Java Pt5: The Black Sands of Mount Bromo

INTRODUCTION

Ask anyone in Singapore and probably half of them will reply they been to Mount Bromo.

It is probably one of the most visited places in Indonesia besides Bali.

The Bromo pilgrimage maybe a little overrated but you never know unless you try.

The sunrise is said to be stunning and attracts shutterbugs all year long.

The mountain erupted as recent as 2011. Danger has its attraction.

After what seemed like forever, we arrived at our hotel, The Lava View Lodge.

The van drive from the airport with one stop took almost 3 hours.

Half of it took us through steep, winding mountain roads. The tight space in the van did not help.

We were tired, crammed like sardines and it was cold. The time was 1130PM (local time).

THE JOURNEY

Taking the route from Surabaya, this was not an easy journey. It has narrow, winding and steep roads up to the mountain.

This is a useful mini-map from Lava View Lodge Hotel

THE STAY

Lava View Lodge Hotel

On this side of the mountain, the Lava View Lodge is a five-star accommodation. A former Indonesian president stayed here on his visit to Bromo, so we were told. However, what we found in our rooms were very basic.

TV which didn't work and two cushion chairs in the inside

Beds which were dusty and floor which was really sticky.

Two chairs to enjoy the view of the reception building.

The night was really cold and there wasn't hot water. We found out the next morning the hot water wasn't turned on. A simple call to the receptionist fixed that instantly.

Electric hot water but it was not working when we needed it the most.

A sink and mirror with an extremely sticky floor.

However, the best part of the hotel was the view, which we only noticed during the day. Mount Bromo was just at our doorstep.

Top: Reception building
Bottom: Hotel rooms

Bromo and Batok at our doorstep

The prices for the room is also not cheap. These are the prices as of 2013.

Standard Superior Twin/ Double costs IDR 634,000

Deluxe Double & Twin costs IDR 750,000

THE PLACE

Sunrise at Mount Pananjakan

3AM was by far the earliest we had to be up and running in the morning. The breakfast consisted of coffee, hard-boiled eggs, couple of sandwiches and a piece of fruit. All of which was much too heavy for 3AM.

In the next few minutes, we were loaded into a back of a Jeep in numbers of four. Then we were literally "spirited away" to Pananjakan. The drive was fun, I would say if it were not for my breakfast. I was nauseous and almost ready to puke. We were driving fast, bumping up and down, then at some points I could have sworn we were doing the "choku dori" drift.

Mount Pananjakan (or Penanjakan) is the viewpoint where everyone comes to see the sunrise.

Pananjakan stands at 2700 metres higher than Mount Bromo itself. It was cold and you need something warm to wear up here.

Our drifting Jeep arrived at the viewpoint parking. It was dark but we could see lights of other approaching Jeeps and motorcycles. The motorcycles are actually taxis bringing tourists called "ojek". As we walked towards the viewpoint, there were coffee shops to our right and there were hawkers/ touts loaning cold weather gears. It was needless to say, the place was crowded.

The viewpoint was also crowded. Shutterbugs of every level tried to stand at the very edge of the cliff to get a snap of the sunrise. Some risking life and limb by climbing over the safety barrier.

The sun does not rise in the direction of Mount Bromo but Mount Semeru. There are several mountains visible from this viewpoint including Mount Batok. The mist clears away and you will get full view of the plains down below and the next location we have to go.

Here are some photos of the sunrise. These are not my best photos in the dark.

Sea of Sands, Ponies and Staircase to Heaven

As the sun rises and mist clears, the crowd also dispersed. We spent a good an hour and half here. It is time to go to our next point. We walked back to our Jeep in fours and this time we drove slowly. In 5 minutes or so, we assembled on the sea of black sands of Bromo. The sand is black because it is made of volcanic sand. On a hot day, you can feel the heat of the earth underneath your feet.

The first thing I noticed (besides the obvious black sand, of course) are the ponies. I suddenly had the feeling that I am in some mountain range of South America. The ponies, to be exact, all had Spanish, names including names like Pablo, Alberto etc.

The jockeys will give you a ticket for a small price of IDR 30,000 to 50,000 for a return trip to the staircase leading to the peak of Bromo. It is advisable not to loose that ticket. The jockeys get annoyed if you do. This was my first time on a horse and I keep getting that weird feeling I am going fall off. This is quite normal especially if the ride is steep.

The pony ride stopped at the foot of Bromo's crater. The jockey and pony will wait for you here to take you back. The staircase will bring you to the rim of the crater. Remember your ticket.

On the rim of the crater, there are many tourists standing really close to the edge. This is unnecessary. The site or view of the crater itself is not really something you write home.

Smoke constantly comes from the crater. If you observe carefully, a lot of offerings rice and flowers lay scattered in the crater. Legend has it a queen who was childless started the tradition. Offerings rice and flowers were thrown into the mountain to improve fertility.

