Mount Bromo

Locals piled into back of mini bus to Bromo
see all photos »

After spending a night in a dump of a hotel in Probolingo (it was 2am when we got off the bus so couldn't be too fussy) we hopped on a local mini bus the next morning which was bound for Mount Bromo. (We didn't even eat the free breakfast they were offering at the hotel - it was cold rice with a lump of meat that looked like chicken but I couldn't be sure and a bowl of brown coloured sauce with lumps in it that may have been some sort of animals testicles or intestines!!)

Horseman in front of volcano - we took a ride home with him to our hotel
see all photos »

Niall and I sat up front as it seemed the most comfortable option while all the locals piled into the back like sardines - it was hilarious! There was a guy hanging off the side of the bus at one point and the bus literally stopped everywhere. I think we were the source of amusement for the locals as every time we turned about all eyes were on us and they would giggle! We could feel the weather getting colder as we reached Mount Bromo which was weird after months of sweating in the scorching heat!

One thing I am noticing is that the more west we travel across Java the more attention we are drawing as we clearly stand out!

Messing about up near the first viewpoint
see all photos »

Once we got settled in a nice guest house we headed off for a walk to Mount Kursi, which is the smaller of the two volcanos. We had to walk across this barron land to get to it and literally didn't meet a sole apart from local horsemen offering us a ride which we declined. Once we climbed up to the craters edge the smell of sulphur was a little over powering but still we stopped for a while and took a lot of pictures of the smoke coming out and the sun setting behind it - it was spectacular.

Smoke coming out of volcano - took this from edge of crater
see all photos »

By the time we made our way down it was almost pitch black and with no flash light we had no choice but to jump on the back of the horses and take a ride back to our guest house which turned out to be good fun!

It was an early night then as we got up at 3am the next morning to make the hike to the viewpoint to watch the sunrise to the left of the volcanoes. It was pitch black and freezing when we set off with no flash light but it was well worth once we made it to the top as as no sooner had we arrived and taken out our cameras than there was some activity on Mount Bromo with smoke flying out the top - it was incredible!

Niall & I posing at edge of volcano crater
see all photos »

We met an English guy who lives in Indonesia while admiring the view and he kindly offered us a sight seeing lift back to his home town of Surabaya in his jeep later that morning. So after hiking back down and getting breakfast in we jumped into the back of his jeep for an adventure. The landscape that we saw along the way was incredible and changed so much as we got further down. Some of the 'roads' we had to drive on were nail biting as there was massive drops either side and not much road. It was a long drive back to Surabaya but well worth it for what we saw. Once is Surabaya it was straight to the bus station to catch a bus to Solo, which is where I am doing this update from now.

Doing my typical Asian tourist pose on edge of volcano
see all photos »

We are spending a second night here which is great as for the past week it has been constant moving and I am beyond tired! Not seen much here yet but plan on fitting in a bit before we move on tomorrow. One thing I am noticing is that the more west we travel across Java the more attention we are drawing as we clearly stand out!