will i am's delayed diary

With not much planned for the day, we had a leisurely breakfast buffet at the hotel, and later did some exploring of the grounds. One could really wear a tuxedo with pin tails, pair it with a top hat and walking stick, and not look out of place at The Majapahit. But then, you could be mistaken for a poltergeist. My favourite spot is the Cafe 1910 with its grand stained glass windows, and antique furnishing. Too bad we didn't have time for the pool.  Later in the morning, we took a Grab to Masjid Cheng Hoo , a Chinese-Muslim mosque that looks like a Taoist temple with its red Pagoda-like design. Its namesake is Admiral Cheng Ho, who had traveled to the  Malay Archipelago to trade and spread Islam. The mosque is actually pretty small and located behind a basketball court ( many Chinese temples in villages also have a basketball court ), so we were quite baffled when the Grab driver told us that we had arrived. Finished looking around in less than 30 minutes, and we were off to Raja T

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

Woke up puffy-eyed and sleepy for breakfast at 6:00 AM. Finally had a good view of the surroundings at Yanti Homestay. The place is a cluster of rooms with common areas and a warung at the front. After our simple breakfast of a sandwich, omelette, and weak coffee, Pak Sulaiman met up with us with a clove cigarette in hand. One look at the shoes that we were wearing, he shook his head and told us to change into slippers. Together with a local guide, we walked a short distance to the Tumpak Sewu viewing deck. In the Javanese language, Tumpak Sewu means "a thousand waterfalls", and it's really breathtaking. Water flows down 120 meters over a semi-circular gorge with Mount Semeru in the background.   The real adventure began with our descent to the foot of the falls.  One would think that such a beautiful nature spot would be under the governance of park authorities, but in actual fact it's all maintained by locals. The path down was a mixture of trails, bamboo paths, r

Remember my cancelled trip to Danang due to well-timed cyclone? To make up for that, KH arranged a trip to Surabaya at the end of November. The itinerary included waterfalls, and volcanoes. Nothing too strenuous he assured me. The night before our departure, KH notified me of some bad news. Surely it wasn't another cyclone! Batik Air had chopped our direct flight to Surabaya into a transit at Jakarta! Because of that, our arrival would be late, making our schedule a little more hectic. The check-in queue at the airport wasn't too bad. And there was small consolation of a check-in cutie in my line of sight. Tall Thai boy from the looks of it. Pretty good leg room on the Batik Air flight, and we were given a cheese bun, and a muffin. At 4PM+7, we landed at Terminal 3 of Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Thinking back, it was 19 years since my last visit, and that terminal didn't exist back then. Pretty large and empty, and for some reason the airport authority has a th