Honeymoon: Mount Bromo

Right after our Ijen Crater hike, we set off for the Mount Bromo sunrise that very night at around 11pm. We visited Mount Bromo on 10 August 2015. We changed to a jeep to travel up the Pananjakan viewpoint to wait for the sunrise. According to the guide, the best way to enjoy Mount Bromo is to view the sunrise from this view point first, followed by a trek up Mount Bromo.

I expected the place to be about as cold as Ijen, but I was underdressed again - It was much colder! We bought wool scarves and hat and it was not enough. I rented another thick jacket and still felt cold. Luckily it was all very cheap despite the place being a famous tourist attraction. The toilet was tourist rates though, 2k for small business and 3k for big business hahaha. No tissue too.

We reached the viewpoint about 1h before sunrise, and it was already quite crowded. The crowd never stopped streaming in until sunrise was over. No wonder the travel websites advised coming early to get a good spot to watch the sunrise.

Us waiting patiently for the sunrise. Can you feel the coldness?

As the sun rays emerge, the darkness fades into scenery, the crowd also became more aggressive. We managed to squeeze ourselves a spot at the front row early. At first, I was quite reluctant to stand on the step because i will block the view of the people behind me. However, when I don't go up, people kept trying to squeeze in front of me, then my view would be entirely blocked as I was beside a pillar. The night before at Ijen, someone thought I don't know how to switch on my headlamp and tried to help. I told him i switched off my headlamp when I see people gathering to avoid glaring into their eyes, he said it is good that I have a mind for others. I wanted to keep it this way, but.....

... eventually I succumbed to the pressure of the pushy crowd and the temptation of a better view (my view was half blocked by the pillar). I went up, the view was so breathtakingly beautiful! I wanted to come down to let NN take a look at the beautiful scenery but he didn't let me because the spot will be snatched away once I come down. Even when I was up, there were still people who kept trying to squeeze in and displace me.

Enough words, following up will be a load of pictures, because I will run out of vocabulary to describe the painting-like scenery.

Patiently awaiting the sunrise with the moon.

Sun is saying hello.

The sky is changing color...

The sun is out and the moon still could not bear the leave the beautiful place.

This is so stunningly beautiful! Mount Bromo is the shortest mountain with the most erupting fumes.

Short panorama of the mountain view.

How can I not take a selfie?

Nice to meet a friend overseas!~ Surprise!

Do not think that it is easy to take those nice picture above. Look at the crowd!!!

After the satisfying sunrise, we heeded to Mount Bromo by jeep. Along the way we stopped to take some cool photos. Be early for sunrise, but don't need to rush to go Mount Bromo. The crowd quickly dissipates after the sun rises because they are all heeding towards there. No point joining them. You get a lot more photo opportunities when the crowd dissipates so just enjoy the view there. It is much more pleasant to go up Mount Bromo when the sunrise crowd are done with it.

Acting like I know how to drive the little pretty red jeep.

Acting like magazine cover models.

The hike up Mount Bromo was so easy compared to Ijen. You can just take a horse ride up and then just climb a long flight of stairs up to the crater. Once at the crater, it is sulphur fumes again. This time we didn't bring our N95 masks so stupid.

Some of them actually style their horses' hair. Mohawk punk!

Ready to go up Mount Bromo!

Actually, I was quite scared during the horse ride. Not sure if my horse was too small for my weight. Mine was the smallest horse and he was quite shaking and sometimes stumble a little on the way. People tend to misjudge my weight and they think I am lighter than I am. Anyway it was a very short ride up and I didn't take any photos because I was just trying to keep my balance.

250 steps up to the crater.

The volcano crater spewing sulphur fumes.

You can see Mount Batuk opposite.

I was exploring the rim and following the footsteps of a travel mate. Then halfway I realized I was in a perilous position. I was in the middle of a narrow pathway at a volcano crater rim. Fall to one side I go down the mountain, fall the other side into the volcano crater and I dissolve in sulphur acid never to be found again. Urgh, the thought of this and the view at the sides (I am slightly acrophobic) turned my legs jelly and could not move forward or backwards. I struggled over, took some pictures, and someone had to lead me back so that I have a footstep to follow...

The narrow path at the crater rim. Not for the faint hearted.

Of course we must take a picture at the non-crowded side of the rim, since we made it there.

Law of hiking - If you go up you must go down.

A lonely but well-trimmed horse in front of scenary.

We did not take a horse ride down. It was a short and easy walk down the ashes path. I recommend walking down, because it's quite fun to step on the volcano ashes, feels like sliding (not slippery kind). There will be a lot of horsemen trying to pester you to take a horse ride down. I think the market price was 100k, but they will quote you maybe 70k for going down, and when you refuse they keep cutting the price, because they rather make some money on the way down. I think the final price offered to us was 30k per person but we were not looking for a bargain, we just wanted to walk down.

Look at our shoes after the walk down the sandy ashes.

After the Mount Bromo visit, we went to the Teletubbies Hill Savannah nearby. We had picnic lunch over there. It was so pleasant as there were no other tourists AT ALL! It felt so exclusive. We heard that sometimes there will be purple flowers blooming and look like lavender field. It wasn't blooming on the day we visited though.

View at Teletubbies Hill Savannah.

We took a few photos, which resembled some of those outdoors bridal photography shots! Not bad for a honeymoon :) . Actually I was quite scared to go up the rock too. Haha.

On the way to the next hotel, we stopped by Coban Pelangi, also known as Rainbow Waterfall. I think sometimes you can see rainbows at the waterfall due to the mists. However we did not get to see the rainbow that day probably because the sunlight was not strong enough.

There's nothing much to do except taking pictures.

Long post with a lot of pictures! The Mount Bromo trip is definitely a must go on a traveller's checklist. There are many very affordable local trips to Mount Bromo. Some tips to prepare you:

• Enough warm clothing in layers! There are jackets available for rent but I do not know if they have enough stock if you are not early enough. The sunrise crowd volume is pretty crazy. It is very cold because you are not hiking but just waiting. Gloves, scarves and hat are useful too.
• Good camera. You won't want to miss taking pictures of what you see up there.
• Plan to be up at least 1 hour before sunrise. There is already substantial crowd there. You need to be early to catch a good viewing spot, otherwise the view is completely different.
• Be early for sunrise, but do not rush to go Mount Bromo. Enjoy the view and wait for the sunrise crowd to be done with it first.
• Bring N95 mask to avoid inhaling too much dust and sulphur fumes.
• Plan to visit a few other nice little spots near Mount Bromo such as Teletubbies Hill Savannah and Coban Pelangi