Blogs from Ijen Plateau, Java, Indonesia, Asia - page 2

Plans were made...transport sorted out. We arranged a private driver to bring us to Gilimanuk in the Nort-West of Bali where we would catch a ferry to Java. 10 am, no driver, 10h30, no driver, okay, I was getting very nervous and furious. Those guys they had been bothering us so much and when finally we agreed on a price (a lot higher then 1 month ago but it was high season now ) they take the piss on us. The driver shows up accidently, and for once Jesper let go of his anger... I made my conclusion fast, asked the hotel receptionist to arrange a taxi to the busstation north of Denpasar. This is what we've been wanting to do more, so here we go. We said goodbye to Sebastiaan and the taxi arrived 10 ... read more

This is D day. I woke up 4.30 this morning. Taking shower after morning prayer, I dressed up for the parade. Yes, the participants are required to dress up according to their traditional culture for the parade. This time I choosed Malay simple dress, because I am using it every week in Brunei, so no need special preparation. Back to the time when I still live in Sumatra, this dress also part of Our culture, even though We only using it on special occasion like wedding party. 6.40 am. I and Assifa saying good bye to Our host Mr Taufiq and his wife. We took our lugage with Us because according to the schedule given by the committee, We will depart to Sempol (coffee plantation near Mount Ijen) right after lunch today. For Our host, it ... read more

It is 4o'clock in the morning,but I couldn't sleep again. The cold air awaken Me up. I feel headache now.Don't know if it is caused by the cold air or caused by the hair gel ( I didn't use shampoo when take a bath last night).I just lying down on my bed till morning. 5 o'clock, took shower then waiting for Assifa to be ready. The host's wife prepared a glass of coffee for Me.too bad I couldnt drink coffee in the morning. 7.15 am. walk with Assifa to Eva's house. They just about to start their breakfast when We arrived there. Eva made a glass of tea for each of Us. There is new participant arrived at Eva's house last night. She is Lucy Sebankova from Czech. 7.40am after taking some pictures We move to ... read more

JAVA: Ijen...Danger, Poisonous Gas. My image of Ijen is a turquoise crater lake with sulphur workers extracting that noxious yellow element...as Ali captured in his blog . But in true travelling, everyone's experience is different, notwithstanding we may visit the same locales, or even the same paths & lookouts. And when we visited Ijen...that is how it was for us. Joe had warned us Ijen had just become active days before we hit Yogyakarta...villages were being evacuated...he did not know if we would be able to access the crater. So instead of cancelling that portion of our trip...we booked extra time there..!!! In planning our trip and choosing accommodation, I had been seduced by pictures of Ijen Resort & Villas at Banywangi...accessed by the roughest road imaginable...so said all the reviews...so I was determined to score ... read more

Depuis Baluran, on pense pouvoir rejoindre facilement Sempol, un village près du volcan Ijen à environ 80km de là. Avec le confort australien, j'ai de toute évidence oublié quelques leçons que j'avais apprises en Amérique du sud ! Il nous faudra changer 2 fois de bus, et la dernière partir s'avère épique. Un minibus s'arrête alors qu'on attend au bord de la route. Grave erreur, je négocie le prix du voyage sans regarder l'intérieur du bus ! Il est tellement bondé que mon père se retrouve assis sur des bidons d'essence au milieu des commissions des voyageurs, ma mère sur une barre de fer au bout d'un siège et moi sur une minuscule allée de 60cm de large que je partage avec un autre passager ! Tout ça sur une route de montagne. Pour partourir ces ... read more