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...

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...

Our booking at the ryokan was inclusive of breakfast. When we got down at 8:00 AM, a tray of eggs, sausages, natto , spinach, bean sprouts and pan-fried salmon was waiting for us. Good, hearty food for a day of physical exertion ahead. At the cafe, we exchanged pleasantries with the Budget Uncle, who had his wife in tow. She had a mang zang face and didn't say much at all. When we told him that we drove, he was quite impressed. He waved us off to do whatever 'young people' did. Drove to the nearby Toyako Visitors Center to get on the Konpiriyama Crater trail . The sun was shining brightly but the air was relatively cool. For some reason, we were the only ones on the trail with the dandelions and bees. Highlights of the trail was the view of Lake Toya, a crater, a destroyed incinerator, and an abandoned house from the year 2000 eruption. On the way back ( it wasn't a loop, so we had to double back ), we spotted another fox! Back at the trail...