My 5 friends and I decided to flew to Surabaya during Labour Day and Wesak Day celebration, plus one day annual leave. So we've got approximately 5 days to spend at Surabaya for a long weekend adventure!
Our flight scheduled to Surabaya was at 8.00pm Malaysia time. It was the night of 29th April 2015. Not a lot of people on board for that flight. Boarding from KLIA2 with Airasia flight QZ327, we arrived at Juanda International Airport at 12.30am, Surabaya time, the following day.
As soon as we arrived we immediately went to the restaurant in the airport and eat. Starving! So during that time some of us went to look for a ‘supir’ (driver in Indonesia. Applicable in Terengganu dialect too) to drive us around East of Java, that is from Surabaya to Kawah Ijen (Ijen Crater) to Mount Bromo to Surabaya. Initially we paid Pak Ako the ‘supir’ Rp130.000 per person, there are six of us so total around Rp780.000. But there were a bit confusion because Pak Ako camp said we wanted to go Bromo ONLY, we have to pay additional Rp600.000 as we arrived in Ijen. Not only that, there will be adjustment of price later.
Anyway, the journey from Surabaya airport to Kawah Ijen took about eight excruciating hours. Pak Ako was driving Toyota Avanza. To Westerners out there, be prepared to be uncomfortable in said vehicle for long hours. But if they listen to us properly earlier they would drive more comfortable purpose made vehicle, I think. Fret not, along the 9 hours journey Pak Ako stopped at several places for rest. He stopped at Probolinggo for supper and Bondowoso for Subuh prayers. Once you are at Bondowoso, Ijen is not that far now. There were a lot of plantations like teas, vegetables, very thick mists, etc. along the journey. Also there were rivers and water falls but I think the water is acidic because the nearby source is Kawah Ijen. So not really suitable to drink straight from the river but we did dipped our feet in the water for a while, so it’s okay for that purpose.
Moving on, we arrived at Kawah Ijen camp site at 0900 hours. (In Google map the name is Paltuding) There were a lot of cars parked at the area. We were not planning to hike up as soon as we get there because we wanted to see the famous blue fire, it can be only seen during night time. So we booked a dorm there, nothing but just carpet and little power supply that costs us Rp200.000. So much cheap. Not advisable to book this dorm, please look for better one. We had our breakfast nearby warung (café) there. Nasi goring with plain tea. We ate together with Pak Ako totalling Rp105.000 for 7 people. Then we had a nap in the dorm.
In the afternoon we asked Pak Ako to drive us nearby town, Licin Banyuwangi. It’s like one hour away journey because of the road there. We bought some stuff – gloves, medication, and ice cream. See locals there. We prayed in one of the surau there. There was school. Oh, and durian. We saw durian, not sure how much was it. My friend bought it to be eaten later. When we wanted to go back, Pak Ako’s car its tire punctured. Must be the rough road. So at the end we eat again at nearby restaurant. Surprisingly it only costs Rp45.000 for 6 people, because we only ate instant noodle. Once the car was okay we went back to the Kawah Ijen’s base camp before the night.
Some of us had a nap. Again, we eat. Had our dinner nearby the stalls at the road. There are a lot of stalls set up to cater for the campers before and after they climb up of Ijen. Please make sure you buy mask to protect your nose and eyes. Please do. We ate at one of the stalls there, nasi tempong. Deliciously delicious. You have to try their sambal (spicy sauce), it was so damn good. They also have instant noodle and I can’t remember the name of another dishes… The dishes was a simple one but it was good. We also ate durian we bought earlier. It was delicious too, just like in Malaysia. It feel so good to drink hot plain tea. I’m not sure the temperature during the time. Some of us get to know a local from Surabaya. He rode his bike alone and camp the night before to hiking up Ijen.
We went to sleep as early as possible because at 0200 hours following day there will be wake up call to hike up the mountain.
But it was so cold! I woke up several time with my friend to go to the nearby stall and drank some hot tea... Then we went to sleep again.
To be continued…
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