The 10-feet High Electric Blue Sulphur Flames, Sulphuric Acid Lake & Sulphur Miners at Ijen Crater
My arrival at the train station was welcomed by Ganda, the proud owner of Kg. Osing Inn. It was raining heavily that night, but it did not dampen my spirit and my determination to
hike up and down Ijen Crater to catch a glimpse of the incredible electric blue sulphur flames and sulphuric acid lake! After a quick cold shower, I went to bed early in preparation for the hike at half past midnight. Ganda arranged an experienced and friendly guide with 5 other travellers staying at the inn for our hiking group – that helped to cut down the cost drastically. In total, my sister and I spent about Rp.450,000 for the room, guide, tipping, etc.
The 1-hour jeep ride brought us to
Paltuding Base which was teeming with travellers alike and sulphur miners. The
entrance ticket was Rp.100,000 each. There was no camera fee, whatsoever. Wasting no time, we began our 2.5 hours hike up and down
Ijen Crater to reach the foot of the acid lake where the fiery action took place. There, we spent about 2 hours at the crater, observing the sulphur miners at work while admiring the beauty of the sulphur flames from a distance.
With the right conditions, the electric blue sulphur flames soared 10-feet high up the sky to our amazement! It was truly a sight to behold! Some even went too close for comfort for the sake of a perfect shot, which is not advisable due to safety reasons.
After watching the sun rise over the lake, we swiftly made our way back to the parking lot, stopping by at mid station for some light refreshments, followed by an hour’s drive back to the inn.
Read a detailed version of my Ijen Crater experience with more photos (Part 1) here, (Part 2) here and (Part 3) here.
Business Class Train Ride to Probolinggo
I skipped the free breakfast provided by Ganda and made a mad dash to the train station in order to catch the morning train to Probolinggo. This time, I went for the
Business Class Mutiara Timur Siang/86 train @ 09:15 hours, travelling from
Karangasem (KNE) to Probolinggo (PB) for the sake of experiencing a different setting and atmosphere.
The train ticket costs Rp. 120,000 per person. Frankly speaking, the service provided in this class was better, but the price of the food and everything else is doubled of those in the economy class. From my experience, I prefer to travel in the economy coach for several reasons.
To find out those reasons, and view more photos of the Business Class Coach, click here.
Of Scams, Persistently Aggressive Old Man & Cautious Angkot Ride to Bayuangga Bus Terminal
Upon my arrival at
Probolinggo train station, an old man came out of nowhere and offered to take me to the public bus or public bus station. In case you have not heard,
Probolinggo is a notoriously scam-my place!! I repeat, NOTORIOUSLY SCAM-MY PLACE!! So beware, be street smart and be a smart traveller.
Find out what are the Top 5 Scams in Probolinggo @ East Java that you should know here. Thus, I ignored the old man and proceeded to Information Tourist Centre located in front of the train station for help.
There, I got to know the disturbing truth of the scams in
Probolinggo and
East Java and why the local authorities do nothing about it. To cut the story short, I reluctantly
boarded the angkot, a yellow minivan version of the local public bus parked in front of the centre. The Yakuza-looking angkot driver whose arms were covered with tattoo and I agreed with the fare of Rp.5,000 per person to get me from the train station to
Bayuangga Bus Terminal. Along the way, he persistently tried to persuade me to take up the tours he suggested, but I stubbornly refused. I feel much safer when some school children boarded the angkot too and after travelling for about 15-20 minutes, I arrived safely at the bus terminal, in one piece with no missing limbs whatsoever!
Read a detailed story with more photos here.
A Guardian Angel & Friendly, Helpful Locals to the Rescue!
Once at the bus station, my
next public transport to Cemoro Lawang @ Mt. Bromo was either an ojek (motorcycle) or a bison (green van) ride. As foretold, many locals (mostly of Orang Madura/Madurese ethnicity) mobbed me, trying to sell their tours and services. I have been warned beforehand that some of the Orang Madura/Madurese can be quite hostile, intimidating and vulgar.
I ignored them and
walked swiftly towards the nearest petrol station for directions and advice. There, I found helpful locals who directed me to the bison/ojek stop just several metres away. Wasting no time, I went straight to the station and hung out at one of the local food stalls, while waiting for other travellers/passengers to fill up the bison.
The rent for an entire bison is Rp. 450,000 per vehicle. The amount is divided equally to the number of passengers on board. It costs about Rp. 35,000 per person for a one way, full car trip. Unfortunately, given the time I arrived there, most travellers have boarded the early morning bison up to
Cemoro Lawang @ Mt. Bromo.
Out of the blue and by chance, came a man, our angel in disguise on an ojek and there were three of us now. Wanting to reach
Cemoro Lawang @ Mt. Bromo before nightfall, we decided to just pack and go – a move that costs us Rp. 150,000 each for the bison ride. We paid the fare and off we went to
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park @ Tengger Village, a 1-hour journey through green paddy fields, misty alpine forests, vegetable farms, hanging cliffs and more. It was one of the most beautiful rides I have ever taken in my life! The temperature dropped drastically as we ventured higher up into the mountain and needless to say, the stench of reeking rotten eggs signalled that we were close to our destination.
Read a detailed story with more photos here.
