Hello Again Bromo!

Posted on October 25, 2025 by jipp

So, after we were done being mesmerized by the wonders of nature at Tumpak Sewu, it was time to go to Bromo, the super magical place that had prompted me to declare Indonesia as the undisputed country for nature wonders when I first visited it 13 years ago. 

Traveling from Tumpak Sewu to Bromo had required us to do a few hours of joyride across beautiful villages and every now and then we’d stop to enjoy the view because seriously, some of them were really worth stopping for. The driver even took us across remote areas on bumpy roads – all so that we could have our late lunch at restaurant called Godhong Gedhang.

Well, it might look like such an ordinary place to be eating at, but the restaurant is located right in the middle of a vast paddy field area. We can almost smell the paddy – in fact, they were very much within the reach of our hands even when we were eating. Not only that, the food was marvellous, they really hit right into our taste buds we couldn’t stop talking about how tasty there were all throughout our trip. 

We actually stopped a few times – either for food or for the view or both. That was one of the privileges that we or anyone could acquire when travelling on an all-pre-arranged transport. 

We arrived at Bromo when the sun was about to set. The hotel room was OK, even though I was expecting a better one. I immediately noticed how Bromo had changed so much since our first visit 13 years ago. Back then, Bromo was very much agricultural with very limited number of hotels. In fact, we actually stayed at the most expensive hotel there was at that time – and yet it was more like a rundown set of chalets. The only best thing about it that I remember was the full view of Mount Bromo right from the hotel room. 

Back then, Bromo was very much unheard of.  In fact, we only knew about it when we arrived, because the plan was to scale Mount Semeru which was part of the National Park that Mount Bromo was also in. When we were told that Mount Bromo was closed – just how we were told on this one, we decided to scale Mount Bromo as a substitute. That was what we did too last time, so it was more like a repetition, except it was not. Bromo has changed almost totally now. Bromo had become one of top tourist destinations in Indonesia so the whole area was brimming with hotels of all range of prices, from the budget to five-star hotels. The transformation was unbelievable to say the least. 

We were picked up from our hotel at about two in the morning – by a jeep of course, which was the signature mode of transport in Bromo – and we later joined a thousand others all going up to Panajakan to watch the world famous sunrise of Bromo. Again, I was a little shocked to find out how big the crowd was. Back then, it was only us – literally. 

So I was there when it was still dark, eager to watch the sunrise again – the view that is splattered all over on Indonesian tourism boards and banners. But just when it was about to happen, I had the strongest and sudden call from nature, which was impossible to ignore. In fact, the more I ignored, the stronger the call was to the point that I could no longer hold to it. 

It really was a crucial moment for me. I disengaged myself from the crowd and ran the fastest I could to the nearest toilet, which was far from near. And running while trying to hold it was not easy. In fact, I really was so much on the verge of bursting out, and the toilet suddenly seemed so impossible to reach, at least in time. In the state of panicking, I went off the pathway and ran for the nearest bushes that could provide me with a safe shelter from the prying eyes of the crowds. I was lucky that I had a bottle of mineral water with me – a small one but just sufficient to do my business right there in the bush. 

To tell the truth, I actually did it twice, running back to the same spot so I actually missed taking picture with the famous view in the background. I did manage to take a glimpse or two of the sunrise – with the mountain of Bromo jotting out among the sea of white clouds and Mount Semeru beaming high not so far in the distance. It was definitely a stunning view to keep a memory of, at least in this aging head of mine. Heh. 

When we were done with the sunrise, the jeep took us back the sandy plains of Bromo where we did a little bit of camwhoring and video shooting before joining thousands of people to hike up to the crater of Mount Bromo. Again – I couldn’t help but thinking how the walkway to the crater was almost empty back then and now it is so brimming with people it was almost impossible to manoeuvre my way off them.

The crater was just as I remembered it was back then – with black smokes billowing out from the hole before dispersing into the mountain air, leaving its pungent smell around for the crowds to ‘enjoy’ over – or not. Again, it was almost unbelievable how me and my friend Frank had the mountain all to ourselves back then – and now it was so brimming with people who hiked up for a glimpse or two of the famous crater.

