Mt. Bromo

Our time visiting Guning Bromo was great, though took a little effort. In general, we try to do things independently, without joining a tour. In addition to being probably 5-10x cheaper, you have a lot more time and flexibility to experience things your own way. From the town on Probolinggo, the first step to Bromo was finding your way to the town on Cemoro Lawang. From the train station, we needed to head to the bus station, which turned out to be more of an ordeal than expected. We were panning to take a public minibus to the train station, but were approached by two old guys with bicycle taxis. They were about 3-4x more expensive, but still cheap so we decided to have the experience of having an old man, probably 60-70 who spoke little English, biking us around. The ride was nice -- slow and peaceful. They took us through more back alleys through neighborhoods than the main streets. They dropped us off at the 'bus station' and we were on our way. After talking to the guy there for a bit, trying to be sold his tour, being told there were no available rooms in Cemoro Lawang, I started to feel a little unsure of him and where we were. Looking back, being dropped at the small building with no buses around should have been a clue this wasn't the actual bus station, but a private tour company -- probably a friend of our bicycle guys. I had my doubts from the beginning, but it did say 'public buses' or something luge that out front, and as it was a small town I gave them the benefit of the doubt. We later learned even the public minibuses will drop you off at these private companies, the real bus station in probably about a km. down the road. We walked to the bus station and began the process of trying to get our minibus up to the town where Bromo was actually located. This is another hassle in itself. The drivers will not budge until they have 15 passengers, or the equivalent fare of 15 passengers. The whole system is frustrating as they are all private buses, so the majority of the time the 15 passengers are spread out all over twin just waiting. People can end up waiting 3+ hours, and then still having to pay 3 or 4x the actual fare for the bus to actually start. There is no time limit, if enough people don't show up, either you pay up or don't go. We ended up waiting about 1.5 hrs at which point snow people arrived on the train, along with an older couple who paid the remaining fares so we could go. With that we finally reached Cemoro Lawang and Tengger Nasional Park, home of Mt. Bromo!! The other thing we were worrying about was the entrance fee to the park. There is a different price for locals abs tourists, and in recent years the tourist price has inflated about 10x to around 300,00 IDR, or about $30/person. I'm not sure what the thinking behind this crazy price increase us, but seeing as that's double what it would even cost to visit Yosemite back home, we weren't looking forward to paying it. A helpful lady at the bus station, had told us that if you walk in on a certain path you 'don't have to pay', which I think basically just means you're sneaking in -- but with the crazy entrance fees it's a common practice. We followed that path in, pitched our tent and settled in for the night and our 4am wake up for sunrise. This was the 3rd day, of 4 in a row, that we'd be getting up between 2 and 4 to either start a night/sunrise hike or catch an early train. The night was cold, much colder than we thought (we aren't carrying sleeping bags, but rather base layers, emergency blankets, and a silk sleeping sack), but we managed to get some sleep and get up for sunrise. Sunrise was quite beautiful, we watched from the valley. You hike down a cliff from the town, and find yourself in a big flat valley, from which Mt. Bromo and the surrounding mountains rise out of nowhere. The mountains coming our of this flat plain make their firms look exceptionally beautiful. I assume everything is so flat partially due to the lava flow from when Bromo erupts, which a local very casually told us happens quite often, about every 5 yrs., and that it will probably happen again soon. After sunrise in the valley, we began our hike up to Bromo Crater. (I am again writing this on the train - this time to Yogyakarta - and half our car has seemed to suddenly break out into song, compete with a drummer. I assume it's some kind of religious ritual?). The hike up to the crater made me feel like I was in the Arabian Desert, like a scene from Aladdin. Once again, there were lots of locals, due to the holiday. There were tents set up selling goods, it was dusty, we were surrounded by sand dunes, everyone was wrapped up in their scarves abs old men were walking around dragging their horses. We stopped at a stand for coffee and were immediately asked by some locals if we would take a photo with them. We happily did, and tried to enjoy some time interacting with these incredibly friendly people, though English was very limited. We started our climb up the crater. It was a nice hike, and from the top gave amazing views of the whole 'Arabian nights' type scene. The scenery itself was enough again, to make you feel like you were on another planet. Couple with the actual view down into the crater/volcano it was an amazing sight. Seeing a huge hole