Malang is the next stop. Looking at the map it makes perfect sense to get to the famous Volcano Bromo.
The hostel isn’t that far from the trainstation and turns out to be a rather nice place on the rooftop of a hotel. As I am on my way out I run into 2 German couples and we chat the night away enjoying cold Bintang beer.
The following morning I join Tobias and Claudia for a walk around town, Malang doesn’t have that much to offer, but the birdmarket is a fascinating, but sad place to see.
All kinds of tropical birds, owls, dogs, cats, bats, monkeys, chicken and even creatures I’ve never seen before are caged for sale. Some for their beauty, other for their chirps, also for breeding and who knows what else…
We spend the day checking out possibilities to go to Bromo and reckoned that we need more people to be able to travel together instead of doing a ridiculously overpriced and touristy tour.
Back in the hostel, we hook up with an American couple looking for just the same thing so after contemplating all possibilities we decide to venture out the next morning by public transport and see how far we can get as the road from the south isn’t travelled much.
Gunung Bromo? Definitely one of Indonesia’s most breathtaking sights. The (2392m.) ever smouldering volcano stands amidst the peaks of Kursi (2581m) and Batok (2440m) and is surrounded by a lunar-landscape of ashes. In the shadow of Bromo, you find Java’s highest peak (Gunung Semeru (3676m) that likes to occasionally spit its ashes over the whole area.
Public transport ends up being a great choice, we hop from one minibus to the next and then a Jeep takes us across the amazing landscape. We leave the tropical heat, climbing higher and higher, passing rice paddies and greens I will never get enough of. Kids are waving as we pass by and even a curious monkey checks us out.
We get to the highest point that gives us an overview of the Bromo region and I get an idea of the size of the area, the flats stretch in front of us with deep trenches going up the hills, proving that these volcanoes are most active. The road turns into barren ash-land with massive dust-clouds rolling onto us while we hold on tight and try to take pictures at the same time. Our clothes, hair and faces are quickly covered in a layer of this fine grey ash.
We arrive in the small town of Cemoro Lawang and as time is on our side we get to walk down to the crater through the dessert of ashes. Lucky as we are, they just re-opened access to the crater 2 days ago as it is supposedly safe enough after a long period of activity. We’re hit in the face by a proper downpoor while walking, but then it clears up again and the only clouds we see are the ones coming out of the crater. Hiking up to it, I feel the height and get a bit lightheaded, the sulfur in the air is not helping at all. The many steps bring us up to the rim of the crater where we get to see, feel, hear and smell Bromo. The feeling part is in the form of little black sulfur drops every now and then, like a raincloud that tries to burn your skin and leaves you covered in black dots. We hear the rumbling in the volcano, followed by big white-greyish clouds coming from its guts, wow! The look down, both into the crater, and onto the surroundings is mesmerising.
We head back to our homestay and keep looking over our shoulders to take in every angle of this impressive natural spectacle.
Planet Bubbles 