We finished the Bromo Tour before mid-day and had a little bit of lunch at the hotel before checking out and heading back to the final leg of our trip to the East Java – Surabaya!

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Tumpak Sewu: The Valley of a Thousand Waterfalls

Posted on August 17, 2025 by jipp

Out of the three main destinations that we were heading to in my second trip to the East Java, the Tumpak Sewu waterfalls were the place that I was very much looking forward to, simply because I did not go there during my first visit. In fact, I didn’t know the existence of such a place back then so it really was a big miss-out. 

So fresh from our climb to Kawah Ijen, it would be another 5 hours drive before we arrived at a hotel near to the waterfalls. Going from one place to another had required long hours of ride, which was why a comfortable vehicle is very much a plus point. I remember during my first trip to East Java when we went full public transport – transiting from one bus to another – to the extent that we even had live chicken at the back of our seats while riding on a local bus from Bondowoso to Kawah Ijen. Those are definitely the days. 

The hotel that we stayed in looked more like a modern chalet, from where we could see the beaming Mount Semeru in the far distance. We walked our way from the hotel, right to the waterfalls, which required some hiking adventures. Going down to the waterfall was not the toughest part, apart from the need of a good pair of shoes that you can either rent or buy from the hotel or any of the hawkers along the way. I was told that there are a few entry points to the waterfalls, each has its own trail. We were told that the rights to collect the entrance fees to the waterfalls had been a subject of debate among the few villages that share the borders where the waterfalls are located. Dissatisfaction is rife, which is why the villages had set up their own entry points so that they could get their own share of what is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Indonesia. 

And I could see why. Looking from a viewing platform that they had set up for visitors to see the spread of waterfalls from a distance, the waterfalls were nothing like any other waterfalls that I had ever seen anywhere else. Plunging off the edge of a wide cliff, with the Mount Semeru can visibly seen towering in the background, it really was a view to die for. As if we were not wowed enough by it all, going down to the waterfalls was another surreal experience. We were right there, at the bottom of the valley surrounded by edges of cliffs and there it was, the roaring Tampuk Sewu waterfalls plunging hundreds of feet from over the wide spread of cliff to the bottom of the valley, providing such a mesmerising nature landscape that is hardly matched by any other place that I had been to before. 

And I really thought that was all there was to see at Tampuk Sewu, until we hiked our way back to the hotel on a different route from the first trail that we went to the waterfalls from. The trail had required us to hike along the river, going deeper into the valley, and that was when I found out that was much more to Tumpak Sewu than the waterfalls that we had seen before. In fact, we had come to find out that Tumpak Semu consisted of hundreds if not thousands of waterfalls, all gushing down from the cliffs all along the river valley, even intermingling with each other at some spots, again creating such a natural landscape that is hardly seen anywhere else but at Tumpak Sewu. 

Hiking back up was definitely the hardest part. I mean, Tumpak Sewu is the kind of place that serves you with a relatively easy (but slippery) access to all its beauty only to slap your ass with punishment on your way out. We were not yet fully recovered from our hike up to Kawah Ijen, so it was quite a struggle when we had to do another hike. 

But seriously, the nature wonders that we came upon on the way back was totally out of this world. The walkways and stairs that we walked on took us across more waterfalls, cascading down the slopes from wherever they were coming from up there, sparkling against the morning sunlight and creating such a magical surrounding. 

And that magical surrounding was still very much in our heads when were later on our way off to our next destination – Bromo. We could hardly stop talking about it. 

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Post Travel Hiatus: A Return to Kawah Ijen

Posted on August 10, 2025 by jipp

So after almost 2 years of a travel hiatus due to some issue with the LHDN, I finally got to travel abroad again, this time to the East Java in Indonesia. It was not my first time to this part of Indonesia; in fact I already went there about 12 years ago.  But of course, it was always good to be back to a place for a second time, as if I was given an opportunity that many others might have been robbed off – so to say. 

