There are public temples which can be accessed by everybody and family temples that are used only by members of the family. During our stay in Ubud we focused on discovering complex Balinese culture, religion and art. In that time we visited some outstanding temples and here they are:

These temples are also worth seeing!

During our stay in Bali we visited dozens of temples. Especially in Ubud. The town is a well known cultur and art center. While you are there, it is worth stepping in Pura Saraswati, where you can find ponds of water lilies. Another great place is Puri Seren located within Royal Palace. As moving around the island is a bit problematic we did not have time or will to visit another 2 famous temples. Maybe next time, who knows.

Next time…

If we come to Bali again we would love to visit Pura Ulun Danu Bratani – Temple by the Lake picturesquely located in the mountains and Pura Besakih at foothills of Mt Agung. Who knows, maybe some day we will write an update to this note!

Bromo is the youngest from 5 volcanoes located in gigantic 16km wide Tengger caldera. Together they make a very spectacular scenery.

How to get to from Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang.

It is not easy, again, to move to the Cemoro Lawang Village which is located right at the caldera edge. Of course, you can take a taxi and pay at least 500.000 IDR but you can do it much much cheaper with public transport and little bit of effort.

First of all, as we came to Probolinggo from Bunywangi by train we needed a small mini bus to take us from the train station to the bus station. It took around 20 minutes and cost 5000 IDR per person which would make around 50cents! Do not let the “train station wise guys” fool you. As soon as we got off the train they offered a lift and asked for 10 times more than what we saw in an official Probolinggo guidebook available in the information booth across the street. When we left the tourist info they agreed without blink of an eye to take us to the bus station for the 1/10 of the price which they offered 2 min before!

On a local bus directly to Bromo

So 5.000 IDR and we are already on the bus terminal. Here, the cheapest way to travel to the Cemoro Lawang is by a public bus which can fit up to 15 people. The rate for the whole bus trip is flat. It’s 525.000 IDR (as for 2017) which makes the price of 35.000 IDR per head. That will work only if the bus is full. Usually, the driver will wait until his vehicle is full and cosy, putting all the luggage on the roof. Sometimes, unfortunately, you will have to wait few hours until there’s enough tourists ready to share the lift so it’s also an option to split the cost among a smaller group of people. This will save a lot of time. We waited 2 hours before there were 14 of us so our journey was 37.500 IDR per person. Acceptable. So let the fun begin!

We are almost ready to set off…

When we all got on the bus, the driver could’t start the engine for a few minutes. We were all pretty angry because some of us were waiting long hours to finally catch that ride! Before we departed, our driver and his local friends had to push the van for few meters before it finally started. The funny thing is, it was filled with us – 14 passengers and all the luggage on the roof – must have been some hard work! And when we thought we were finally on our way, we still needed to get some fuel. Oh my lord. Never be in a hurry in Indonesia. It just doesn’t work so don’t be bothered, enjoy the moment and try to relax!

Funny moment

While refueling, a guy at the petrol station, looking very friendly, asked Mike if we are on a honeymoon. It was so funny, because there were 14 of us squeezed together so did he ask just about me and him? We don’t know so Mike replied with a huge smile “yeah, all of us, honeymoon” showing a large group of people from different countries! Another moment to laugh. And then….. yeah then we finally departed towards our destination!

The journey to the Cemoro Lawang, a starting point of the sunrise hike, takes about 1h 30minutes and every person needs to pay the 1st entry fee to the village which is 10.000 IDR. This excludes locals so we only think about tourists here. Then, technically, if you decide to buy an organized tour or hike through the main entrance to the Volcanoe, it will coast you 220.000 or 320.000 IDR depending if you visit the place on a weekday or weekend. The entry fee and the ticket is valid for only 1 day so if you wanna see the sunset and then the sunrise, that doubles the price. Locals have to pay a tiny fraction of that. What a bummer! That’s ridiculously expensive, considering that it is just single day pass and we are in Asia! So… there’s an option to just hike on your own, and go a longer way, avoiding the main entrance. We entered the National Park twice, not paying at all. And we know there’s many people doing that trick!

