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So I wasn't wrong, day 3 was terrible and by the end of it, the second to best part was finishing this insane tour.
When we arrived at our accommodations, we were told we can pay more to see the "blue fire" event in the middle of the night, which practically none of us were informed of when booking this event. That meant trekking up to Ijen Crater at midnight for an hour and a half IN THE DARK and staying up there until 4am and then trek down again. Thankfully, as much as this tour sucked, I'm glad I met some awesome tour mates who were in the same boat as I was-sick and tired of the extra fees, flat tires, late arrival to our guesthouse, and desiring more sleep than the sight of blue flames (though people want you to think you are missing out if you didn't do it), I mean, I'm sure it's cool and all, but we didn't think it was worth it.
Well, we didn't regret it and instead we were so glad we just stuck to the usual 4am set time to head to the base of Ijen. It took almost an hour drive so we arrived at 5am and were told we had to come back down by 8am, which meant we barely had any time to linger once we got up there as it would mean 1.5 hours each way. At this rate though, we could care less about schedule or no schedule as we became rebellious tour-ers and decided we were all going to take however long it was going to take up there and ignore the driver as we've endured through enough shortcomings from up to this point already.
So once the trek started (no tour guide by the way, just a one way path up), I became really thankful I was trekking this after the sun had risen as this route was steeper and more unstable then yesterday. I felt like yesterday was just a teaser to the real game and I couldn't imagine doing this in pitch darkness as it was hard enough in broad daylight. I don't even know if 'hard' is enough to describe it. I felt myself physically, emotionally, mentally, and psychologically challenged while going up. At times I really wanted to throw in the to towel but I kept reminding myself that I didn't come all this way just to endure crazy mini van drives and a horrendous tour. All the while I was asking God for strength and self talking myself to keep persevering and to believe that the aftermath of this would be great. As you journey up, you will also sight lots of local men carrying weaved baskets in between a wooden stick on their shoulders. We were told by one of them that they make two treks a day up and down to collect about 90kg of solidified sulphur at 800 rupiah/kg. That's about 7 cents US/kg and only $13 per day. Seeing them work this hard at the sacrifice of their own health motivated me to keep going. One nice local man even chopped us sturdy tree branches so we could use them as walking sticks. AMEN because it was a tad easier to have a third "leg" to use as a stepping guide and footing. He was also friendly and led us up all the way and would even wait for us when we took rest breaks. Tip: find a sturdy stick or chop one it's so much better!
I got to say the first half of the trek is the worse, but shortly after the midpoint (you will spot a resting area where they sell snacks and all), the last 1/3 of the way is flatter and easier to foresee your final destination. You will also smell yourself getting close as the sulphur is intoxicating here. I also realized that a lightweight scarf is not only multi purposeful in traveling for covering up for temple visits, adding to one's attire, as a sarong, but also as a muffler/mask. Unfortunately, mine already smelled like sulphur from yesterday so I made shift my cardigan into one. The trek also seems more encouraging when you have company that can complain, but also joke and laugh about it with you as it lightens up the mood and relieves some built up of frustration at times.
Finally after what seemed like forever, we reached the top! I felt like we pretty much had it all to ourselves compared to the day before at Bromo, as not seeing the "blue fire" event and sunrise meant the hype of tourists were already gone by the time we arrived around 6:30am. Once again, a thick smog was rising from the bottom of the crater and as shocking as it was, you see these men collecting the solidified sulphur to bring back up (about an additional hour to trek down to the core of the crater-we didn't do it due to time and the risk of our health as you are right next to the sulphur deposit). There is also a clear blue lake sandwiched between the crater and next to the main deposit of sulphur; it was so stunning to see such natural elements all in one place. To our surprise, a local told us the lake is actually boiling hot and the sulphur collected is sold to be used in cosmetics and sugar consumption; this really made me rethink my habit of makeup and love for candies.
So I thought the trek down would be way easier as you are siding with gravity, but it's actually just as hard. Mind you I was wearing worn out Keds (great choice right?), so I was constantly having to walk like a penguin and cautiously watch my step or else I would slip and lose my grip. Because it was steep and gravel-ly going downwards, you actually had to use more leg muscles to ground yourself against gravity so it was just as treacherous as going up. My legs were also very 'wobbly' as it hadn't recover from going up yet, so this made it to be more difficult. Also in my perspective, this trek is limited to a certain crowd. Even though I did see older people besides the local men working, it's a tough climb and I know for one thing my parents would never be able to make it up. But age is one thing and fitness level is another, so just some food for thought when considering this. Do keep in mind that it's not a competition to the top so you can definitely pace yourself and take longer than the expected 1.5 hours.
All in all, I was discussing with my wonderful tour mates and we joked that we didn't know what to say about this whole experience-to despise it or to love it. To recommend or not recommend? For me, it was the worst tour in my lifetime, but best experience ever. Maybe I've been spoiled in other places, but I really had to rough it out like Tarzan with ugly facilities, unaccomodating accommodations, unknown circumstances, un-catering drivers, and being lost and confused half (by half I mean majority) of the time. Never have I felt so gross, dirty, tired, and begrudgingly submissive to these conditions. Yet, we also figured that minimal details are given or known about these tours for this reason. Most agencies just do the sales part, but majority of the tours fall under the same company was our guess, and by the end of it, none of us even knew the name of the company or contact number to warn future travellers as we were given no information of the sort. It really comes down that you are doing this for the exceptional scenery, though a good tour would make the experience so much better.