Smoke on water

Mount Batok has a unique terrain. It has terraces that start from the top all the way to the foot of the mountain. Batok is non-active volcano peak covered in Casuarina trees.

DON'T PANIC

Breakfast

There are times when you think you may run out of energy and you decide that eating 3AM in the morning would be a good idea. Trust me when I say it is not. I found this out the hard way.

Advice: Try something light like coffee and a snack bar. Take your breakfast during your usual hours to avoid nausea.

Pananjakan Viewpoint

There is a long queue at the toilet and do go before you come here. There are many coffee shops the way up here. Food choices are limited though. They can provide cup of hot coffee or some noodles.

It is cold here. Although there are, hawkers/touts that rent out warm clothing, you do not know where it has been. Bring some warm clothing. You will not need it for long especially if you are hiking.

THINGS I MISSED THAT YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT

Malang Route

There are two ways of getting to Mount Bromo. The first route was through Surabaya, which I took. There is another route to check out is through Malang.

Various tour groups recommend Malang as there is a beach, theme park and it costs a lot less than staying on top of Mount Bromo.

Pony Rides

Touts handle the ponies and like anywhere else in Indonesia, very aggressive salespersons.

A jockey will follow you guiding the pony but you can choose not to take the pony and just slowly walk. The hike itself is quite easy but I see most tourist struggle at the staircase.

Warm Clothing

Most part of this entire trip did not require for warm clothing. You could bring a sweater, pair of disposable gloves and do the clothes layering technique to keep warm. A face mask and a broad rim hat helps.

The Hindu Temple

Before reaching the foot of Bromo, there is a Hindu temple Pura Luhur Poten. I don't have much information about this temple except that it was built for the purpose of worshipping the mountain god. The practice of throwing flower and rice (which you will find hawkers selling at Bromo) started here.

Pura Luhur Poten Temple viewed from Bromo

Madakaripura Waterfall

Located at Kecamatan Lumbang, Probolinggo, Madakaripura is one of the waterfalls in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. It takes about 1 hour or more to hike from Tongas.

The view is said to be amazing.

Seruni Point Hike

There is hiking option, which you could take from Seruni Village. Start as early as 2.45AM depending on the sunrise time. The trail advised by many is quite hard.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS

Don't put Bromo on your bucket list. Personally, I think the Ijen crater had more to offer and the sunrise in Borobudur was much more beautiful.

Prologue to Java Pt5: The Black Sands of Mount Bromo

INTRODUCTION

Bromo is located to the east of Java in Surabaya, another several hundred kilometers away from Yogyakarta. If you were wondering, Yogyakarta is located in Central Java.

Driving between Yogyakarta and Surabaya will take approximately 6 to 8 hours which is just too much time.

So a flight seems like the best choice.

THE JOURNEY

The road to Bromo started with us leaving Manohara Princess Hotel back to the Yogyakarta International Airport (Adisucipto International Airport). It was Vesak day and there were some charity work on the hotel grounds. Tents were raised and some of the halls were turned medical checkup centre.

What I didn’t know at this point was it would become a daily thing to arrive at the hotel really late in the evening and leaving it hotel before check out time.

Bags were packed and less than hour later after breakfast, we are back on the road again. Arriving at this hotel in the late in the evening we were not able to see anything but in daylight, we were finally able to see. The road leaving Manohara Princess Hotel had this old school Asian village feeling with lot of paddy fields.  At the intersection to the main road there was this arch welcoming (wishing goodbye to us in this case) folks coming in to Borubudur.

Beyond that it was town roads taking us to the airport.

The weather was relatively hot and sunny since we came to this part of Indonesia. We hope the weather stayed the same for the next league of our adventure.

After arriving at the airport about 1 hour later, we said our goodbye to the driver and tour guide with the usual tipping.

 
THE PLACE

I have covered much about this airport in my earlier blog “Java Pt1: Yogyakarta: Adisucipto International Airport” but you may to check out the DON’T PANIC section on some tips while at the airport.

There isn’t much to say about this small airport. There are two areas at this airport. Airport lobby and waiting area are separated by the immigration and terminal fee counters. There are limited gift shops with pretty much everything marked up high.

There is a good book store at the waiting area, besides that there isn’t much to do except wait for your flight.

The toilet in the lobby is a little difficult to get to.

 
THE FLIGHT

Well instead of “THE STAY” I decided THE FLIGHT is more appropriate.

We took Lion Air which is local budget flight which mainly does internal flights in Indonesia.

The planes are quite tight but thank God the flight was also short.

The flight cost us IDR 576,000. So it was not cheap either.

Taking your flight would mean walking carefully on the marked paths to the planes. Yes, it is something you expect at a bus station.

The flight took us only 1 hour 10 minutes or so.

Here was interesting article I found during the flight.




