End of the trip, Back to the Start

Scary images in my head woke me up that morning. I only slept for a couple of hours. Staying at such a scary hotel, taught me to always check the room out before deciding to check in. Continue reading “End of the trip, Back to the Start”

Day 6: The City of Heroes

Suddenly there was a lot of movement in the cabin. The train crew were collecting blankets from the passengers. I only slept for an hour or two. It was 4 am in Surabaya. Continue reading “Day 6: The City of Heroes”

Day 5: Picturesque Banyuwangi

I asked people at the hotel and restaurant, even ojek drivers and street stall vendors about what to see in Banyuwangi. Every one of them told me to hike Ijen volcano, which I did yesterday. It seemed like there was nothing else to see in Banyuwangi. I was wrong. Continue reading “Day 5: Picturesque Banyuwangi”

Day 4: Blue Fire of Ijen

I woke up at 1 a.m and got packed for Ijen and Banyuwangi. Our driver was so glad that I could speak Bahasa and asked me to get to the front seat. Continue reading “Day 4: Blue Fire of Ijen”

Day 3: A fortunate detour to Sempol

I was woken up by my ojek driver after snoozing my alarm 3 times since 3 am. I had a hard time sleeping on the flat mattress in my guesthouse. I could see that it was supposed to be thick but it got flattened over time. I wonder how many people had slept on it.
Continue reading “Day 3: A fortunate detour to Sempol”

Day 2: Explore Bromo!

My first attempt to get on an angkot (Angkutan Kota or public transport) was unsuccessful. I had to duck to get on board but my big backpack got stuck at the mini-van’s small door. The driver started to move off while my other leg was still on the ground. Welcome to Malang.

Continue reading “Day 2: Explore Bromo!”