However, having now accomplished this, I personally feel like a wild card traveller as knowing I'm able to manage with bare necessities makes me feel appreciative of all the blessings and comfort I have back home. If I never did this tour, I would've never been able to see such beauty in God's creation, gain such humble insight, or realize my potential to persevere and fight through the spirit of wanting to quit.
Would I do this again? I don't know, but I have to say you have to do something like this at least once in your life time. Not only do you feel on top of the world after, but boy do you have a story to tell.
When we arrived at our accommodations, we were told we can pay more to see the "blue fire" event in the middle of the night, which practically none of us were informed of when booking this event. That meant trekking up to Ijen Crater at midnight for an hour and a half IN THE DARK and staying up there until 4am and then trek down again. Thankfully, as much as this tour sucked, I'm glad I met some awesome tour mates who were in the same boat as I was-sick and tired of the extra fees, flat tires, late arrival to our guesthouse, and desiring more sleep than the sight of blue flames (though people want you to think you are missing out if you didn't do it), I mean, I'm sure it's cool and all, but we didn't think it was worth it.
Well, we didn't regret it and instead we were so glad we just stuck to the usual 4am set time to head to the base of Ijen. It took almost an hour drive so we arrived at 5am and were told we had to come back down by 8am, which meant we barely had any time to linger once we got up there as it would mean 1.5 hours each way. At this rate though, we could care less about schedule or no schedule as we became rebellious tour-ers and decided we were all going to take however long it was going to take up there and ignore the driver as we've endured through enough shortcomings from up to this point already.So once the trek started (no tour guide by the way, just a one way path up), I became really thankful I was trekking this after the sun had risen as this route was steeper and more unstable then yesterday. I felt like yesterday was just a teaser to the real game and I couldn't imagine doing this in pitch darkness as it was hard enough in broad daylight. I don't even know if 'hard' is enough to describe it. I felt myself physically, emotionally, mentally, and psychologically challenged while going up. At times I really wanted to throw in the to towel but I kept reminding myself that I didn't come all this way just to endure crazy mini van drives and a horrendous tour. All the while I was asking God for strength and self talking myself to keep persevering and to believe that the aftermath of this would be great. As you journey up, you will also sight lots of local men carrying weaved baskets in between a wooden stick on their shoulders. We were told by one of them that they make two treks a day up and down to collect about 90kg of solidified sulphur at 800 rupiah/kg. That's about 7 cents US/kg and only $13 per day. Seeing them work this hard at the sacrifice of their own health motivated me to keep going. One nice local man even chopped us sturdy tree branches so we could use them as walking sticks. AMEN because it was a tad easier to have a third "leg" to use as a stepping guide and footing. He was also friendly and led us up all the way and would even wait for us when we took rest breaks. Tip: find a sturdy stick or chop one it's so much better!I got to say the first half of the trek is the worse, but shortly after the midpoint (you will spot a resting area where they sell snacks and all), the last 1/3 of the way is flatter and easier to foresee your final destination. You will also smell yourself getting close as the sulphur is intoxicating here. I also realized that a lightweight scarf is not only multi purposeful in traveling for covering up for temple visits, adding to one's attire, as a sarong, but also as a muffler/mask. Unfortunately, mine already smelled like sulphur from yesterday so I made shift my cardigan into one. The trek also seems more encouraging when you have company that can complain, but also joke and laugh about it with you as it lightens up the mood and relieves some built up of frustration at times.
 |
| These are carved from sulphur and sold along the trek |
Finally after what seemed like forever, we reached the top! I felt like we pretty much had it all to ourselves compared to the day before at Bromo, as not seeing the "blue fire" event and sunrise meant the hype of tourists were already gone by the time we arrived around 6:30am. Once again, a thick smog was rising from the bottom of the crater and as shocking as it was, you see these men collecting the solidified sulphur to bring back up (about an additional hour to trek down to the core of the crater-we didn't do it due to time and the risk of our health as you are right next to the sulphur deposit). There is also a clear blue lake sandwiched between the crater and next to the main deposit of sulphur; it was so stunning to see such natural elements all in one place. To our surprise, a local told us the lake is actually boiling hot and the sulphur collected is sold to be used in cosmetics and sugar consumption; this really made me rethink my habit of makeup and love for candies.So I thought the trek down would be way easier as you are siding with gravity, but it's actually just as hard. Mind you I was wearing worn out Keds (great choice right?), so I was constantly having to walk like a penguin and cautiously watch my step or else I would slip and lose my grip. Because it was steep and gravel-ly going downwards, you actually had to use more leg muscles to ground yourself against gravity so it was just as treacherous as going up. My legs were also very 'wobbly' as it hadn't recover from going up yet, so this made it to be more difficult. Also in my perspective, this trek is limited to a certain crowd. Even though I did see older people besides the local men working, it's a tough climb and I know for one thing my parents would never be able to make it up. But age is one thing and fitness level is another, so just some food for thought when considering this. Do keep in mind that it's not a competition to the top so you can definitely pace yourself and take longer than the expected 1.5 hours. | |
| My wonderful tour mates and I |
Would I do this again? I don't know, but I have to say you have to do something like this at least once in your life time. Not only do you feel on top of the world after, but boy do you have a story to tell.
Labels: Ijen Crater, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Tour