Hike on your own, be your own guide and save a lot of money! We came to the Bromo creater for the sunset same afternoon and we had the whole place to ourselves! The organized groups do the sunrise with the jeeps that take tourists to the highest lookout first, and then after 30min they drive down to the volcanoe. That way, it’s a super crowded place in the morning from about 5am-9am. After that time frame, the place is empty. By hiking on your own in the morning, you not only save money but also, you have all the beauty to yourself without any disruptions. There’s just many hidden, secluded spots to watch the sunrise on the way up. You decide where is the best spot for you and you can have it just for yourself. How awesome!

In the Village we booked a night in a Yog homestay for 200.00IDR per night. We think this must have gotten pretty expensive over last few years, but it is one of the most popular tourist spots in Indonesia. They try to make the most of its popularity. The homestay is located almost by the lovely lookout, so you really feel you arrived at Mt Bromo! It is incredible. So close, just “few meters” away, it seems.  We waited in Probolinggo from 10am, cought a ride to Cemoro Lawang at 12:00pm and finally got to the homestay shortly before 2:00pm. We left all the luggage and rushed to sightseeing to make the most out of that day.

It’s always good to meet fellow travellers!

We met a couple of travelers that shared some tips on how to explore the National Park for free. They said to follow the road and turn right through some picturesque fields. Then just continue the small, dirt path along the edge until there’s a decent down to the bottom of the caldera. On our way, we already found some excellent outlooks on the Mt Bromo , so we used this photographic opportunity, straight away. Then, finally we took the route down and found ourselves in a different, volcanic world, walking on ash and black sand.

We walked straight through wast volcanic wasteland, looking at Mt Batok and Bromo at all times. The full route from homestay took us around 1h 30mins until we finally saw the hindu temple, just in front of the steps, leading to a crater. The timing was perfect. It was about a sunset time but still we had few minutes to climb to the top of Mt Bromo and hear how loud it actually is. It was scary, no joke! You hear it roar from the bottom and there’s thick cloud of gas coming out. So impressive.  If it erupted we would have no chances, at all. The power of the nature is hard to describe. But if you  found yourself standing on the rim of the volcano and listening to Mother Earth humming a fearsome lullaby you would understand.

The views from the crater’s edge are beyond stunning. It was a sunset time so the soft and warm light made this location even more magical. Just take a look at some of our photographs. We were so excited that we made it to this fantastic place, altough it wasn’t easy. It proved us that anything is possible, just make the first step and go confidently towards your dreams and eventually they will become memories. This was one of the most beautiful locations we’ve ever seen! Thank you Java for being so spectacular.

Shortly after 5:30 pm it started getting dark so we followed the same route and came back to the village. During this trip we only met 6 people by the creater, nobody on the way to the volcanoe and back. It was so quiet and beautiful, just us and the outstanding scenery. Could it be any better? We don’t think so After making our way back to the hostel we knew we should get some rest before waking up early to start the morning hike. Altough being tired and having some muscle pain, we were still excited for the next upcoming sunrise adventure.

3:30 AM: time to wake up and do some brief preparations for the morning hike to a sunrise point. We didn’t have a proper torch this time, but the Iphone flashlight did help a lot. We started the hike and, although we felt weak in our legs, we slowly made our way up the asphalt road. We only knew we have to go up the road and follow it until we’ll notice it’s the right spot to watch the sunrise.

While walking up, few motorbikes passed by offering a lift, another form of a taxi transport. We kindly replied we love to walk and we’ll be fine. After about an hour, we came to a point where some jeeps were parked and the music was played in the speakers pretty loud. Kind of a party mode. After few meters we could notice some stalls with food, souvenirs, beverages. It felt good to know we were not alone in the darkness of the night but the bussiness of the local people was already working at this stage of the hike. We were looking for some more privacy tho. A nice jawanese man showed us the route which changed into a steep stairs, at least we knew we are on the right way.

Let’s continue the hike…

A couple of minutes later we came to the first viewing platform that was already full of people. You could also buy here a cup of tea, coffee or instant noodles. From this point, the road up changed into a narrow, steep climb up, sometimes covered with vegetation. We met a small group of people who just like us were looking for a private sunrise spot, so we confirmed that it’s still the right way to follow. Although we didn’t get to the highest point, where all the tourist arrive with tourguides and jeeps, we managed to find a perfect spot just for ourselfs. It was already 5AM and we could see the colours of the sunrise behind our backs. Now it was the waiting game and time for a time-lapse video making to see how the volcanoes and the sky change their colours. It was amazing.