plunging down into the depths of the earth, strongly smoking away is a rare sight. I find it hard to believe that if Bromo were in the states, people would ever be allowed to get so close. Most visitors seemed to hike up, look down at the viewing area protected by a guardrail, and go back down. There was a small path traversing the whole circumference of the crater and Paul and I decided to do that, something we wouldn't of had the time and flexibility to do on a tour. The path was admittedly narrow, rocky and a little scary at points, (it was a steep fall down to the valley on one side and a steep roll right into the volcano on the other), but the changing views were worth it. On the far corner of where we started we found a little shrine, and from here was the best view. A steep sloping view, right down into the crater unobstructed by any rocks or cliffs. Once we made our way around again to the crowds, Paul was stopped by probably 5 or 6 groups if people wanting to take a photo with him, I got to hang back this time and capture it in photos (when I'm alone many people think I'm local and will try to speak with me). After the photo ops, we headed back into the valley and into town to find a room for the night. We were quite dusty at this point, and weren't up for another cold night of camping. We found a room, showered and quickly fell into a nap. We got up a little later, ate, and turned into bed again around 8 or so for our wake up at 3:30 to being our hike up to the recommended viewpoint for 'postcard views' of Brono during sunrise. We hiked for about and hour in the dark (walking back in the light, I couldn't believe how rocky it was bad how many potholes we avoided), found the viewpoint and settled in. It was indeed a beautiful spot, and really gave a striking view of these grand mountains rising out of the flat land. Towards the end of sunrise, a group of students asked to take a photo with us. They were very friendly and we talked with them a while. They were all students, majoring in Pharmacy, from the nearby town of Semarang. They said our goodbyes to us and headed back down the trail. We met up with them again in the way down, and when they found put we walked, invited us into their jeep for a ride back into town and down into the park. Jetting through the rocky roads, with a bunch of locals very much enjoying themselves early in the morning was a real treat. They wanted us to join them for the hike up to the crater, but as we did it the day before, we exchanged emails and said our goodbyes. Getting the minibus back to Probolinggo wasn't as much of an ordeal, there was only one bus this time so it filled up quickly. The majority of other travelers were French, and as they were speaking French, I ended up settling in next to the drivers to wait for our van to fill up. We had 10 out if the 15 and the driver offered to leave for 50,000 vs. 35,000 (about a dollar difference). Paul and I, and a Norwegian couple who had also settled in next to us were happy to leave, but the French were hard bargainers. We ended up wAiting about another 15 or so minutes, and the driver offered to leave for 45,000 each, then 40,00 which the French were still hesitant to accept. The driver had Paul act as his negotiator, and it was quite funny sitting with the driver and other Indonesian locals as the French were close to rejecting the 40,000 offer. The driver and friends were saying, 'no good, all they care about is money', which I am sure was probably the exact same view of the others on the other side of the bargain. In the end, we left without waiting too long, and it was some interesting people watching. Arriving back to Probolinggo, we successfully avoided all the scans we had researched, and made our way to the train station to find out our train was full. One of the other couples we were with were offered the chance to buy tickets, for 3x the price. We were happy to buy tickets for the first train the next morning, which turned out to be a great decision. We ended up spending a wonderful, but unexpected night in Probolinggo. After learning our train was full, we were approached by a man telling us about a cheap place to stay in the area. We were wary, as in the Philippibes, these people usually get commission - paid for by an extra cost added on to your fee for the room. We knew of nothing else in the area, so just listened to him -- and in addition to the group if students earlier who shared the rise in their jeep with us -- he ended up being the second friendly and helpful local we encountered during the day. After taking a couple wrong turns walking to the hotel he suggested, we ended up asking a guy walking his bicycle if he knew where the hotel was. He took it on himself to spend 15 minutes or so walking with us and trying to secure a room. All the time children and riding by or sticking their heads out of windows, telling hello to us. It's so funny, and they are genuinely so intrigued and excited to see you being a foreigner, it just makes you smoke. Even older guys on the street will smile brightly at you, and give you a thumbs up. The man helped us find out hotel, but as it was Muslim run they would not allow us to rent a single room as we were not married. Refusing to pay for two rooms, we told the guy we were going