Indonesia is famous for their various tourist destinations. From beaches to ancient sites, cities to villages, and forests to mountains, there must be a lot of exciting stories about them. One of them is Mount Bromo, the most famous mountain tourist destination in East Java. This story will get in detail.
At 2.00 am, several youths from all over Indonesia came to watch the famous event about the start of a new day. Yes, sunrise at Mount Bromo, after spending halfnight at Dhammadipa Arama, Malang. We arrived at the station where we changed into Jeep that would take us to Mountain Pananjakan, our first destination. It was very cold there. No, it was freezing. The gloves couldn’t stand it and the ears got numb. Well, I didn’t prepare the bobble hat.
The road took us about three hours to arrive at Mount Pananjakan, where we can get the complete view of Mount Bromo, covered with seas of fog. About 5 in the morning, we arrived at Mt. Pananjakan. it was like between in the evening and afternoon. There was a huge open view to Mount. Bromo. It was as if we’re standing on a sky piercer mountain and there was second level sky above us, and the sun was going to rise. I was fascinated to see the clouds below me, instead of fog, it was really magnificent. The sky was clear, with yellows and blues blending perfectly, but the earth still stood in the dark color, contrast to the beautiful sky.
There had been many people arrived before us, waiting for the Golden King to emerge. As I was looking around, they were scattered along the mountain. They’re taking pictures, rubbing hands, going to shop to have hot drinks, climbing higher, waiting, and doing other things which I didn’t notice but keeping myself warm and steady. Still, it was freezing, and I just had a small cake before leaving. So, my hands and my legs trembled, and the gloves made me hard to press the shutter. I was thinking I am at a situation where I hardly can take any single picture. In the dizziness I climbed and asked a friend of mine,
” Has it risen yet? Has it? Oh no, I’m trembling and dizzy.”
“Get something hot to relieve your tremble. Here eat this, it’ll soothe you.”
He gave me a ginger candy, and I immediately got it inside my mouth. The ginger and spicy aroma directly spread, soothe my dizziness. But I still couldn’t press the shutter due to coldness. Then I climbed higher to get more view of sunrise and started taking pictures. But still, I tried my best not to get trembled. After drinking hot milks offered, I had more energy to take more pictures of Bromo while waiting for the sunrise. The event of sunrise felt unnoticed, I had to keep taking picture so I didn’t miss the moment. After the sun rose, the seas of fog started to disappear, the sky slowly turned to all blue, and it’s getting brighter around. Some still took pictures, and others climbed down to shop to get hot drinks and instant noodles, which cost more expensive than in town. But, I think that’s the reason, they’re in mountains, not in town.
After the sun rose, the air got warmer. The hands got steadier and legs moved better. I and the others moved to another picture taking spot. We took some pictures before we moved to the Caldera.
On the trip to Caldera of Bromo, we drove down from Pananjakan by jeep. The fog was still covering the mountain, even the streets. So the great view is when we drove down to the mouth of Caldera, the fog blocked down the street, so it’s as if we’re entering the some mystic realms covered by fog. Like a fantasy movie. That’s amazing! Even though after we entered the mouth of Caldera, all the sight was still covered by fog. In front of us lies hundreds meters of sand plain behind the fog. On my left and right were jeeps running through the fog. The drivers still drove normally, instead of the front sight was only white. Then, finally my jeep were slowing down and parked somewhere around the Caldera. There were many other jeeps had been arriving before us, meaning many people too. The fog around me started to fade out slowly. The air still cold and I guess it’s about 6 am. We then walked through the Caldera to go to the crater of Mount Bromo, which is about 45 to 50 minutes by foot.
On my way to the crater, there is a pura build on the foot of Bromo. The pura is used for ritual ceremony of Kasada or Kasodo by Tengger society. The path to the crater was dusty and steep. On the way to the crater there are stairs built to accommodate tourists get to the top of Bromo with ease. When I got to the top of Bromo, the smell of sulfur was strong, I was told to wear the mask to avoid getting poisoned. On the top, the view of Semeru is clearer. I took some photos and the crater also. After taking photos and enjoying the view, I climbed down and gather with my friends. Some of us continued to Semeru National Park, and some prepared to go home. It was really an amazing trip. I hope I could go there again. If you have time, I recommend you to visit it.
