timestravelerstales: Road Trip East Java

I had this crazy idea in my mind to have a road trip in East Java. East Java has always fascinated me. When I visited Mount Bromo and Malang, I already fell in love with East Java. With the nature, the food, the environment. Some people can never get enough of Jogjakarta. I can never get enough of Surabaya.

So then, I contacted few of my friends if they wanted to help me to make my dream come true. I first contacted my friend in Surabaya, Wina of course. Then I contacted my friends in Jakarta. So after few months of discussion, there were finally six people joined in the trip. Four people from Jakarta, and two from Surabaya.

I made the itinerary for the trip. I have always been the master of itinerary whenever I and my friends travel. The plans were changed several times, till finally we got the fixed plans. First we would be heading to Situbondo area. There we would visit Baluran National Park. After that we would trek up to Ijen Crater, and then we would cross to Menjangan Island in Bali. Originally, we would visit Green Bay and Red Island as well, but we could not make it, because we had no much time.

So, there we were six people spending time in a car for 4 days. With repeated Taylor Swift songs and Arianna Grande’s, with the repeated stops in petrol station and Alfamart to fuel our tank and our stomach. And with the continuous “galauness” of each member. Well, we’re all singletons, no wonder.

Our first visit to Baluran National Park was quite disappointing. It rained at that time. So, we could not see the view of Mount Baluran very clearly. And we could not go to Bima beach as well, because the guide said it was too risky to go there during rainy day. From the gate of the national park, it took around half an hour to savannah, as the main attraction. The road was stony, muddy, and bumpy. Hopefully it can be improved by the government later. There were no deers sighted because it was rainy. So, we just took few pictures there and went back. We were not quite satisfied but well, at least we had been here.

Then we headed to Ijen Crater, it was around 3 hours from the Baluran National Park. We arrived at night around 10.00 PM. We were surprised that there were no inn or hostel there. We thought that Ijen area was like Bromo area, full of housings, and inns. The nearest inn was about 15 – 20 kilometer from the trekking post. Luckily we could rent a tent there. So some of us slept there. The hike was at 2.00 AM in the morning to witness the sunrise. There were only three of us who finally went to top. Three others were too exhausted to hike. The trek to the Ijen crater was not too extreme. However, there were some parts which were very steep. And we had to be careful because if we weren’t, we could fall into the chasm. Along with us there were several foreigners and many locals. I was very impressed with one of the Korean tourists. He was old, perhaps around 70 years old but he was very spiritful to trek up. Eventhough he had to stop and to catch his breath very oftenly. The hike took about two hours and finally we arrived around 4 AM at the top of Ijen crater. It was still dark and we waited for the sunrise. We saw the changing colors of the crater during the sunrise. It was because of the effects of sun. It was originally dark, then grey, till it turned into tosca green, the sulfur color. Some of the trekkers went downstairs to see the Blue Fire. It costed around Rp. 100,000 for guide tips. We decided not to go downstairs. The view of Ijen Crater is amazing. It’s so picturesque like Mount Bromo view. I couldn’t help feeling very excited. This was my first quite serious mount trekking. And I made it! Of course after months of preparation by routinely doing cardio and strength training :D

What I noticed was that when you hike your adrenaline level is increasing. The effect is you won’t be feeling exhausted or weary when after the hike. The pain and soreness can only be felt two or three days after. Interesting!

The last trip was to Menjangan Island in Bali. We went to Ketapang jetty to cross to Gilimanuk jetty, Bali. Menjangan Island is located near Gilimanuk jetty. It is in West Bali and it is still very far from Central Bali like Kuta and Legian. We first looked for a guest house and stayed the night. The next day we went to Menjangan Island. The tour trip along with snorkeling equipments rent, boat rent, and guide tips was approximately Rp. 1,200,000 (approx USD 120) for six people. It will be quite cheap if you are in a large group because the cost can be shared. The boat journey was only around 15 minutes. We had two snorkeling spots. They were all breath-taking. From my experience in snorkeling, this was the best snorkeling spot I ever visited. Too bad I didn’t bring the underwater camera case at that time.

On the same day, we went back to Surabaya again. Long long journey. It took around 8 hours from Bali to Surabaya. The next day we had culinary trip to Madura, the famous Bebek Sinjay. I didn’t eat duck meat of course, but my friends did.

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip. That summed up as the best trip at the end of 2014 and in the beginning of 2015. The trip was on December 31, 2014 up to January 4, 2015. What a great way to end and start the year, with great companions, to some great places.

Traveling is not all about where you go,

but it is also about with whom you go (Veetha)