to head back to the information center and look fir another room. He wished us luck and a good journey, not wanting anything fir his time but to help. 3rd friendly and helpful encounter of the day. The guy at the info center turned out to be our 4th friendly local, and took it on himself to find us a room, call and secure a price and reservation. He then asked us what our plans were for the night. After telling him nothing, he asked if we would like to accompany him a his friend, an English teacher, to his class that night. After already enjoying talking with the kids around town we said yes, and they made plans to pick us up at our hotel later. After making some friends with the employees at our hotel (more friendly people), we met the teacher and headed off. Going to the school was really a fun experience. There were about 8 students in this after school program, about the age of 15. One by one, they got up introduced themselves, told us their names, where they lived, their hobbies, favorite foods and drinks and their ambitions. After each student we were each supposed to ask them a question, so that they could practice their English. Afterwards, Paul and I each introduced ourselves the same way, and took a question from each student. Funnily, they kept asking about the traditional dances we have in our country -- as it is such a big part if the culture here. After explaining we don't really have many traditional dances and Paul trying to demonstrate 'square dancing' the follow up question was, 'how many different kinds of traditional dances do you have?', so I'm not sure how well they were able to comprehend a society in which dance is really bit a central focus of the culture. After our time with the students, the teacher invited us to dinner and picked up a local specialty along the way. (We were each getting around on the back of motorbikes, with the teacher and the guy from the info center, avoiding police the whole way as we didn't have helmets). Dinner was lovely, it was so nice to sit and talk and meet family members -- probably one if the best experiences you can hope for traveling us being invited for a meal into someone's home, so I was very grateful that it was all happening because our bus was full. Friendly locals 4,5,6 etc. We are now en route to Yogyakarta, looking forward to exploring a new city and meeting more locals. Indonesia has been such a beautiful experience thus far -- going to sleep last night recounting all the crazy sights we've seen, delicious food we've had, and the people we've met, I told Paul, 'this is like, the best country', to which he replied, 'pretty much.' * I also need to include this other friendly local story. While waiting to be picked up to go to the school, we bought plane tickets for our flight out of Bali. The site was having issues accepting our foreign cards, so we picked an option to pay locally at a bank. Getting there we realized we needed an Indonesian card for this option, but the teller at the bank said maybe he could help us? He ended up transferring our money into his personal account and using his card to go in and pay off our tickets. It was something so out of his way, and out if his job obligations, and really just something that would never be offered in the states. Our tickets were confirmed and we were on our way, again grateful for the genuine helpfulness and friendliness of the locals.

Philippines ... into Indonesia!

One post later, and we find ourselves in a new country. Indonesia has so far surprised us and really exceeded whatever expectations we had. We are currently on a train (which we got up at 4:15 to catch and almost missed) to the town on Probolinggo, to climb Mt. Bromo. But there's a lot to update on between now and the last post, starting with our last week in the Philippines. We spent a whopping 10 days in Puerto Princesa, which is really an eternity to the average "backpacker". We were feeling a little spent from being on the move so much, and figured anything else we would of done would be rushed. So that's how our 10 whole days in Puerto Princesa came to be, and we probably saw almost everything there is for a tourist to see in that town. The first couple days we wandered around checking out the malls, and their awesome outdoor market -- just basking in air con and commercialism after our journey through the Palawan wilderness. Our very first stop was a craft brewery! We tried an IPA and a wit. The wit was nice, light and refreshing -- a good beer for the area. The IPA left a little to be desired. Not very hoppy and only around 40 IBUs. Apparently the owners of this place found inspiration in San Diego, so I'd expect a more on point IPA, but we were happy to drink it either way. After a few days, we decided to rent a motorbike and explore that way. The first night we rode to a river about 20 kms. or so out of town to do a nighttime firefly watching. Our guide was really nice and pointed out the fireflies to us, as well as the stars in the sky, and the (huge) jellyfish and glowing plankton in the water. The next day we took the bike out again to visit the Iwahig Prison and Farm. This is a strange place, it has maximum, medium and minimum security inmates. They are color coded and the medium and minimum level prisoners are able to leave