DON’T PANIC

Airport Screening and Eateries
Before entering the airport lobby, you are required to go through the security screening process.

However, you suddenly realized you are still early and want try out something local but how do you go out again? Not to panic, you can check in and leave the airport lobby to go out to the various eateries just outside the airport lobby. Just remember you need to go through airport security again to enter the airport lobby.

I would recommend the staff canteen which is located back to the main entrance where we dropped off by our Yogyakarta guide. If you are not able to find it ask around for the staff canteen. The food is cheap and tastes much better than anything else we have eaten so far in this trip.

Receipts
When shopping in Indonesia, you should always ask for receipts. If the sales person refuses, then do not purchase. Ask before giving your money and once you get your receipt make sure it is correct.

You may not need to do this when buying from small stall owner but it is something you want to practice when shopping in stores.

Person selling it to you may purposely mark up prices pocketing a small profit. It is widespread in Indonesia and the government is placing signs everywhere to ask for proof of purchase.

Fakes
One thing I always expect when buying from airports is original goods but this is not the case here. Fake goods are sometimes sold with original goods. If it doesn't feel right, don't buy it.

Terminal Fee
The airport charges a terminal fee of IDR 35,000. You pay before entering the airport waiting area.

LiveJournal Tags: Bromo,Surabaya,Yogyakarta,Juanda Airport,Windows Live Journal,Adisucipto International Airport,fakes,terminal fee,Lion Air

Java Pt4: Staring at the Sun in Borubudur

INTRODUCTION

After visiting the infamous Malioboro Street, it was time to turn in and get some rest before the next day's adventure, Borubudur Temple. Little that we knew, this would include waking up before the break of dawn.

THE JOURNEY

Point A is Malioboro Street and Point B is Manohara Princess

Point A is Malioboro Street and Point B is Manohara Princess

Manohara Princess is the first of many hotels; we would visit on our trip to Indonesia.

The distance was about 50km away from Malioboro Street. By car, it would take almost 1-hour journey. Again, the journey was much longer. It took us approximately an hour and a half to reach there.

The roads were in complete darkness, so we could hardly see where we were going. At one point, we were in hustle and bustle of the town area and the next we were quiet and sometime eerie village roads again.

On occasions, we could see signs for hotel and while other saying Borobudur. Finally, with one right turn and we reached the Manohara Princess Hotel.

THE STAY

Manohara Princess Hotel is this hotel in the middle of nowhere. It brings that classic Eagles' tune "Hotel California" to mind. It was dark by the time we reached there. The lobby was just this simple counter and some ornamented table and chairs.

Lobby

Chairs are beautiful isn't it?

There were two statues of Ganesha (Hindu God) as we approach the hotel lobby. The faces were broken but you could still guess based on the shape. There was no Internet connection in the rooms. They could not give a second key to the room. This made it difficult for my roommate and I. Somebody always had to be in the room. There was no wet towel or welcome drink served to us, another minus point for this hotel.

Now, for some good points about this hotel. This place seems like a research centre of some sort and I guess someone decided to turn it into a hotel. l like the architecture of the place and at night it seemed very serene. The beds and rooms were very comfortable. If you are bored (or decided not watch the limited cable TV provided in the room) do read the photo book that they have in each room. It should give you something to look forward when you visit Borubudur temple.

The room and bathroom are decent. The mess was courtesy from my roommate and I.

The room and bathroom are decent.

The mess was courtesy from my roommate and I.

Just to make sure you got to the right place.

Hotel Reception and Information Counter

Other things I found on the hotel premise.

Nearing Wesak Day, there was a free clinic for the villagers.

Any guess what I am looking at?

Any guess what I am looking at?

Further details of the hotel can be found here on this website.

http://manoharaborobudur.com

I was in twin bed room, which costs between IDR 900, 000 to 1, 000, 000 per night.

THE PLACE

The bed was comfortable and before I knew it, I was fast asleep for the 3.30AM hike. It was midnight by the time I fell asleep.

Come 2.30 AM my roommate and I woke up to wash. We were supposed to have a light breakfast but it was not there. I found out later that the kitchen does not open that early. So keeping some simple bread or energy bar would be useful. I drank the instant coffee provided in the room and walked out to the lobby. The rest of our tour group and other tourists who were also staying at the hotel greeted me.

We were introduced to our tour guide and wore the sarong they provided. They passed us a complimentary torchlight and an insect repellent patch.

The Borubudur temple is a single complex building. It takes only 5 minutes to walk from the hotel. The entire area is fenced off and there is a security check prior to entry. Paying to stay in this hotel apparently has its benefits. You get first dibs on the sunrise watch spots and a tour guide can be arranged. The tour guide gives some history lesson as we carefully made our way through the darkness. Next stop heaven and nirvana.

