I love the mountains, always... Ever since I was a kid, always fascinated by mountains in the passing, on our way to Puncak (holiday getaway place for people in Jakarta, located up on the mountains on the way to Jakarta's satellite city called Bogor). As a teenager even, seeing mountains on the way to Yogyakarta for our field trip, I always thought mountains are magical and mysterious. In Indonesia especially, people believe there are spirits guarding the mountains, therefore big mountains always have to be treated with respect. One of many local superstitions ..... (or not superstitions?) Some mountains, you definitely will not be allowed to go up without some sort of religious ceremony... at least in Bali I was told.
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| So pretty.... I love road trips in Indonesia because it is so green and lush.... still lots of forests along the roads, mountains along the way, villages...... and WARM! We're on our way to one of the viewpoints for Mt Merapi, one of the still active and notorious volcano in Java. |
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| We arrived at one of the viewing point for Mt Merapi.... hoping to see the sight of the oh so majestic looking volcano... that is still active actually..... last eruption was November 2010...... yikes... thankfully that day was not my lucky day to see him awake considering where we were! This whole area was flooded and destroyed by lava... can't remember which year was it. |
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| The bunker where a couple of people tried to hide from the lava but ended up died due to the heat..... harsh (0_0) ! |
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| Inside the bunker.... eeks..... and I couldn't believe people threw garbage in here!!! Sheesh |
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| Our purpose coming here was to see Mt. Merapi, but as you can see.... or cannot see... no mountain thanks to good ol mr fog and cloud, although, this is my favorite kind of scene... foggy and cloudy (^^) |
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| Lava river...... |
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| Then we're off again, to the next viewpoint, which was kind of pointless cuz the cloud didn't seem to want to go away. The next viewpoint is the monkey forest. Not as many monkeys in this forest as in the one in Ubud..... by far! |
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| Hmmmm... a lobster monument? Seriously? |
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| We went together with an American backpacker, and this fresh honey really attracts her attention... mine too... I mean, can't get more fresh than still having the bees on it right? :D |
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| Of course, what's a tourist place without yummie goodness surrounding the place? Market full of fresh fruits and restaurants.... cheap food that was and good.... meat was super fresh as it looks like someone just hung and skin the rabbit (hmmm could be cat too... :D hope my cats can't read this) two minutes prior to me run into it and almost got a heart attack :D I didn't take its picture.... sorry.... break my heart that's why :( |
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| Monkey forest.... this trail was the one leading to the viewpoint for Mt Merapi. I did love the hike though.... I thought the surrounding nature was nice, and since it was cloudy we didn't get too hot. |
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| This place also, you don't see too many international tourist.... most people I saw that day are locals |
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| Yapp.... I think I prefer nice quiet water fall like this.... big ones tend to have a hundred thousand tourists around |
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| Oh he was baaaaad boy! He took that right from someone :D |
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| Nice trail eh? (^^) the plants around here are so cute |
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| So, we got to the top, and couldn't see Mt Merapi of course......... but it was well worth the trip! |
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| The beautiful sunrise from Mt Pananjakan. Package tour probably the easiest way to go about doing this. Otherwise, this blog site seems to have quite a good way to get there on your own (which I will definitely try next time! http://www.travelfish.org/blogs/indonesia/2012/02/20/alternative-route-gunung-bromo/ Going on your own definitely always better. It does take a lot of planning, but you go at your own phase and not to be rush around by your drivers..... awwh.... made me wanna go again, and maybe this time spend few days up on the village of Cemoro Lawang (where all the accommodations are) |
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| I can't explain how it feels to be up here...... Just simply... breathtaking :( Mt Semeru, another active volcano in the background |
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| See the smoke coming out of Mt Semeru? yes, this guy is still VERY active.... takes around 2 days to climb and you need special permit, but often the trail is close due to volcanic activity. |
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| Pura (temple) Luhur Poten behind the fog as you go through the Sea of Sand to reach the crater of Mt Bromo. This is an active temple, still hosting important religious ceremony of the Tengger people, the locals. |
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| A closer snapshot of Pura Luhur Poten |
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| The Sea of Sand... definitely you can walk across... the local Tengger people will offer pony ride, you can, but I found the walk was just as fun, if you don't mind dodging pony poo along the way |
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| Allright .... here we go .... 250 steps! |
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| My favorite? The smell of Sulfur! |
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| It is possible to walk along the crater... but after the recent eruption..... who wants to? (0_0) |
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| The village of Cemoro Lawang |
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Tried to steal my rice then pretend she was
innocent (-_-) brat.. |
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| Such celestial view (^^) feels like my trip is being blessed to be safe, pleasant and wonderful. Such long bus trip to Banyuwangi harbor, took around 7 to 8 hrs..... |
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| I guess from this point on, goodbye Java, hellooo Bali here I come...... This is at Banyuwangi harbor. From here, we cross the channel by ferry to Gilimanuk harbor in Bali. The trip is around 2 hours I think.... can't remember.... not long anyway. |
