Day 10: MALANG - BROMO - SURABAYA
Sunday, June 19, 2011
How? It can not be! It's 00:30 in the morning! We are going to see the sunrise at Bromo volcano one of the queens stages of our trip to Indonesia.
What do we have to get going to see the sunrise on the Bromo?
Whose idea was it? It has been mine, so I will not say anything else and I will do as if nothing.
With these thoughts we collect what little we have taken out of the backpacks and we go down to reception.
We had been told that we would have prepared coffee there, but the truth is that there are four drops left in the machine and of quite unknown origin, so we prefer not to try it.
We check out at the Helios Malang Hotel, we sit on one of the sofas in the reception and see that there are also 4 more people waiting.
Shortly before 1 a.m. a boy appears, looking for 2 people who are going to see the sunrise at Bromo volcano and then to Surabaya, so we introduce ourselves and there we go with him.
We ride in a van and he explains that it will take us about 2 and a half hours in get to the Bromo.
We tried to sleep for a while, but he insists on explaining things about Malang and East Java. The truth is that when we hired the tour we had no idea that we would take a guide, but from what we see it will be by our side throughout the day.
So we took the opportunity to see the atmosphere in the city at that time. Traditional markets are open 24 hours, so the city of Malang never sleeps.
Almost without realizing it we have closed our eyes and our guide has woken us up when we are already on the access road to the Bromo volcano.
The worst road of all. And more with this darkness with which we cannot see where the road ends and the precipice begins!
We arrived at one of the last slopes and the van has no way of getting on, it tries 3 times and nothing at all.
This does not give me a good feeling, so I take out our reservation and tell the guide that we have hired a 4 × 4 for the climb, but he tells me that it is for the climb to the view point. (??)
Faced with this answer, I just have to shut up and wait for him to solve the problem.
And after getting nervous, as I usually do in these cases, the issue is solved without more problems than having been standing on the road for 10 minutes.
We see that another car is coming for us and we move the backpacks to continue in a 4 × 4 capable of climbing that last infarction slope.
I had already become pessimistic again ...
It took us less than 15 minutes to reach the Cemara Indah Hotel, where we went down to see the views from there, well, more than the view of the shadow of the volcano, because it is still a closed night and nothing can be seen.
Here we begin to notice the cold, so they take us to the 4 × 4 and we begin to climb towards the summit of the Gunung Penanjakan, from where we will have the best views of the sunrise at Bromo volcano
The road is very steep and bumpy, so climbing without 4 × 4, it sure is impossible.
Along the way we meet people who walk up. We have read that you have to start climbing at 4 in the morning if you want to do it on foot.
Once we got up, we met many boys with horses, innocent of me, who still did not know what I expected, I thought the horses were not so necessary and did not understand too well what they were for !!
From here, the guide tells us that there is a kilometer and peak of climb, I of course tell him that we do not need a horse, that we will walk up.
And after this, I swear and swear, I'll never say this again!
It has been the 15 most exhausting minutes of my life. I have slept less than 2 hours, I have an empty stomach: I think I have the perfect excuse.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Indonesia
- 10 essential places to visit in Indonesia
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Indonesia
We arrived above the Bromo volcano and I go straight to sit down. We see or intuit enough people, since it has not yet dawned, in the small esplanade in which we settle.
And here is when I start to feel bad. I get dizzy, cough ... the truth is that the feeling is quite unpleasant. This lasts until sunrise at Bromo volcano and I start to feel better. In quite a few moments I see myself almost about to start to get down to lay in the car and rest, forgetting everything.
The only thing that worries me is that Roger is not enjoying anything, all the while waiting for me.
When the guide realizes the situation, he tells me that it is because of the height and fatigue, so he brings me a tea and a fried banana, which at first I could not even swallow, but that later I began to settle the stomach.
And when I start to feel better, it appears, almost without realizing it, in front of us ...
Ladies and gentlemen: The show begins. Sunrise on Bromo volcano
The dance of colors begins.Sunrise on Bromo volcano
Changing every second, awesome.Sunrise on Bromo volcano
It forms a kind of plug of people who do not stop taking photos without moving from the site, so we decided to go to the other side of the esplanade to see the landscape from the opposite side.
