Indo - Bkk 2015 Day 3: Mt. Ijen - Bali, Indonesia

DAY 3: 17 MAY 2015

So we woke up at 1am to start our trek to Mt. Ijen.

The entrance officially opens at 2am and we successfully entered at 2.15am by skipping

some queues with the lead from our guide.

The entrance fee to Ijen is Rp150,000 and all visitors had to pay a camera fee as well.

However, according to our guide, we only needed to pay Rp100,000 to cover for the four of us.

Another scam by the local staff because they didn't even conduct any checks.

Prior to this trip, each of us packed in a torchlight and N95 mask (for the sulfur smoke).

The torchlight was definitely of good use as we were trekking in pitch black and we could

watch where we were heading to easily with the torchlight.

Also, I have read online that the trek is 3km long and takes at least 2 hours to get to the top

because it has 2km of steepness.

Those reviewers were not lying at all.

It was steep and the path had many tiny rocks which made it slippery to trek up even

with sports shoes on.

We took a few breaks along the way as it was really exhausting to 

constantly trek up the steep slopes.

Eventually, Phoebe and I went ahead first because Michelle had too much lactic acid 

in her calves and she needed to stop a lot of times.

I needed to save my energy too cos my stamina is ranked third amongst the four of us, haha.

During my little breaks with Phoebe, we watched the milky way up in the sky without fail.

This sight was so precious because we can never see this at home.

Sulfur smoke and crater lake

After hiking for 1 hour and 45 minutes, Phoebe and I finally arrived at the rim of the crater.

Not bad for someone who did not train up prior to this trip!

There was a viewpoint from the top of the crater and we could see two bright blue flames

at the bottom, which is the famous sight for Mt. Ijen.

Blue flames can only be seen in two places in the world: Mt. Ijen or Iceland.

We could actually climb all the way down to see the blue flames up close.

However, proper paths were not available and it was dangerous to go down.

Amanda got choked by a huge gust of sulfur smoke on her way down.

So, I decided to watch the blue flames from the top!

A sulfur miner going to the bottom of the crater

80kg worth of sulfur 

While watching the blue flames and the crater lake from the viewpoint, there were many

sulfur miners making their way up and down to the mining site without proper masks.

The miners usually make 4 trips a day and each trip they will carry 50 - 80kg of yellowish sulfur.

For every kg of sulfur, they merely earn Rp900.

During our time at the top, I have seen a few tourists, mostly foreigners, giving the miners

some chocolates or snacks without asking for something (e.g. a picture with them) in return.

We did the same as well as we felt that the snacks are a luxury to them and they would

treasure it more than we do.

These kinds of moments are definitely worth sharing with my students in future.

Trekking along the rim of the crater

After spending some time watching the sunrise, we decided to make our way down.

It was definitely quicker to get down, however, due to the rocky path, it was even more

difficult to get down as it was so slippery.

So, just be careful! Awas!

We headed back to the hotel to freshen up and pack our bags before heading to the

ferry terminal to catch a ferry to Bali.

This also marked the end of our journey in East Java and we said goodbye 

to our wonderful guide, Ari.

He opened a tour company a month ago and he gave us his contact as well.

I would definitely recommend his service if any of my friends were to do a similar trip.

Noviar

Zakly Trans

082 3333 85858

noviarviranindyo36@gmail.com

Anyway, all the trekking we did during the past two nights were all worth it and it is definitely

a must see when you are in East Java.

Super awesome, no regrets!

We bought our tickets at the ferry terminal to Gilimanuk ferry port in Bali.

Each adult ticket costs only Rp7,000 and there is a ferry every 30 minutes if I remembered clearly. The ride took about 45 minutes and we arrived in Bali at 2.20pm.

There was an hour time difference between East Java and Bali and we didn't realise it

until our driver called us at 1.50pm Bali time.

Fortunately, our driver, Mr. Wijaya was really nice and he didn't harp on it when we met!

And if you were wondering, the transfer costs Rp650,000.

It was estimated to be a 4 hours ride to Kuta and he suggested to drop by Tanah Lot as

it was on the way to our hotel.

We reached Tanah Lot at around 5.15pm, just in time for the sunset.

The entrance fee was Rp30,000 per person.

Tanah Lot at sunset

It was a beautiful sunset and I wished we had gotten there earlier so that we could pay 

a visit to the temple as well.

We weren't properly dressed and the tide was coming in and thus, the temple was closing

by the time we were done watching the sunset.

Silhouettes by the beach

My quirky travel buddies

We left Tanah Lot after an hour and we headed straight to our hotel in Kuta, 

Asana Agung Putra Bali.

We were given an upgrade to a deluxe room due to a mistake they made.

Deluxe room

The room had everything we needed, including hot showers.

We paid about S$46 for each room and breakfast buffet is provided every morning.

After checking in, we made our way to Made's Warung, a famous restaurant located

along Jl. Legian, which was just a 5 minutes walk from our hotel.

The prices are definitely on the steeper side.

But when we travel, we have this "one good meal in every city" thing going on.

So this was our good meal and their first meal and second last dinner in Bali!

Plecing bayam (spinach cooked in Balinese style)

Gado Gado

Babi Gooling (suckling pig)

The bill came up to around Rp280,000 and I definitely enjoyed the spinach 

and gado gado the most.

The suckling pig was not fantastic but the satay was good.

But it was a nice first meal in Bali!

So after dinner, we decided to take a walk down Jl. Legian and we spotted the massage

parlour our driver recommended: Smart Spa.

An hour long foot massage only cost Rp 75,000 and it is considered one of the steeper

prices in Kuta!

But to us, this was definitely cheap and we immediately went ahead with it.

The foot massage was so good and spot on with the right amount of strength and the right areas.

My feet felt much more relaxed!

Our massage ended around 11.20pm and we were one of their last customers.

Do remember to give a tip of at least 10% before leaving.

And so that marks the end of day 3 in Indonesia!