Climbing Mount Bromo

After our trip to Rawa we were ready for a bit more adventure, so Rich and I along with some friends from Singapore planned to climb
Mount Bromo, a volcano in East Java. Indonesia is one of the most
volcanic countries in the world so it only seemed right that we should
visit one of them. We flew into the city of Surabaya one of the largest
cities in Java after Jakarta. We arrived late and went straight to our
hotel the Hotel Majapahit. The hotel was set in an old colonial building with three main courtyards and beautiful gardens. The hotel
had a timeless charm and housed a small museum. We arrived and
dropped our bags in our room and then had a drink in the garden
surrounded by mosquitoes.
The following morning we enjoyed a delicious buffet breakfast and
then relaxed by the pool. Some of the girls had a massage whilst
everyone else sunbathed and chatted. At around 4pm our guide
picked us up from our hotel and we started our long journey up to
Mount Bromo National park. The journey was long and windy and we
finally arrived at our mountain lodge at around 9pm. The main lodge was basic with a huge cafeteria and lounge area. We each stayed in a small cabin perched on the side of the hill and went to bed freezing.
We were woken up early at around 3am. I had a shower to try and
warm myself up. We then jumped into a Jeep 4 x 4 and drove further
up into the mountain. The view point was crowded with tourists and
locals and Jeeps. We made our way to the viewing platform in the
pitch darkness of the night. There were people selling hot coffee and
noodles to warm people up. We then waited for the sun to rise. It was
beautiful. It felt like we were perched on the edge of the world as we saw the sun slowly appear from out of the darkness. The sunrise was

stunning and people were going crazy with their selfie sticks. As the
sun slowly shone brighter and brighter the surrounding countryside was illuminated and we finally saw Mount Bromo volcano. Mount Bromo had recently erupted, blowing the top half of the mountain off, and so looked small in comparison to the other volcanoes. A blanket of cloud settled around the bottom of the volcano, making it appear as if it was floating in the air. Once the sun had risen we got back into our Jeep and made our way back down the mountain, beeping and chasing the other jeeps. We then drove across the ash desert below the cloud and parked at the base of the volcano. The ash was thick and we had to protect our faces. The cloud then suddenly cleared and we could see the huge expanse that we had crossed. It was like being on the moon! We made our way up the volcano (all 100 meters), past the crowds and donkeys carrying people, and reached the crater. Deep down into the crater you could see the gasses bubbling and there was a strong smell of sulphur. We walked around the crater taking pictures. We then ran down the side of the volcano sliding in the ash to the bottom. It was a truly unique and mind blowing experience.