their confinement a during the day, working different jobs in tending the farm and colony. They have a large organic farm, and big crafts center. There is a visitor type center, where a group hangs out and dances when visitors enter - "gangnam style" was a favorite. Paul and I both thought they were some of the friendliest people we met. A guide showed us around the facilities, and explained to us he had a life sentence -- this was right before offering to take a photo of Paul in one of those photo ops. Where you stick your head into a cartoon -- this one on top of a prisoner behind bars. The correct facial expression for this photo, especially when it's being taken by someone serving a life sentence eludes me. But this is the kind of place Iwahig Penal Farm is, worth a visit, but definitely a little strange. From there we headed back to town stopping at the Crocodile farm on the way! You are lead through a whirlwind tour, pass through a room with hundreds of baby crocodiles and then find yourself on a platform feet away from some of the hugest crocodiles you can imagine. These animals are so unbelievable to me, they look like survivors of the dinosaur age. We went from the Crocodile farm to the Butterfly Garden, quite a change of scenery. We were able to see lots of butterflies and their cocoons, the latter being surprisingly beautiful. The most interesting part of the garden, was the little "tribal village" they had in the back and included at the end of the tour. Native members of the Palawan tribe came out and demonstrated as our guide talked about their music, hunting, fire making and traditional life. It was all very interesting to see how these people still live. We talked to the organizer of the exhibition a little afterwards -- it was interesting to hear his take on their culture, how they are so intrigued to participate in the modern world and technology, but knowing it is also important to preserve their way of life. The natives in the program switch out every few months and are paid for their time -- to demonstrate their skills and make crafts to sell. Apparently, the first thing many choose to buy with their earnings are cell phones. The Palawan are a very musical people, much of their music is dedicated to the sounds of nature, and they become skilled at mimicking birds from a young age. They are attracted to cell phones, primarily for all the music available at their fingertips. We bought a couple of their homemade bamboo zithers, think tribal filipino kazoo, and we were on our way. Oh ... Paul also got to shoot their native blowgun and considered buying a compete set with darts, but luckily restrained himself -- probably a good idea with our many flights to come. (The girl across from me on the train is listening to headphones and singing 'Let it Go' ... the dad keeps telling her to stop singing out loud -- at least in Indonesian, this is what I assume he's saying). The last, and probably biggest highlight of our time in Puerto Princesa was probably the Pacquiao fight! We had booked a boat back to Manila initially, but didn't realize that with the time difference from the States, we'd be on the boat during the fight -- this wouldn't do, so we did what we needed to cancel and booked a flight instead. There was lots of talk leading up to the day if the fight, and the morning itself felt like Christmas. We caught a jeepney at 7 in the morning to the city coliseum, where the fight was being shown for free. We figured this would attract the biggest number of locals, and we wanted to be right in the middle of it. Of course, everyone knows now that Pacquiao lost. We were definitely hoping he'd knockout Mayweather, but it didn't happen. The entire coliseum filled up for the fight -- there were lots of cheers when Manny got a good round of punches in, lots of boos at Mayweathers constant clinching. The commenator got a big round of laughter when he reported that Mayweather's dad told him he was "fighting like he was scared". The energy was great and it was so fun to be a part of -- though I was surprised at the end of the fight. People got up and left fairly quickly, with no strong reaction to the loss. In the end I felt like Pacquiao put up a respectable fight and people were proud of their "hero". From Puerto we flew back to Manila to catch our 4am flight to Bali. We had all day to hang out as we arrived in the morning but luckily had plans to finally catch up with some family!! We met my auntie Joanne and her son Jako (or has he requested, Justin) at the mall for dinner. The mall probably had about 10 different buffets to choose one and we ended up at a Korean one, which even Paul said was quite good. We had a delicious dinner, then some coffee an tea, then some halo-halo and dinuguan -- because what do you with your filipino family besides eat?? Joanne had to take us to try the best dinuguan, which Paul devoured, and the best halo-halo,the secret ingredient being caribou milk -- making it extra rich and creamy. All the delicious food was paired with even better company and before we knew it, it was almost 11 and time for us to catch out shuttle back to the airport. It was a good day in Manila with family, and we look forward to seeing them again when we return. After our random 4am flight (where we were even