After finding that all the train tickets from Yogyakarta are sold out, we are forced to go on an organised tour to Mount Bromo - an active volcano in East Java. After reading horror stories of these kind of tours online (being forced to pay more, made to stay in awful hotels, drink driving etc) we have low expectations.
We were picked up promptly at 8:15am - a good start. The mini bus is old but with ample leg room & reclining seats but most of all the AC works. We are joined by a Czech couple & two Dutch girls. The journey to Cemoro Lawang, the closest village to Mount Bromo, is an epic 12hrs - our longest bus journey yet. The journey is long but we stop several times to rest & get lunch.
At about 8pm, we stop to change vehicles before our ascent up towards Cemoro Lawang. Fortunately we now have a new driver, we were concerned that our first driver had been driving for 12 hours & would be losing concentration. Our second vehicle was another old minibus which reminded us of Scooby Doo. It was bruised & battered with no AC & you could smell the engines fumes inside. The roof was padded inside - we're not sure if this was for when people bang their heads due to the lack if suspension or for when the vehicle rolls off the road down the side of the mountain but we were on our way!
The 45 minute ascent to Cemoro Lawang was scary to say the least but we made it to our hotel safe & sound, just in time for dinner. The hotel was much nicer than we expected surrounded by nice gardens & our room was on two stories with a balcony.
The next morning we wake at 3am as we have arranged a Jeep tour to see the sunrise. The hotel is full of activity as everyone is going on a sunrise tour. The poor hotel staff must have to wake at 3am everyday to cater for tourists. There were hawkers outside the hotel trying to sell blankets - the temperature at the top of the mountain is only 5°C.
We set off in our Jeep with 4 others. The climb was even steeper than our ascent the night before & just as scary but we made it to the viewing platform before sunrise. There were hundreds of tourists and sellers. We counted about 50 Jeeps, all if which probably had 6 tourists in plus those people who managed to get a motorbike up the steep road. The man made platform on the top of the mountain was crowded with people making it difficult to get a good view if the sunrise. As always, tourists were being rude and selfish, only caring about their own photographs, not giving a thought for others.
The view over the mountains was stunning. We were above the clouds so you could see the mountains peering above the layer of mist. The sunrise itself was OK but the views over the mountains once the sun was up were much better. You could even see the steam rising from Mount Bromo.
After the sunrise we went back to the Jeep to be driven to Mount Bromo itself. We drove down from the viewpoint across a plane of volcanic ash where the Jeep stopped. We had to make own way up to the top of mount Bromo. There were ponies everywhere & I couldn't resist so I rode a pony up the hill to the steps which led to the top. James had to try to keep up on foot but failed as it was so sandy it was difficult to walk. Once up the hill there were 250 steps to the top.
At the top you could see the crater inside the mountain. There was so much steam coming from it that you couldn't really see inside. We'd heard that you can see the lava but I'm not sure that's true. After an hour at the top we headed back to the hotel for breakfast.
There final leg of the tour was to get from Cemoro Lawang to Surabaya, our next & final destination in Java. We were picked up at 9:30am in the same Scooby Doo minivan & taken back down the hill where the tour company proceeded to put us on a public bus to Surabaya! We weren't surprised by this as we'd read the reviews online about this happening. The bus had small seats, no space for luggage & the AC was limited. Of course we were the only two white people on the bus. As soon as we stepped onboard everyone stopped what they were doing, the whole bus went silent & 35 pairs of eyes were on us - just like being back in China! We managed to find seats but had to sit separately.
I got talking to a woman who lived in Surabaya. It was hard work as her English wasn't very good but she persisted in speaking to me for the whole three hours - not really what I needed when I'd been up since 3am! Overall the bus journey was OK & we made it to Surabaya.
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