Trans East Java Day 5: Bromo

Day 05 (9 Jan 2013, Wed) 
Penanjakan – Mt Bromo – Drop off Surabaya 


Today is my last day trip at East Java.

Summary of Last Day Itinerary...

3.00 a.m   - Wake up call
3.30 a.m   - Drive jeep to enjoy sunrise at Penanjakan, a mountain across Mt Bromo (1 hour drive) 
6.00 a.m   - Trek to Mt Bromo crater thru Sand Sea
9.00 a.m   - Back to Sion Hotel Breakfast and free & easy until check-out at 11.30a.m 
11.30 a.m - Airport transfer to Juanda Airport Surabaya (4 hours drive) 
 End of Program 

Mount Bromo...

Elevation: 2,329 m (7,641 ft) 
Type: Stratovolcano 
Last eruption: 28 January 2011
Best time of year to visit: June to October

This is what we're aim for (pic from other source)

Mount Bromo is an active volcano and part of the Tengger massif, in East Java, Indonesia. It sits in the middle of a vast plain called the "Sea of Sand" (Javanese: Segara Wedi or Lautan Pasir), a protected nature reserve since 1919. The typical way to visit Mount Bromo is from the nearby mountain village of Cemoro Lawang. From there it is possible to walk to the volcano in about 45 minutes, but it is also possible to take an organised jeep tour, which includes a stop at the viewpoint on Mount Penanjakan (2,770 m or 9,088 ft). The best views from Mount Bromo to the Sand Sea below and the surrounding volcanoes are at sunrise. The viewpoint on Mount Penanjakan can also be reached on foot in about two hours. (source: various)

The name of Bromo derived from Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu creator god.


Interesting Facts...

• Cemorolawang: one of entrance gates through which visitors pass to see the expanse of the sand sea and Bromo's crater from a distance
• Tengger Sand Sea and Mt. Bromo: horse riding; climbing up concrete steps to the rim of Mt. Bromo's crater, and witnessing the sunrise. 
• Pananjakan: To view a magnificent panorama of Mt. Bromo, Mt. Batok, and Mt. Semeru. 
• Best time of year to visit: June to October (dry season)

What to Bring 

• Flashlight: The trails are relatively easy to follow but are extremely dark before sunrise. 
• Water: Despite the cold weather, you will find yourself sweating on the trail.
• Warm Clothing: Temperatures are surprisingly cold around Mount Bromo. 
• Warm Gloves 
• Raincoat

My story...

Seawal 3.00 pagi lagi kami dah digerakkan untuk bangun pagi. Prepare apa yang patut and stand by dekat luar Hotel sebab Jeep sudah datang lagi awal. One jeep can fit in 7 to 8 people inluding the driver. Thus, my group only need two jeep. Since kami ada 12 orang termasuk Agus & Bambang, we're split into two groups, 6 person in one jeep. My jeep ade 7 persons including the driver... 4 ladies at the back seat & 3 gentleman at front seat. Ngam-ngam... hehehe.

Inside the Jeep... Seawal 3.30 a.m berbekal kan sebuku roti with Chili Tuna Filling

Perjalanan nak ke Penanjakan mengambil masa 1 jam. Dan hanye orang yang betul-betul hebat saja yang mampu bawa korang ke sini seawal 3.30 pagi. Kenapa?? Sebab sepanjang perjalan nak ke Penanjakan memang takde lampu lansung dan hanye bergantung kepada lampu jeep yang kami naik. Bayangkan lah dengan keadaan gelap yang amat sangat, temperature almost 0 deg C and kabus yang tebal... hanya yang expert & berani sahaja yang mampu membawa kenderaan pagi-pagi buta ke situ. And of course lah, the local people sebab memang dah keje dia orang pun kan.

According to our Guide, Agus, there are 4 highlights for bromo adventure

• Penanjakan 1 & 2 for sunrise
• Gunung Bromo
• Whispering sand
• Padang Savana (Savannah)

Whispering Sand or Pasir Berbisik (source)

Padang Savana (source)

Tapi kami tak sempat pun cover semua sebab package kami cuma Penanjakan & Gunung Bromo jer. Aku ade tanye juga kenapa tak include savannah & whsipering sand dalam itinerary kami. Agus cakap... normally padang savana & pasir berbisik ni not so populat among the visitors, so, tour guide akan exclude from the package. Tapi boleh include if you want. Insyallah, next time kalau nak pergi maybe I will ask them to inlcude this too.

