will i am's delayed diary

At midnight, Pak Sulaiman drove us out to Paltuding , which is the nearest stop to the Ijen crater. For 2 hours he navigated pitch dark roads, while we dozed in and out of sleep at the backseat. Unlike Bromo, there isn't much decent infrastructure in the vicinity of Ijen, hence tourists have to stay at Bondowoso.  Everyone would wait at the many waroeng s near the carpark, sipping thick local coffee. Met up with our local guide who gave us a couple of 3M respirator masks, and headlamps for our impending trek into the sulphur fumes of Ijen. The hike up was 4KM over a tarred road. Our guide knew every bend of the road, and would update us about how easy or difficult the upcoming stretch was. Such intimate knowledge was picked up from his decades of mining sulphur in Ijen. His shoulders are scarred from carrying 70kg baskets of sulphur in and out of the crater daily. If your legs fail you, you cam pay to use modified carts ( the locals call it 'medicine for the knees' ) that t...

Pak Sulaiman navigated a slew of dark and winding roads to get us to Bromo. Lots of hotels and amenities in the area. The altitude is high, and its so cold that we could see our breath. Our guide is actually from thereabouts. Checked in to the Cafe Lava Hostel at dinner time. Lugged our luggage up a steep flight of stairs, jumped into the shower with its gas powered water heater, and put on our warmest jammies. Sauntered down to the hotel's cafe for a simple dinner of vegetable soup and coffee. Wake up call was at 2:30AM where there was a line of jeeps waiting to take tourists to Bromo to catch the sunrise. At around 3:40 AM, we arrived at a rest area with a lot warungs . Sitting on low stools, we huddled around a small charcoal hearth to keep warm. A lady served us banana fritters and hot coffee. While waiting for the cue to go, we chatted with a Malaysia couple who were in the same warung . Although I was pissed with Batik Air for transit fiasco,  the couple had it way worse with...