Advertisement
Published: December 10th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Closed!
Temple in Ubud, Bali Today, unlike others on this trip, I have found myself in luxury. I travel in the prestigious ‘executive class’ on the 10 hour express to Jakarta, capital of the volcano infested Indonesian archipelago. ‘Its nice to have space to stretch these traveled legs and numb behind’ I think as I enter a coach to the rear of the train. Cigarette smoke fills what appears to be a shabby canteen area. Indonesia ballads blast full volume from a TV and my concerns are realised as two neatly dressed staff members lament each other via a rumbling Karaoke machine. Offered a microphone I promptly decline and improv a little dance beside the waitress to get involved. To laughs and smiles she takes my coffee order. I promptly retire to my seat and she to her second chorus. Indonesians are great people, always smiling, always having fun. Next time though, like all the other suits, I’ll order from my seat.
I touched down on Balinese tarmac in the middle of a humid November. I came to Indonesia with one thing certain; tickets to a 2 day, Australian organised, electronic music festival. The other 28 days of my visa; up for grabs. ‘Kuta’ is
the main tourist haunt of Bali, Indonesia’s most visited island. The epicenter of the 2004 Bali bombings, Kuta is not exactly the Bali paradise you would hope for. Hawkers, late night bars and throngs of young drunken vacationers make the region intolerable after a few short days. However during my visit I met some great backpackers and shared many ‘Bintangs’ (Indo’s only and very overpriced, local beer). On a day that I am quite proud of, I managed to purge myself of hedonism and rented a scooter for the 35km trip to the cultural village of Ubud.
Living in Australia one adjusts to the distances and extended travel times that it takes to get from A to B. I naively miscalculated the ease of scooting my way to Ubud. Where 35km in Australian terms might be the distance to your nearest petrol station, the equivalent in Bali is a hair raising heart stopping hour and a half through endless exhaust fumes, unsigned streets and roadwork’s and single lane roads carrying two lanes of traffic. Locals cram scooters with mattresses, TV’s, whole families to farmyard animals. I for one got sloppy and forgot about the ‘beep if your alive’ policy
which is adopted by all motorcyclists in Asia. Beep if you’re overtaking, beep if you’re exiting, beep if you’re happy and most definitely beep if an oncoming truck pulls out on top of your pale ass! Arriving in Ubud drenched in sweat and doing the John Wayne walk away from the bike amused the locals and later myself.
The Gilli’s are a group of three islands on the northwest coast of the neighbouring island of Lombok. On these isolated islands the Kuta crowd exchange hustle and bustle for sand and hammocks. There is no doubt that the islands are a peaceful respite after a few days in busy Bali, however the nightlife has been known to jump off. After making some new friends over a few Bintang the nightlife was, as expected, tested. For me a true break was needed from this holidaying lifestyle. I was here for Indonesia’s real sights and after a few days on Gilli Tranwagnan, some friends and I booked a '3 day / 2 night' trek to the summit of mighty Rinjani.
Gunang Rinjani lying at 3726m above sea level in Lombok, is Indonesia’s second highest Volcano and one serious load of heartbreak.
Our group, nine backpackers, set out on one of Lombok's notorious rainy-season downpours. The first day demanded a solid six hour uphill hike to the rim of Rinjani's spectacular crater lake where weary hikers are rewarded with magical uninterrupted vistas. On our second day we hiked down to the crater lake where
Gunang Baru (New Mountain) an active volcano, solemnly gurgled, still sore after an recent eruption in May 2009. Camping that night at 2700m was an experience; deathly cold due to being totally unprepared wardrobe wise and exhausted from hiking with a body used to a diet of Bintang and beaches. Day 3, 3am. It was every hiker for themselves. The last icy 1000m to the summit was no time for chit chat and banter. A grueling 3 hour uphill battle with the last 300m compared to running up a sandhill at a 45 angle; for every three steps Rinjani would steal two. For her final ascent and beauty that lay ahead she would test your wits and question your manhood (Ok, I may have exaggerated a tad here but its not easy. Our guide said approximately one in three hikers reach the summit). I admit that I had
Kawah Ijen
The cloud to the left of the lake is steam from the venting sulphur. words with myself a few times on the final ascent to keep focused. However the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and sheer exhaustion of reaching the summit (see panoramic above) for sunrise was a memory I will never forget; sleeping Bali in the west and awakening Nusa Tenggara in the east. Magnificent.
The quick descent of spectacular Rinjani was met with my rapid escape from Lombok and subsequently Bali. I was done with the tourists and hawkers. Java, Indonesia’s most populated island, was awaiting my arrival. When you cross the quick and painless ferry west from Bali into Java the drop off in white skin, English fluency and cushioned bus furniture is truly evident. Seven hours and a numb ass later John Wayne waddled into Bondowosso in eastern Java, gateway to the isolated ‘Kawah Ijen’ and home of the world famous Java Coffee plantations. ‘Kawah Ijen’ is a turquoise sulphuric crater lake 2200m above sea level in the active Ijen volcano. Venting sulphur daily the volcano attracts local miners who load baskets with up to 80kg of hardened sulphur and make the arduous trek back to their village. Although it was a two day off-road mission to get to the
base of the volcano, the painless two hour hike to the lake was rewarded with view as pure as Rinjani’s offering a week before.
Two days later, lots of hand signals, sore limbs, much pigeon English and good luck got me to my next volcanic destination. The notorious
Gunang Bromo, recently in the Indonesian news for its eruptions, is one of the most visited sights in Java. (Not to be confused with
Gunang Merapi which made international news headlines in October). As you can see they love an oul' eruption here in Volcano country! In fact the entire populated terrain of Java is made from volcanic activity and today consists of over 121 volcanoes. The Bromo-Senaru-Tenngra national park was such a peaceful and solemn place that I decided to stay two days, witnessing two incredible sunrises over an otherworldly landscape.
In the last week I have spent my time busing across this vast countryside, stopping over night in Surabaya (Indonesia’s second biggest city) and Solo (Textile centre of Java). I have gotten taxi rides on the back of motorcycles (
ojeks) and cruised sleepy towns in rickety trishaws (
becaks). I spent the last three days in Yogyakarta, the cultural
Bromo before dawn
(Click on the image for the better bigger version) capital of Java and visited the usual touristy of palaces and temples and such. While the cities are interesting to visit, they are overflowing with scooters, cars, street vendors, poverty, pollution, decay and waste. It is no wonder this route is not so common for backpackers and since I arrived in Java I have not seen any white skin bar the obligatory boisterous Germans on package tours. Indonesia as a whole is a fantastic country. The food, the people and the landscape are all worth a visit. If I came back I would much like to visit the remote area’s of Sumatra or see the orangutans in Kalimantan.
For now I am home straight of my epic 26 month trip. Six days of sun and beaches in Malaysia await me before my flight home. Six days until Irish sausages, brown bread and Lyons tea. Nom nom!
Thanks everyone for reading.
Complete Indonesia photos Mount Rinjani photos My Photography
Advertisement
Tot: 0.104s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 14; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0453s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
jack
non-member comment
welcome home mate!
Hi there mate! shame to read there won't be a next story to live to... :-( I really enjoyed your travelblog and superb photos! Maybe in the future we could meet, but for now, enjoy Malasia and a save trip home! C ya.. good luck! Jaap & suzanne & evi