more randomly reunited with some travelers we were on a tour with weeks before in Coron) we were finally in a new country, Indonesia! We weren't sure what to expect we had heard it was really touristy, that the beach/surf town closest to the airport, Kuta, was dirty and gross and overrun with drunk tourists. We decided we'd still see there and check it it four ourselves, as it's a classic spot. Exiting the airport, we were immediately struck by how beautiful it was. Very green, lots of trees, clean, and beautiful modern but traditional architecture. We got to Kuta smoothly, after riding with one of the friendliest cab drivers ever. We found a nice place to stay, with rooms surrounding a nice garden and were off to explore. We both thought Kuta wasn't too bad, lots of tourists yes, but still clean and pleasant to walk around. There are small trays with offerings to the gods everywhere (middle of the sidewalks even), complete with incense which even makes the town smell nice while walking around. We scoped out the surf (unusually big for the beginner beach) got some food and headed back to our hotel to relax as we were pretty tired from our early flight. At the room we fell asleep quickly. I was awoken by Paul saying it was 7, asking if I wanted to get up. I was already tired, not sleeping much the night before, why would I want to get up at 7? "No, like 7 at night" ... Oh, I felt so confused. I decided to get up to try and not totally wreck my sleeping pattern. We went off to find the night market Lonely Planet listed, but it was unimpressive. Instead, we ended up at our first Padang style warung for dinner. This is where we first started to get excited about the Indonesian food. You start with a plate of rice and can point to dishes you want to make your plate, in some towns you just get to make it yourselves. There are sautéed veggies to choose from, simple steamed greens, curries with meat, tofu, eggplant, jackfruit, spicy dishes with beef or pork, chili eggs, fried potato cakes or tempeh, fresh sambal ... all sorts of delicious and really flavorful dishes. Very cheap too, of course there is a big variety of food here -- but we've eaten at these style of restaurants almost everyday and are still enjoying the food. Paul did end up with quite a lot of what we thought was brain the other day, he even picked this out and served it himself! In Kuta we rented a motorbike for the week, it really seems to be the best way if getting around. Indonesia is lacking a public transport compared to a lot of Asian countries. We ride down to Ulu Watu, and as we were dreading got pulled over by a cop. Technically, you need an international license to drive here, but it's a pain to get and most say you can just pay the cop off for around 50,000 rupiah, less than $5. Unfortunately, he didn't take our bribe and we had to fork over 300,000 as he was holding Paul's ID hostage. This is from what we can tell a bogus fine, if it happens again we've been advised to take a photo of the cop and his badge number, then see if he takes the fine or just let's us go. Hopefully, the need to do this won't arise. The area around Ulu Watu was beautiful and extremely quiet and peaceful. The first thing we did was visit Ulu Watu temple. It's perched on cliffs overlooking the ocean and reminds me a lot of the Self Realization gardens in Encinitas ... there are amazing waves to watch there, but no surfers as the powerful waves crash almost directly into the cliffs. We did ride to some of the other beaches in the area to watch the surfers, as these are some world class breaks that attract really talented surfers. I watch multiple people effortlessly stick 360 degree jumps -- something I've never seen before. From Ulu Watu we headed back to Kuta for a day to surf as the waves shrunk down to something more our (mostly my) size. We had a nice dat if surfing and hanging out with some of the local surfers on the beach. The Indinesian people are incredibly friendly and curious to talk to foreigners. They also have something special about them, some kind of positive spirit, that really makes them pleasant to spend time with and be around. From Kuta we headed up to the mountain town of Ubud. This is also a tourist magnet, but known for outs culture and being a much quieter town than Kuta. There are yoga studios, health food shops and craft coffee bars galore. It is also a very peaceful town to apend time in. Once again we found a beautiful room, surrounded by lively gardens. In Ubud we visited a coffee plantation, to try the famous kopi luwak -- in which the coffee beans are ingested by the Indonesian version of a mongoose, the beans then pass thru the animal, are collected in its droppings and then used to brew as usual. After passing through the digestive tract tge taste is said to he smoother, less acidic and with less caffeine. We were able to see the steps from raw bean to fresh coffee grind, and were able to try a few ourselves. We also saw a miserable looking civet in a cage, but the whole issue of the animals treatment in relation to this coffee is a whole other issue. In the end, we had a full tasting of about 20 different flavored coffees and teas, and then were able to try a cup of the kopi luwak an regular Balinese coffee. The luwak was quite good, and