Blogs from Mount Bromo, Java, Indonesia, Asia

They say train is the way to travel on Java. The 8 hour train journey through Central Java and east to Probolinggo was bliss compared to the buses. It consistently moved, it was comfortable, we had aircon, even the toilet was usable. The best part of the journey though was looking out of the window across rice paddies to smoking volcanoes. Pretty incredible and so typically Indonesia. We were headed to Probolinggo as it’s the staging post for visiting Mount Bromo. One of Indonesia’s top natural attractions it is another iconic Indonesian sight that is often said to be one of the most magnificent landscapes you will ever set eyes on. Mount Bromo is part of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. With its top blown off, it is more crater than mountain but the smoke ... read more

Everyone knows I love a good volcano! We did the "typical" tour - aka, leaving the hotel before 4am, a slightly insane jeep ride to a viewpoint for sunset, and then driving down into the "sand sea" to park and hike to the top of the caldera.... read more

We met the van in the morning and escaped from Kuta on the stupidly slow highway up the coast to Gilimanuk. This is where the ferry leaves from Bali to Banyuwangi on Java. The ferry ride is not much more than a puddle jump. There are a number of companies running back and forth with no obvious schedule or anything. The boats just get out into the harbour and jockey for position looking for an opportunity to get called into the dock. Once we got onto Java, the van rolled onto the city of Probolinggo before veering left into the hills towards the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The higher the climb the cooler the climate and the landscape started to change. It was a sharp change as the road was not only rising in elevation ... read more

Mount Bromo, a Volcano steeped in history and legend. A volcano dug by a love struck ogre with nothing but a coconut shell. A land of hope for a Hindu people as the original wave of Islam broke across the Island. Indonesia's love for this awe inspiring area is so great that most of them have never even heard of Krakatoa or its perilous past. Set in the Sea of Sand, with the ever smoldering Mount Semuru in the background sits a large crater smoking ominously. Our first glimpse comes from above, as we stand on the terrifyingly high mountain Penanjakan. Dawn breaks and the sun casts light on the valley before us, showing a sea of fog and mist, from which the volcano rises eerily from. The scene is one, which despite all my previous ... read more

Day 274 (Sat 8thJune) My minibus arrived at 9am and we headed away from Yogyakarta. There were I think 12 of us travelling on to Cewaro Lewang, a small town in the hills near Mount Bromo. The guide said this would be a 10 hour trip, so that being assumed we’d be there at 5pm. Luckily we had a large minibus and there was plenty of space although it doesn’t matter how much space there is, your ass still gets sore after constant sitting down and driving over speed bumps and potholes, off which Indonesia has plenty it seems, especially on some of the back roads we took. This method of getting there is awkward, one because you actually go sort of past where you need to go in the first place to turn back on ... read more