Masa ni dalam pukul 4.30a.m macam tu... hujan masih turun

Parking terakhir to sunrise viewpoint hanya sejauh 500m. So, the best transportation is walking. Kalau malas juga tak tahu lah... hehehe. Before kami start naik Penanjakan 1... aku singgah kejap kedai kat bawah tu. Bukan nak shopping lagi (melampau lah kot baru sampai dah nak start shopping kan) tapi cuma nak cari poncho sebab aku lupa bawa. Maybe aku takkan pakai lah kot tapi cuma untuk standby jer... kot-kot hujan lagi lebat. Herge dia memang mahal melampau lah kat sini. IDR20K (~RM6.50)... no bargain, take it or leave it. I've no choice. Quality sama je macam yang harga RM2.50 kat M'sia. Nadiah & Hanim pulak sewa baju sejuk lagi sebab katanye baju dia orang tak cukup tebal nak tahan sejuk at that time. Herge baju sejuk kat sini tengok jenis juga, kalau yang lagi better lagi mahal sikit lah. Tapi yang pasti harga poncho aku sama dengan harga baju sejuk Nadiah sewa tu.

Hanim & Nadiah sewa extra baju sejuk lagi sebab katanye too cold for them

Sementara nak tunggu sunrise kami solat dulu

Tiada halangan untuk menunaikan solat

No sign of sunrise... Harapan hanya tinggal kenangan

According to Agus, view at Penanjakan 1 lagi cantik sunrise nye compare to penanjakan 2. Sebab tu kalu package bromo mostly dia akan offer sunrise penanjakan satu. Tempat yang kami pergi juga.  Aku macam pernah terbaca satu entry ni kata nye nak amek view bromo paling cantik kena turun bawa sikit dari puncak penanjakan. Tapi sebab trip kami hanye nampak kabus semata-mata, no sign of sunrise, so, aku pun lupakan lah niat nak explore kat mana best place to capture that moment. Lagipun bukan nye aku boleh nampak gunung bromo pun kalu ke situ... No point. Maybe aku akan simpan hasrat murni aku tu untuk next trip to Bromo... Akan ku buat sehabis baik.

View at Penanjakan 2. Boleh tahan juga. (Source)

Ini sajalah yang terbaek yang kami dapat abadikan di Penanjakan 1

Dah tak tahu nak buat apa... ini jelah keje kami

The stairs to Penanjakan 1

After turun dari penanjakan 1...sangat sejuk
sekarang ni nak bergerak ke sand sea untuk ke Bromo Crater

Posing with my Jeep

Kami stop dulu amek gambo di sini before proceed to the sea of sand area

Our Guide, Agus and Our Driver for the whole trip, Bambang

With our jeep... transport to Penanjakan 1 & Sea of sand

Siapa cepat dia dapat... Kami menjadi rebutan pengembala kuda

From our parking jeep area to bromo crater lebih kurang 2.5km dan jalan kaki hanya mengambil masa 30min sahaja. Tapi kami tak jalan kaki pun, kami memilih untuk menunggang kuda. We're been offered IDR100K (~RM32) for return trip. Kata Agus, quite cheap sebab normally they will charge IDR150K to IDR300k for outsiders. Maybe bukan high season sebab tu price dia jadi murah. Mula- mula tu aku ingat nak amek one way jer masa balik, pergi nak jalan kaki sebab fikir nak amek gambo on the way tu. Tapi memandangkn herge dia charge sama mcm return aku pun cancel lah... boleh macam tu. Lagipun masih gerimis. Tapi bila nampak orang yang jalan kaki amek gambo masa on the way tu rase jealous pun ade. Mostly yang amek kuda ni pelancong luar, kalau local people dia orang prefer jalan kaki jer. Kalau dah naik kuda tu faham-faham lah limited skit nak amek pemandangan sekeliling... nama pun naik kuda kan of cos lah tujuan nye nak mempercepatkan perjalanan. 