Bromo Homestay & Delightful Dinner by the Caldera
I did not pre-book my stay at
Cemoro Lawang @ Mt.Bromo, I simply did the booking on the spot. Our new found friend and an angel in disguise, Mr. Erwin was kind enough to help my sister and I, including himself to secure
a room with hot shower for the night at one of the many homestays available at Cemoro Lawang @ Mt. Bromo for Rp.250,000 a night. We also manage to
book a jeep to take us up to Gunung Penanjakan Viewpoint 1 to watch the sunrise over the Sea of Sands, Mt. Bromo and Mt. Sumeru. After that, we went for an evening walk around the village and had dinner at Cemara Indah Hotel & Lodge.
Read a detailed review of Yoi Homestay and our dinner here.
We talked more, joked and laughed a lot over some food and drinks. The locally grown and brewed tea served to us was one of the best I have ever tasted in my life! The food however, was average in comparison of the spectacular view we had of the caldera and
Mt. Bromo. We then bid good night and retired for the night in our respective rooms.
DAY 3
Spectacular Sunrise, Horse Ride, the Savannah & Teletubbies Hill of Mt. Bromo
At 3.30am in the morning, we were excitingly waiting for our jeep to pick us up. We shared the jeep with another two more travellers, a couple from Russia. The
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park entrance fee of Rp. 220,000 per person, along with the jeep fare of Rp. 120,000 per person was collected before we boarded the jeep and off we went to
Gunung Penanjakan, about an hour’s drive. After that, we had to walk 15 minutes up the steep steps of the mountain to reach the platform of
Viewpoint 1. A sea of people was already there when we arrived, nonetheless my sister and I managed to slip under the railings and secured a good spot to watch the much anticipated sunrise in peace.
The sky was littered with millions of twinkling stars for us to enjoy while the illuminated Tengger village below stood silence in time.
An hour or so later, the sun began to rise, and the moment the first ray of light hits the ground, a spectacular sight was unveiled! No words could simply describe the beauty and glory of Mother Nature before us. I was mesmerised and stood in awe and delight! Everyone did not waste time to capture and preserve the moment in photographs. We then steadfastly made our way back to the jeep and headed straight for the caldera.
Once there, we opted to
hop on the back of a horse to cross the vast and majestic Sea of Sands, bypassing a Hindu temple (Pura Luhur Poten) along the way to reach the steps of stairs at the foot of the crater. Our driver bargained and got us
a return journey horse ride for only Rp. 100,000 per person. After climbing up the steep steps of stairs, I finally stood proudly at the mouth of the crater. At that moment, I felt on top of the world! Mr. Erwin encouraged us to make a wish, which we did and we took many photos for memories too. It was not long before white clouds of suffocating gas and vapour overwhelmed our lungs, signalling us to leave the place immediately.
We then hopped on the jeep and
travelled to the Savannah and Teletubbies Hill for photographs. That additional journey costs Rp. 200,000 for three person. Ohh…before I forget,
a toilet break costs Rp.2000 per person, per entry. Fret not, the toilets are clean and well maintained. We then made our way back to our room, packed our bags, bid farewell to Mr. Erwin, exchanged our contact numbers, and hopped on the morning bison ride back to
Bayuangga Bus Terminal at 9am. This time, the bison ride fare was only Rp. 35,000 per person.
Read a detailed story here.
PATAS Bus Ride Back to Surabaya @ Bungurasih Bus Terminal – Of Buskers, Pengamens & Street Sellers
Again, the moment I stepped foot in
Probolinggo, a heap of men, this time neatly dressed in batik aggressively and persistently approached my sister and I, as well as other unsuspecting travellers to go to their service centre located just by the roadside nearby and sell their exorbitantly marked up bus tickets, tours and services to us. I was told by these men that there are no A/C express buses available from
Probolinggo to Surabaya, only crowded and smelly public buses. Only they offer such exclusive A/C busses in Probolinggo.
Knowing better, I ignored these cunning men, crossed the road and made my way back to the food stall I hung out before to get the truth and the information I needed. True enough,
a comfortable and reliable A/C express bus is available in Bayuangga Bus Terminal itself, operated by
Bus PATAS! The men in batik quoted us a fare of Rp.80,000 per person whereas
PATAS bus fare only costs Rp.30,000 per person!! My smart move saved us Rp.50,000 each!! Needless to say, my sister and I thanked the lovely people at the food stall and made our way to the bus terminal.
We found
PATAS’ bus information counter and bus at Terminal 1. We boarded the bus and waited for it to leave at 11.30am. The bus conductor boarded the bus, collected payment and issued the bus ticket accordingly. In the meantime, many street sellers boarded the bus and tried to sell us many items such as packets of snacks, slices of fruits, and bottles of Aqua. A few buskers or beggars boarded the bus and begged for donations while the pengamens or street musicians sang generously and expected to receive some rupiahs from the passengers on the bus. To cut the story short, the A/C express bus ride back to
Surabaya @ Bungurasih Bus Terminal was comfortable and enjoyable.
Read a detailed version of my PATAS express bus ride experience with more photos here.
To Above & Beyond!
At
Bungurasih Bus Terminal, we took a Blue Bird Group taxi to our guesthouse @ Krowi Inn where my sister and I spent a night there, exploring and enjoying our last day and night in the city of Surabaya before flying back to Malaysia the next day.
To read my review of Krowi Inn and our Surabaya city sightseeing, click here. That marked the end of our
3D/2N Bromo & Ijen without a tour journey – a memorable adventure of a lifetime! I will not hesitate to do it all over again, that is for sure! Now, if anyone asks is it possible to do Bromo & Ijen without a tour? You and I both know the answer to that question. I did it and you read it here, at my humble travel blog, ErikaToh – Backpacking in Style. ;-)
Many have asked and wondered, including myself, is it possible to do Bromo and Ijen without a tour? The answer is YES!
