Kalisat, the greatest village ever. Everyone there was so nice (and seemed to be obsessed with gardening).
It’s hard to really explain what it’s like to use public transportation in Indonesia. It’s one of those things that you have to see for yourself.
Throughout the trip, we got around by becak (cycle rickshaw), car, taxi, train, bus, ojek (motorbike taxi), horse, horse carriage, angkot (minibus)… basically all modes of land transportation possible. Some were surprisingly convenient and/or more comfortable than I thought they would be. Some were just hilarious to experience. Most were smokey and sweaty.
One of the most memorable is our public minibus (angkot) ride from Bondowoso to Ijen Crater. It started off frustrating, because the angkot didn’t have a fixed schedule and we had to wait a long time before it had enough passengers to make the trip. But then it got really fun, mostly because of the awesome views and awesome people.
The angkot was almost full when we left, but then it made several more stops and picked up more people. We had so much stuff, too! I would normally tell people at the bus stops to just please wait for the next bus, but that’s not how it works when you’re in rural Indonesia.
Everyone in the bus very cheerfully made room for others, and even helped them get their stuff (bags, boxes, rice sacks, vegetables, buckets of tofu, etc.) inside. They didn’t complain when they had to lose their seats and sit on flimsy boxes, they just didn’t complain EVER!! It’s really mind-blowing to us Jakartans. How are people SO NICE? Why is everyone offering help and directions?? What do they want from us????
Pictured above, passengers rearrange their stuff so more people can fit in.
Following the recommendation of our wonderful new friends from the minibus, we got off at Kalisat, a cute little village near Ijen Crater. As we waited for other passengers to pass us our bags, I counted. Eighteen people. Eighteen, in a freaking small minibus. And let’s not forget the boxes, buckets and bags.
Then the minibus drove away, and I saw that no, it was actually TWENTY PEOPLE. Two were sitting on top of the minibus, holding on tightly.
Our original plan was to go from Bromo to Banyuwangi, but after the hike, and because we barely slept the night before, we just didn’t feel like going on that 8-hour bus ride. And turns out, going straight to Banyuwangi means going a little out of the way, because we plan on going to Ijen Crater the day after… Okay it’s complicated but made a lot more sense once we looked at the map.
So we changed plans and improvised. We saw this small city on the map, named Bondowoso, almost exactly between Bromo and Ijen Crater. We never heard of it before, but why not!
Our four-hour bus ride was most picturesque but absolutely terrifying. I really just wanted to tell the driver to slow the hell down, but decided instead to shut up and enjoy the views: lush mountains, rivers, rocky beaches, rice paddies and… huge shiny factories? Hm.
Though we spent only a night there, Bondowoso left such a good impression on us. It’s small but neat and very modern. Lonely Planet even says that it is the cleanest city in Java… which still doesn’t make it sparkling, because Java is Java, but hey- it was clean!!
I’m glad we chose to spend the night in this unfamiliar but decent city, though, because from here on we would struggle to get even phone reception………
Two reasons why we need to go back to Bromo:
One, the higher and more popular sunrise spot could not be reached because the road is under construction due to a landslide. This spot is said to have a much better view over Bromo.
Two, I want to try and see if sunrise would look more beautiful if you weren’t so busy trying to stay warm enough to live. Slight exaggeration, okay, but it was pretty freaking cold for a tropical country. We just weren’t prepared at all and one of us didn’t even have a sweater with him. Can you guess which one? (Answer: The guy we kidnapped along the way) I think we could enjoy the amazing views better if we wore thicker sweaters. And hats. And gloves and winter boots.
Glorious.
It was the coldest morning I’ve had anywhere in Indonesia, but so worth it.
We’ve hit midpoint, and from here, things just get better and better.
My next few posts will revolve around Mount Bromo. We spent only about four hours there, but hey that’s four hours of non-stop awesomeness.
Let’s start with Bromo sunrise.
We were halfway done with the trip, so we thought we deserved a little pampering after all the smokey bus rides. So we went to Nuansa Fajar for a massage. It was such a sweet deal at Rp 25.000 or about US$3 per hour, AND it was for a good cause. The masseurs were blind (I wonder if that’s a politically correct term… or maybe “visually-impaired?”), and were trained by a nonprofit so they can work. Some of the proceeds go back to the nonprofit so it can keep helping people.
My masseur, Darmi, has worked there for over 9 years. She’s so sweet! Pictured above is her son, who has huge eyes and perfect eyesight.
A jumping picture with the Malang crew (minus the photographer and another girl who would join us later that night), also at Batu.
The second picture is of me, my best friend/travel buddy, and another friend we kinda kidnapped along the way. He ended up traveling with us the rest of the trip, which was wonderful because we could really use the mental boost and extra security…
Our 8-hour car ride to Malang was painfully nauseating. Once there, though, the city was very manageable, mostly because of my travel companion’s friends there who so kindly helped us in so many ways. Thanks to my new friend A for letting us stay over at your place. Our bedroom was undoubtedly the most comfortable of the entire trip. And thank you for all the food and for taking us around (Singosari Temple, above), too!