It was pretty hard to see anything in the darkness

It was pretty hard to see anything in the darkness

Sunrise and Nirvana

Finally, we were seated at level 6 and 7 facing east towards the sunrise. The whole place seems to be in darkness. However, from a far the General Electric light illuminates the horizon. This alone was a remarkable sight.

Illumination brought to you by GE

It is going to take awhile before the sun rises but we were assured of the best available seats. Waiting for the sun to rise can be really boring, so here is a list of things you can do while waiting:-

- sit back and enjoy the view.

- take some photos. 

- take some more photos.

- listen to the guide while he explains more of the history.

- take a nap

A crowd slowly begins to build. Actually, calling it crowd would be an over statement. I say there were about 20 people and there was plenty of room for everyone.

The fog began to lift as the sun slowly begins to rise in the horizon. It is somehow so majestic to watch as all of it unfolds. Don't believe me? Take a look at the photos below.

After The Sunrise

After that incredible sunrise, our guide took us for a walk around the temple complex. I will not go in detail into the history but just take your time to observe the carvings on the walls. The wall at the bottom level of depicts all of the problems faced by man in his daily life. It takes awhile to get a good look at all of the wall carvings and understand the meaning behind it. Any of the real world problems, which we have in this modern age was already experienced by people in 9th century.

Wall carvings

For a simpleton like me, we resort to taking photos of the Buddha statues, which Borubudur is famous.

That famous Buddha statue facing the east, which you can find on postcards and travel brochures

Tip: Look at his nose, it is broken

Circling 3 Times

After the sunrise photo session, our guide said it is customary to pray. We began somewhere at the north entrance and circled around the temple 3 times. As you circle the temple, you notice there are carvings of old Hindu epics on the walls. After circling the temple 3 times, make a wish. :)

DON'T PANIC

Staring at the sun

Summer stretching on the grass
Summer dresses pass
In the shade of a willow tree
Creeps a crawling over me
Over me and over you
Stuck together with God's glue
It's going to get stickier too

It's been a long hot summer
Let's get under cover
Don't try too hard to think
Don't think at all

I'm not the only one
Staring at the sun... U2

Waking up at 3AM may not be for everyone. Here are some survival tips.

Tip 1: Eat something and grab that morning coffee. Sometimes the hotel cook may screw up the morning breakfast or the coffee. Just remember to pack a piece of bread and your favourite instant coffee or drink. Kind of a hindsight but trust me you will thank me later for it. You are welcome.

Tip 2: Sleep early. This makes absolute sense.

                                                                          
Tip 3: Sunset tours are also available. Check out Manohara Princess Hotel website for latest changes in prices.

Safety

As we waited for the sunrise, we notice more and more tourist started to come in. Although it was not over crowded, it is always good to remember simple safety tips such as keeping an eye of your belongings.

Toilet

I did not notice one, so go before you come up here.

Flash Light

The hotel does give you a complementary flashlight. I, however, recommend you bring a headlamp. Headlamp keeps your hands free while you sometime may struggle with the darkness and your steps. Besides, it is useful to when you fiddle with your camera.

Tour Guide

The guided tour was much more worth the money than the one provided at Prambanan temple.

Some speak in different foreign language including French, Japanese and Korean. Each visiting group is assigned one.

Stay at Manohara Princess Hotel

Manohara Princess is located close to the compound of Borubudur.  If you are on a budget, you may want to look for a cheaper hotel nearby, arrange for a transport and the tour for the sunrise. If sunrise isn't your thing, you can always come when the gates are officially opened to public.

Insects and the Sun

Some would worry about insects and lather themselves crazy with insect repellent but I think it is unnecessary to do that. You should be fine if you wear it sparingly. However, sunscreen is necessary. It might seem like a crazy idea to wear it when it is so dark outside, your skin will thank you later. The morning sun really burns.

Tourist Hunter

This review would not be complete without talking about the tourist hunters in Borubudur. As we walked out of the temple grounds, there was a line of souvenir peddlers. They were waiting in a neat, single file line. As usual, if you are not interested, be polite and walkway.

THINGS WE MISSED THAT YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT

Museums

Called the Karmawibhangga Museum, it is an archaeological museum established in 1983. It has display of photos of the original excavation of the site.

There is another museum called Samudra Raksa Museum located to the west of the first museum. It has the Borubudur ship on display.

Pilgrimage

According to our guide, there is Buddhist pilgrimage to the site every year on Wesak day. Borubudur temple will be lighted up and it is something you should not miss.

Audio and Visual Exhibition

On our tickets, there was free audio and visual exhibition. It starts much later in the day and we had to give it a miss as we were leaving immediately after breakfast.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS

Do not miss this Unesco Heritage when you are in Yogyakarta. The place is a must visit. Do come earlier in the day so you have time to soak up in the atmosphere of the location. If you are on a tight budget, avoid Manohara Princess Hotel and try looking for other hotels nearby.