The trip was supposed to be intended to fulfil the long overdue plan of climbing Mt. Semeru – the highest peak in the whole of Java island, despite the fact that it had been made off-limits since September last year. I really thought it was gonna be opened again at least before the trip, but even until now it remains closed to the public. Even so, we decided to go on with the trip, with some modification to the itinerary of course. In the end, I arranged to go back to Ijen and Bromo, and added in Tumpak Sewu as a new and fresh destination. 

The planning part was quite easy. In fact, I search around on the internet, and sent an email to a few tour package providers that I came upon. After making some comparison between those who responded, I decided to go with Bromo East Java Travel. The manager by the name of Yahya was so responsive to my enquiries he even replied almost instantly when I emailed to him at one in the morning.

Landing at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, our tour guide Eko was already waiting for us at the arrival hall. It was a total difference from our first trip to Surabaya where nobody was waiting, and nobody had arranged the transport for us to travel around. In fact, we had to jump from one vehicle to another, even taking buses used by the very locals to transport goods and necessities from the towns to their villages in the remote areas. It really was full of rare experiences but of course we were much younger back then when convenience was not really a thing of priority. 

Coming back this time, I made sure that it was all about comfort. I told the travel agent that we wouldn’t even negotiate on the price of package that they had put forth, but we must be assured of top-notch comfort in both the transportation and accommodation. Heh. 

Sure enough, we were placed in a very comfortable mini van – which felt more like an SUV than a van. We cruised our way off to Bondowoso, and stopped for a Nasi Padang lunch at a little town called Pasuruan. I got instantly reminded how I missed Nasi Padang and needless to say, it would become our most regular choice of meal all throughout our trip to the East Java.

We arrived at the town of Bondowoso just before nightfall, at a resort called Ijen View Hotel and Resort. It looked like a massive resort in the middle of town. After cleaning ourselves up, we returned to the streets of Bondowoso to explore the town that I fell in love with on our first visit 12 years ago. Bondowoso seemed to have changed a lot, it was much busier and there seemed to be a lot more activities going on than I remembered it was last time. The heavily decorated horse carriages are still there unfortunately, and they seemed to have increased in number. 

Trying to relive the memory of my first visit, we actually went to have dinner at the Aruk Aruk, the recreational and leisure spot in the middle of town, and sat at a low table where we slouched our lazy asses on the ground while feasting over a spread of local Javanese delicacies. It really was a feast, and very affordable too. We went to the hotel with full and happy stomachs. 

The real adventure of course began the next morning. We dragged ourselves out of bed in the middle of night and wheeled off to the starting point of the Ijen trail. Things suddenly became so familiar, but unlike our first hike during our first visit, it was super crowded this time. Back then we had the trail pretty much all to ourselves. It was amazing how Ijen had gained so much reputation and recognition over the years.

It was super-crowded, which was of course hindering us or any of the hikers to go faster than they probably wanted to, if we could ever go any faster. The truth is, we were hit with reality that age really was catching up – worsened of course by the fact that we – or rather them – didn’t really do much physical preparation leading up to this very climb. For once I was glad that it wasn’t Mount Semeru that we were up against. Heh.

It was a long hike of course, but the highlight was going down to the crater in the dark where beating the crowd and the long line of people was no way optional. It felt like forever before we finally reached the famous blue flames. Again, it was super-crowded down there so there was no way we could stay there longer than we probably wanted to. But then, staying around for too long was not optional either.

The ammonia-laden smokes were so thick and heavy there was one time I almost passed out when the smokes suddenly came right over me, penetrated into my mask and prevented me from breathing. The smothering was so bad and real I got panicked I seriously didn’t know what to do. I was so glad that the guide was there to calm me down or things could have gone terribly wrong. I mean, I could have died right there. I shut my eyes down, breathed slowly and calmly – as he told me to – until the smokes changed direction and went away or something.

But seriously, it was surreal down there. The combination of the blue flames, the smokes and the blue lake (or rather turquoise) made the whole experience out of this world. Again, I couldn’t help but thinking how the place had picked up so many visitors over the years when we literally had the whole place all to ourselves when I was there back in 2013. After taking a considerable number of pictures, we returned to the base of the mountain where we were transported back to our hotel in Bondowoso to clean up and be ready for another few hours of road trip to our next destination – the Tumpak Sewu waterfalls! 

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