Mount Bromo - 2329m

Mount Bromo - 2329m . Midget Volcanoe

From Surabaya, we drove for an hour to reach Tongas, just short of Probolingo. We then drove for about 2hours to reach our hotel CEMERA INDAH. Room rates are reasonable at rp250,000 for Standard room, rp400,000 for deluxe and rp600,000 for Superior room. Breadfast included for two.

Sitting right at the lip of the Tengger Crater , you can see Mt Bromo from your balcony. When darkness fall, the serenity of the place with the smoking Mt Bromo, one can sense a feeling of peace, and the cold air makes it very comfortable.

Mount Bromo is easily accessable, not too high and considered to be a dwarf against other larger volcanoes in Indonesia. The developed villages along the way and the good road gives one the sense of safety , yet adventurous enough esp when we go 20km up Mt Penanjaken to see Sunrise and scale Mt Bromo itself to smell the burning sulphur. Horse riding for young and old for just 1km is enough to wet our apetite, esp for us who have no riding experience.

Fertile Land. The volcanic ground, flowers, farmers hut and when it was dark just after 6pm



After checking in we took an evening stroll along the countryside. The air was really cool and fresh and onions seems to be the main crop, besides padi fields. Again houses are simple but well spaced along the mountain contours and along the main road. Pine trees are also looking extremely healthy in this volcanic environment. Qi is very strong.




Weather at 4 am was really cold but fine, but jackets were readily available at rp 25,000 for rental. With hand gloves and hats ( for sale ) at very reasonable pricing between rp 10,000 and rp 30,000, all of us were adequately geared to weather the cold wind on top of Mt Penanjakan at 2720m high.


Watching SUNRISE. We had to wake up at 3am and proceed some 20km from our hotel, in the dark, to reach our destination. After 45mins we finally reached an area specially developed for tourists. We had a cup of coffee and was mingling in the dark with some 100 odd tourists, both local and foreigners . Mount Bromo, 2329m, was actively alive with smoke rising to the sky . Sligthly lower than Mt Batok at 2440m and against a backdrop of the highest Mt Semerin at 3676m it was a beautiful sight to see 3 volcanoes lined against each other. The 3 volcanic mountains made watching " Sunrise : that much more interesting.

Photo taking at different timing all within the hour from 5am to 6am







After watching " Sunrise " we descended back to the " Sand Sea " area to climb to Mt Bromo. Going downhill we could now see clearly the extended mountain ranges and the track which our driver took us. The sudden turn and winding road against steep cliff can be frigthening at times


Horse Riding. Pic shows us riding horses to bring us to the Mt Bromo 's foothill. Charges was at rp75,000 with an experienced horse handler as guide. At the foothill of Mt Bromo we then climb to the top which was fairly steep and if your knees can take 250 steps. Qigong " double-intake technique " came in handy but still I had to stop three times as my knees were unable to do it in one go. On horse riding, a guide was at hand to help you mount and dismount the horse and to lead it to the destination and back. The track leading to the steps are on uneven and rough terrain - thus a guide was therefore necessary for safety purposes.

At our Hotel Cemoro Indah we met two German couples = Mr n Mrs Joamar Reisen , Wolgang Rindeley and Dela Dressler the night before. They too have been travelling in Asia and enjoying the ASIAN cultures. When we returned for breadfast at 7am, we spoke excitedly of our experiences . The Germans then got down to knowing each other better, exchanged notes for their onwards travel , while we packed up to leave.

At about 10am, we were then off to our next destination - Bali. On the way down , we were blessed with good weather and shot a couple of good pics on the little village and mountain ranges

The architecture and designs of these buildings are unique .

Crossing Into BALI. From all the ferry crossings we experienced in Kalimantan, crossing into Bali was a breeze. It was just like taking a " water taxi " - buy your tickets, follow the route to the RPL , go on board, wait for the RPL to sail for 45 mins and off you go. Absolutely seamless.