Aku ade juga minta orang yang jaga kuda aku tu berhenti, sekali dua tu ok lah tapi bila dah masuk 3 kali and lebih dia macam dah tunjuk muka tak puas hati. Apa masalah dia, berhenti kejap je pon, takde effect apa-apa pun kot kuda tu & dia, cuma sampai lambat skit jelah. Itupun lagi takde masalah sebah Agus masih dibelakang and we still have time memandangkan kami tidak mengambil masa yang lama di Penanjakan tadi. Tapi mmg tak puas hatilah sebab aku tak enjoy. Banyak sangat benda menarik yang aku missed. Maybe next time, aku nk jalan kaki jer ke situ or hafway baru naik kuda. 

Jom ikut saya jelajah lautan pasir Bromo

Perjalanan menyelusuri Lautan Pasir
Kalau anda hebat menunggang atau teringin nak menunggang kuda sendiri boleh je bawa without the horse guide

Horse Riding to Bromo Crater

Aku sampai di kaki Gunung Bromo dalam masa 20 minit... last person yang sampai rasanyer. Dari tempat parking kuda, kami kena menapak dalam 500 meter macam tu nak sampai ke tangga yang akan membawa kami ke atas bromo crater. Based on my calculation, tak sampai 250 anak tangga pun. Penat jugalah nak menapak sampai ke puncak lagi lah dalam keadaan sejuk yang amat sangat. Alhamdulillah, we did it successfully.

One of the best spot to capture view at Bromo

The horse riding was up to here... 
we need to walk around 500m to the Bromo Crater

Dan puas menunggang kuda, it's time to climb

View from top of Mount Bromo

Kalau rasa penat... stop kejap & continue naik tangga balik

Bromo Crater, still active

Keep your safety limit... don't exceed the allowable point

We're on the peak of Bromo

Ni sajalah activity yang boleh dibuat di atas Gunung Bromo...  Bergambo :-)

Active crater just at my back

Agak ramai juga orang time ni walaupun musim hujan & bukan cuti sekolah

Aku tak ingat berapa lama kami spend kat atas gunung bromo tu tapi boleh tahan lama lah juga. Dekat atas gunung tu tempat dia sangatlah limited so please take care of your own safety. Memang agak kurang langkah keselamatan diatas puncak Bromo. Kalau tersilap langkah memang mengundang bala lah. So, kena pandai-pandai lah jaga diri sendiri, OK.  This volcano still active, bolah nampak asap yg keluar dari kawah tak berhenti- henti. Still active tapi tak meletup lah... buat masa ini. Normally, gunung berapi kat Indonesia ni akan meletup ikut giliran, let say kalau merapi dah meletup dulu... later gunung berapi yang lain pulak akan follow tak lama selepas tu... maybe not at the same time tapi akan menyusul 1-2 weeks after that or maybe a month... according to our guide Agus. Agus ni dah conquer hampir semua gunung berapi kat Indonesia ni.

View from top of Bromo Crater

Nak balik dahhh...

Group photo kami

Aksi wajib kami dimana-mana saja

The temple from top of Bromo's peak

Awesome view of the sand sea from top of Bromo's peak

The Sand Sea... Our route to Bromo crater

Bentuk muka bumi di sekitar kaki gunung Bromo

Rasa macam tak puas tengok keindahan ciptaan Allah di Bromo ini

Setelah puas bergambo sakan, kami pon turun ke bawah semula. Lepas tu, naik kuda yang sama kami tunggang semasa nak ke sini tadi, pulang melalui lautan pasir yang sama kami lalu masa pergi tadi and return to our jeep.

The horses are waiting for us... it's time to go home... sedey nyer

Salah satu laluan kami ke Bromo Crater thru Sand Sea...

If you know how to get here, you may rent the motorcycle and park at this available area.
Most of them are local visitors and they just walked to Bromo Crater

Enjoying the horse riding

We ended the tour around 9.00 a.m and back to Sion View Hotel. Reached at Hotel around 10.00 a.m. and having breakfast after that. Check out at 11.30 a.m and then transfer to Juanda Airport Surabaya. Almost 4 hours drive to reach airport. Actually, we have another 2 places to go before to Airport but since we didn't have much time, we straight away go to Juanda Airport.

Insyallah... I will come again for this moment

End of my Trans East Java Trip...

Thanks to Fad, Adeq, Miza, Kay, Huzz, Bai, Hanim, Nadiah & Adi for making this trip an interesting journey. Also, to guide Agus & Bambang for making this trip possible & successfull.