Different views
People start approaching the edges to take pictures. Roger looks for a higher position, while I stay there, just watching.
Although I am not quite well, the breathtaking views serve me as comforting and to think that it was worth getting here.
It must be said that no one is seen to be ill, so I assume that mine is an isolated case.
And so we spent more than 1 hour, taking pictures and contemplating the great wonder that nature offers us Bromo volcano sunrise.
After this it touches the descent, which is much easier, although here we really discover what we have climbed, since we do it with light.
The way up in daylight
We begin the descent after an incrediblemanecer on the Bromo volcano
From here we return to Cemara Indah where we were stopped before the ascent, for breakfast.
The views from here are fabulous, it is on the edge of the Bromo volcano crater and the truth is that they want to stay here for a few days, just admiring the views.
Roger has a pretty good breakfast, but I can no longer have a toast and coffee.
I start to feel better, but I don't want to abuse and risk spending the rest of the day wrong.
Now comes another of the main dishes, crossing the Sea of Sand, to the Hindu temple located at the base.
Today we will not be able to climb the crater, since the Bromo volcano He is very active and is bad for his health (although we see a lot of people coming up), but the guide tells us that he “doesn't let us do it”.
When we have just had breakfast and rest for a while, it is just after 8 in the morning and we return again to 4 × 4, to start down to the Sand Sea.
As we are entering the crater, we inevitably remember our visit last year to the Ngorongoro Crater, we find it very similar ... although without animals! 🙂
We park the 4 × 4 in the parking lot and go for a walk !!
Now that I'm feeling much better, it's what I need, a little activity to be able to “start over” the day with the incredible image of the sunrise we just saw.
We are surrounded by volcanic sand and the feeling of walking around is a new thing for us.
Sand sea
Hindu temple in the Sea of Sand
We stopped several times, to take pictures and above all to verify that we are right in front of an active volcano.
Next to the volcano
We are getting closer to everything we can to the Temple, to try to see the stairs that go up to the top, but the guide tells us that it is not good, so we have to settle for the photos.
Next we go up !!
Here we are more than an hour, until we decide that it is time to go to our next destination in the trip to Indonesia: Surabaya.
We say goodbye to Bromo volcano, but this time we do turn around, to contemplate it for the last time ... although we quickly walk again and the views we have are not bad either ...
Until next time
We ask the guide and he tells us that it will take us about 3 and a half hours to arrive, that means that until noon we will not be able to settle in the hotel, with the desire that we have today to rest !!
The trip is not quite long, since we give a nod and part of the landscape is changing, little, but it shows that we are already more east of the island of Java.
At the entrance to Surabaya we find quite a caravan, but in the end, around 13.30h, we arrive at the Hotel Surabaya Plaza Hotel.
We say goodbye to our guide, promising that we will send you a photo by email and that we will recommend it in Spain and we will go directly to check in.
The hotel is very central and right next to it we have a shopping center.
Just when we arrived at the Hotel Surabaya Plaza Hotel, we have seen a cartel that advertised hamburgers and notice you, that after so many days being traditional, today we skipped the diet Indonesia.
We went to the mall, for a walk and then we sat in a fast food place. There we have had enough of hamburgers, potatoes and various “garbage”.
We have been surprised by the portions, they are quite small !! In the end we are almost hungry, but as at the entrance we have seen a couple of coffee shops with some heart attack donuts, we have thought not to eat too much, to leave a hole for the snack!
After this, we decided that it is best to go to the hotel to rest for a while. And finally we take a nap in condition!
We got up at snack time and decided that since today we skipped the diet, it is best to go eat those donuts we had seen before.
We return to the mall and go to an establishment that is a kind of cafeteria, but they make donuts of many varieties. Dunkin species, but with a better look.
There we take a box of 6 donuts and 2 Iced Coffe. When we are going to pay, they give us another donut to each one, so in the end we end up eating 4 per head!
Logically after this we are not hungry at dinner time and likewise, we will rest at the Hotel Surabaya Plaza Hotel, to prepare in dreams the total change that we will face tomorrow in our trip to Indonesia: We're going to Bali.
Day 11SURABAYA - BALI (UBUD)
