, Bali and Jogjakarta (Indonesia)

The Route:

Kuala Lumpur to Solo by plane, 2 hours

Solo to Surabaya by bus, 8 hours

Surabaya to Probolinggo by bus, 4 hours

Probolinggo to Denpasar, Bali by bus, 11 hours

Denpasar to Jogjakarta by plane, 1 hour

Jogjakarta to Solo by bus, 2 hours