Call time was *drumroll* … 2am!

Yup, waking up at 2am when you’re on vacation is plain torture. Denny arranged for our own personal jeep driver and we drove through extremely dark roads in the cold. Since we were staying at the foot of the mountain, the ride took just an hour.

I have only managed to pack hours before the trip so I didn’t bring along any thick clothes for the 5C weather. To beat the cold, I put on three t-shirts underneath my jacket instead haha. As usual, breakfast was either soup or dry chicken noodle with egg and a tea/coffee at a local warung (cafeteria).

We stayed away from the crowds at King Kong Viewpoint and instead went to another viewpoint that required only a 5-min walk! There were probably less than 50 people in total there so you could easily move around to take pictures.

This time round, Denny was my dedicated photographer who also insisted on me having a thousand and one photos taken haha.

You’ll only need to turn your head to the right and you’ll see this:

Crazy hues of orange, purple and blue as the sun rose.

After sunrise, we went to Bromo Crater and took a short hike up. There were many horses carrying tourists up, but I didn’t opt for them (obviously). Also, I don’t really think you need one unless you’re physically disabled or extremely unfit.

I got advice from my colleagues who had just visited and they said to bring along a mask. I didn’t do that, but I have a thin scarf for me to cover my face – best decision ever! When you’re trekking up, there’s lots of dust, sand and horse poop mixed in the air, ew.

I wouldn’t say the hike up Bromo Crater was anything too stunning, but the sunrise was absolutely stunning! Worth the super-early wake-up call!

But once we got back, we had to head off again very soon for the drive to Ijen. More to come!

For the most beautiful waterfall in East Java, check out this post here.

Love,

Olivia L.