Best sunrise of our lives!

We were speechless and we think this was the best sunrise of our lives, yet! We were shooting time-lapses on a go pro and a dslr camera and after the sun rose, we started posing to the camera, ourselves! Happy times! The night and the morning were cold so we were wearing our colourful winter jackets and the proper winter beanies. We highly recommend taking some warm clothes with you, it gets quite cold especially if you stay in one position, waiting for the sunrise.  It’s much warmer when you keep walking up the hill!

Alright, we made it and now, after we had already taken 1000 photos, we decided to continue hiking up the mountain to see some other viewing platforms. It was not so crowded at the higher altitudes as most of the jeeps already departured to the bottom of the caldera where we enjoyed sunset a day before. We had a really good time walking in such a breathtaking scenery!

Our way to Surabaya

At around 7:30 AM we decided we can slowly start walking down as we had the return bus booked for 10:00 AM. This was very comforting to actually know we will get back to Probolinggo and the driver will pick us up from the homestay. Well, us and 13 other people squeezed together in an old van, but that’s okey! At least we don’t have to wait for 2 hours to catch a ride.

Last moments in the Cemoro Lawang village

After descending from the mountain, it was only 8:15 so we did another photoshoot in the previously found location, among the fields. It was lovely, peaceful, calm. It felt that we were alone with just few locals working in their paddocs. The village was looking very neat that morning and our shooting locations was lovely, too. At 8:30 we were back safe and sound in the village so we happily went to the Warung to eat breakfast. We had the most delicious chicken-soup with the cup of tea each. Surprisingly, when we reached our hostel at 9:20AM, the driver of a bus was already waiting for us. Woah!!!

Time to leave the wonderful Bromo National Park.

We quickly packed our belongings and got on the van. Just as we knew, we picked up another 13 passengers and started the journey back to Probolinggo. This was quick as we were heading downhill. Not much over an hour. We also had a pre-booked bus to take us on-ward to Surabaya. It all went well! The big coach picked us and some other passengers up and we transferred comfortably to a well-maintained, air-conditioned bus. Surabaya was our last stop on Java. The whole trip from the Cemoro Lawang this time went smooth and fast. Now, we only need to get to the airport, and start the long journey home. After a year full of adventures and intense travelling!

Our Volcano Ijen adventure on  Java!

You already know how we got to Java, Bunywangi on a local bus from Bali

 

We got a lift to our homestay from a strange guy who happened to be a driver taking tourists to Ijen Crater at night. We decided to pay 300.000IDR per person for the whole trip which included

You could probably do it cheaper by hiking on your own and arranging just the transportation. We were picked up at 00:30 and after an hour drive we reached the starting point of the walk. Even though it is Indonesia it gets quite chilly at night, especially in the mountains. Do not worry it is possible to rent a jacket.

 A night hike towards the blue flames

The hike itself is not difficult as there’s heaps of people going up the same direction making it impossible to get lost on the track.  The route up is pretty steep but well maintained so with some effort you will make it to the top in an hour and a half. By the top, I mean the place where you can take a look at the blue fire coming out of the crater. The blue colour is clearly visable only at night so it’s important to start your hike at around 2am. Taking some well-deserved rest and staring at the blue flames is an awesome reward.

Descent to the bottom of the crater

At the moment, May 2017, it is not possible to hike down to the bottom of the crater to see the sulphur blue flame from up close due to the high amount of the toxic gases. It is recommended to wear a mask which will filter the air and make your breathing easier. It really gets very intense at some point as the toxic cloud from the volcanoe can be blown at any direction any time, depending on the wind. It can be harsh to your throat, nose and eyes but it’s doable as well. So no need to panick. Just wear your mask when you feel it’s getting taugh and smelly. So what is coming out of the volcanoe is ignited sulphuric gas emerging from cracks at the creater floor at temperatures up to 600 Celcius.

It is also a site of sulphur mining operations. You can see miners flashlight right at the bottom at night. Sulphur chunks are carried by them in baskets from the creater’s floor. It is considered one of the hardest jobs on the planet due to the high toxicity of the  surroundings and the miners have to carry their loads to the valley 3 kilomiters away to get paid. Pretty harsh. You can buy some sulphuric souvenirs from the miners at the price of 10.000IDR. It’s only 1$ but for them it’s a huge reward for their undoubtedely hard work.

