Sore in Surabaya III: Beautiful Bromo

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 Air Asia's 9-hour delay.    

After a couple of banana fritters, Pak Sulaiman signalled for us to start hiking up King Kong Hills. Not a difficult hike, but it was dark and a bit slippery. Found a good spot to wait for the sunrise. For some reason, I never had much luck with sunrises, and Bromo was no different. Although it was cloudy, I enjoyed the panorama. From an altitude of 2,600m we had a great view of the Bromo caldera, Mount Semeru, and the city of Probolinggo and Pasuruan. Once we soaked everything in, we hiked backed down, and located our jeep. Next destination was the Sea of Sand, which is dessert-like plain of black volcanic sand around Bromo. Quite an interesting sight. Proceeding on foot, we walked towards the crater, passing the Pura Luhur Poten, which is a Tenggerese Hindu shrine dedicated to Brahma. Locals also offer horse rides, hence the whole way is littered with horse shit. The poop steams upon hitting the ground. 

The walk was easy, but when I saw the 255 steps up to rim of the crater, my thighs literally screamed. Sat down at the foot of the volcano to gather my strength. The whole area was misty and there were many vendors selling Edelweiss flowers. Took it really slow, and in no time at all, we were staring down the smoking and gurgling mouth of Bromo. One wrong step and you could end up as human offering to the volcano. However, the view at 2,300m above sea level was worth the climb. Right at the lip of the crater was a stone shrine to Ganesha. Casually, Pak Sulaiman lit a cigarette and left it at the edge of the shrine together with the other offerings. Saw a tourist run down the side of crater as an alternative to the stairs. Our guide actually suggested that we follow suit, but KH and I valued our knees more.

At 8AM, we had breakfast back at the hotel. Together with the other returning guests, we tracked in loads of black volcanic sand. Showered, packed our bags, and took a quick look around the hotel, admiring the Yellow Bells and Hydrangeas. Went on our way towards Ijen, with a short stop for lunch at RM Handayani at Paiton. The place has a 'water park' dining concept, but the heat was very much a deterrent for us to dine at one of the many gazebos along a man-made pond. Bumped into familiar faces, a group of 2 girls and a guy who were lodged beside our room at Bromo. KH was very curious about their sleeping arrangements. One of the girls was the queen judging by the bitchy way she ordered lunch. 

By 4 PM, we arrived at Baratha Hotel, a hotel that forced us to climb more stairs. Tried our best to get some shut eye before dinner because our activity starts at midnight (a crazy kind of holiday don't you agree?). Had some fried rice and a stewed tofu dish at the hotel cafe before attempting to get more rest.