indeed a lot smoother than the regular coffee. It depends on what you like, the flavor is less intense than some coffees, but nice and almost velvety, definitely worth a taste. From there we rode up the ride a little to view the Rice terraces. They are quite beautiful and really an ingenious was of farming and using water. The different rice paddies grow on differing levels carved into the hill, so the water can start at the top and flow down from one level to the other. We walked around quite a while admiring the whole area. Back in town, we visited one of my favorite spots, the Monkey Sanctuary! In any zoo the monkeys are always my favorite to watch, and to be able to so many of them running around free (in a beautiful natural area complete with ancient temples) was a real treat. I loved one little monkey who was playing with rocks in a puddle. He had this little rock that he'd take and wrap leaves around and keep trying to grind it into the ground. He'd look at it and grind it some more, and if the leaves fell off he'd stop and use his little hands to wrap it up again and start grinding. Then he started picking up the rock and dropping it in tge water, just playing with it and watching the splash it made each time. It was so funny watching him entertain himself, and he was so concentrated! The next day in Ubud, we woke up early to do a recommended hike along a jungle ridge to a cafe overlooking more rice fields. It was a pleasant, though short, walk and we ended up in a very nice cafe to relax and pass some time. The had a connecting spa, very well known for its massages, so I decided to indulge. I had an excellent deep tissue massage from Gusti, probably the best I've ever had. The area was beautiful, you were sat down with some delicious lemongrass tea and a sheet to dill out specifying your proven areas. You were also give 5 oils to sample, so you could pick your favorite to use in the massage. I picked an Ayurvedic mix which smelled wonderful, I have the name written down somewhere. The massage itself was excellent, he was very effective and knew exactly which spurs to work and his to get there. They say you give the kind of massage you like to receive, and this was the kind of massage I got - one day I hope I can give a massage as skillfully as the one I got. From Ubud, we hopped on a bus and ferry and headed to Java, a new island! It is quite different here, a little less clean and polished, but cheaper and maybe a little more rugged in terms on the nature on offer. Bali is primarily Hibdu, while Java is Muslim, which likely accounts for the different feeling. There are no longer temples and offering everywhere, though I'm now on the look for some of that incense to sprucen up the sometimes dingy rooms we find ourselves in. In Java we stayed the first nights in Banyuwangi, the jumping off point for Kawah Ijen, or Ijen crater. Not wanting to join a tour, but rather explore ourselves we set out to rent a motorbike to get to the base camp of Kawah Ijen. This was not an easy task, but finally secured one to take us up the mountain. There were some steep parts where our bike was maxed out and we were creeping along, but we made it. Once at the base camp were able to set up our tent and rest up for the 2am hike. Yes, 2am. There is an active sulfur mine at the bottom of the crater, which emits blue flames from the earth that can only be seen at night. The routine is to wake up at start your steep 3 km. hike at 2 am. Once you reach the top you can descend down into the crater to see the blue flames. Along with the flames, the earth is emitting sulfur gas, so you also need some kind of gas mask, or at the very least a handkerchief. The gas is very string, and if the wind starts blowing it your way, your eyes water and it's quite hard to breathe. It all sounds very crazy and adventurous and it is, but the blue fire and gases are such a strange site it's hard to take in once you get there. It feels like you've hiked down to some strange planet and it's weird taking in the whole scene. Unfortunately, in the dark of night it's hard to capture in photos the uniqueness of the scene. In addition, we were there during some Indonesian holiday and it was quite crowded. With the huge mass of people, Paul remarked it felt like some weird death march trudging up the mountain. After viewing the blue fire, you hike back up to the surface if the crater to view the sunrise. I didn't really how high we were, and suddenly we found ourselves surrounded by early morning light and clouds. It was very beautiful. Once the sun rose, we were able to get a look at the lake inside the crater, beyond the sulfur mines. The water is such a unique, beautiful shade of blue, it almost looks thick -- and combined with high walls the crater and the gas billowing from tge sulfur mines, it's one of the most beautiful natural sights I've ever seen. The more we walked around the rusher if the crater, the less the gases blocked our view and it just kept getting more and more beautiful. The whole thing from riding the motorbike to camping to the night hike and beyond was one of my favorite experiences of the trip so far. Phew! We are now up to date, there's about an hour left of this bus ride and then were off in a new town. I'll try to update sooner next time!!