Walk to the edge of the crater

The blue fire is just the beginning. From here, take the road up for another 20-30 mins. It will take you to the edge of the volcanoe overlooking the beautiful, emerald lake. If you make it there before 5:00am, you will encounter an amazing sunrise. The magic hour is just perfect for taking beautiful photographs while the volcanic peaks get the first beams of light and get illuminated. For the drone users, it looks like it’s a perfect place to fly above when the sun finally comes up. We encountered at least 6 independent drone pilots so we were pretty sad we decided to leave our phantom back in the hotel. We still managed to gather some excellent footage with our DSLR and GoPro.

A very pleasant morning

What a wonderful morning that was! With the magical, soft, sunrise colours you can truly enjoy the mother’s nature beauty. The blue fire is no longer visable but from now on, you can admire the most spectacular, indonesian surrounding with the volcanic peaks.

Take a slow walk back to the starting point of the hike and enjoy every moment. The lake inside the crater is fantastic with an intense emerald colour and the gas coming out of the crater is sometimes yellow. Spectacular.

You can get a lift up to the top!

When you decide to take a hike up but you will find it too difficult to continue, there’s many “taxi” possibilities. Local people just stand on the side of the track with some kind of trolleys and want to offer you an effortless ride to the top. We saw few people using this opportunity so even with an injury you can get to the top to admire this perfect location. What’s interesting, there’s a warung somewhere in the middle of the hike where you can buy something to eat, drink or just rest.

Take your time on a summit!

The place is very busy with tourists so if you want some more privacy by the crater, you could wait a bit longer after the sunrise. Most of the visitors decide to descent the track shortly after the sun comes up above the horizon. Take a moment and absorb the beauty around you. At 7am it will be less and less people on the top until you will be practically alone at around 9am. It’s worth the wait;) to sum up, it was a true highlight of the Eastern Java and it’s worth some trouble and effort to arrive to Bunywangi, the gateway to this volcanic attraction.

As soon as we got to the bus station and went to the ticket booth, the price that was quoted was double the regular amount the locals pay. After a bit of a struggle, we managed to buy our 90000IDR economy tickets, which include ferry ride and go directly to Banyuwangi…so they said. We boarded a pretty modern bus, put our luggage in the trunk and it was all looking pretty good. After we started the journey, the bus stopped literally 200 meters away and we were redirected to another bus. We had to transfer our luggage and find some space for it in the „new” rusty vehicle. There was no air-con and most of the passengers were smoking one cigaret after another, simply throwing butts on the floor. There was loud, overwhelming music in the speakers  and although the bus seemed pretty full we were still waiting for more passengers, and finally departured  30 minutes later. There were yet more people to board. They just stand on the side of the road and yell at the bus to stop and the  driver did so every 5 min to pick up additional passengers. Then, the bus stopped again just on the side of the road for about 45 mins. It turned out that the passengers from the another  bus would be squeezed in with us. The crowd was sitting in the middle of the vehicle on the plastic stolls – quite a solution.  Meanwhile, another western looking couple was struggling to find a place for themselves on the bus. Our hearts were a little bit lifted that we are not the only tourists going through that misery.

We made it to the ferry!

The route to the ferry took another 5 hours. Only the small windows were open providing just a little bit of fresh air and the sun behind the window had no mercy. Finally, we could get some air aboard the ferry. It was a moment of relief as we could stretch our legs and breath some fresh air.

 

That’s not the end of the story…

As soon as we got to Java, we were asked to leave the bus as it was not going to Banyuwangi, after all! We were advised to take taxi but we did not want to spend more on that trip. Together with our new friends from Belarus, we finally found small minibus that took us to the town, but wanted additional money which we did not give him, because we already paid for tickets to Banyuwangi. We decided to walk the last bit to our hostel. It turned out to be further than we anticipated, so we sat on the side of the road to rest for a while. Out of nowhere, a guy came by and offered us a ride for free to the hostel, that was a bit suspicious. It turned out that he is a guide and he provides blue fire night tours to Ijen, and that was his way to introduce us to his offer. It happened to be a fair price and we went to Ijen Crater the same night to see the magnificent blue fire, stunning sunrise and jaw-dropping views, but this is a different story… Read about it HERE