Indonesia - Java

The Indonesian island of Java was probably the part of our trip that we explored the fastest and most intensively. We started in Yogyakarta. We were mainly attracted to Yogyakarta because of the Borobudur temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. For this, we booked a sunrise tour and had to be ready to depart at five in the morning. The early wake-up was worth it and we were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise. Another advantage of getting up early was that we were back at the hostel by 10 o'clock, giving us plenty of time to stroll around Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta is known for its art scene, which includes street art, batik, music, and dance. The city seemed very big and hectic, but it also has its beautiful sides and is definitely worth a visit. Next, and in contrast to the city, we continued with the next tour to Mount Bromo and Mount Ijen. We also booked a sunrise tour for Mount Bromo. For this, we had to get out of bed at three in the morning so that we could be on the opposite mountain by five o'clock to admire the sunrise over Mount Bromo. Actually - Unfortunately, the volcano was so covered with clouds that we could only see a few rays of sunshine. But then at around 6:30 am, we went directly to Bromo. This was quite impressive, although somewhat overwhelming, as the sulfur fumes from the volcano prevented us from staying on the volcano for long. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel by jeep. There we had a quick breakfast consisting of fried noodles and fruit and then continued towards Mount Ijen. The tour to Ijen was completely different from the one to Bromo. Mount Ijen is mainly known for its crater lake, called the 'largest acid barrel in the world', as the lake is very acidic, which can be seen from the upper edge of the volcano. In addition, at Mount Ijen, you can also see the Blue Fire, which can only be seen here in Indonesia. Occasionally, sulfur ignites due to overheating and flows as a bright blue burning stream into the lake. Its luminosity offers an incredible spectacle, especially at night. To see this, we had to leave at 1 o'clock in the morning the next night. We had to walk about 3 km to the edge of the volcano and then descend down a narrow path. It is officially forbidden to go down here, but since it is Indonesia, it is possible. To take this 'path', we were given gas masks, but they fit so poorly that they can be understood more as props. On the way down, we encountered some workers who were carrying sulfur blocks out of the volcano. Sulfur has been mined here since 1968. The miners carry up to 80 kg of sulfur banks using two baskets tied to both sides of a stick, which they carry over their shoulders. The workers are permanently exposed to the sulfur fumes without gas masks. This not only means intense and biting smells, but also serious health problems, as sulfur fumes are toxic. The further we descended into the volcano, the more intense the smells became. Not comparable to Mount Bromo, we almost wished for the sulfur fumes there. Our eyes burned and watered, our throats itched, and breathing became almost impossible. When the sulfur fumes became so extreme after about 30 minutes in the volcano that it was almost unbearable - the gas mask didn't help at all (which confirms that the gas mask was really just a prop) - we wondered why we were subjecting ourselves to this. When the fumes became even more intense, everyone in Ijen suddenly fled upwards towards the exit. There was a kind of mass panic, and due to the fog, we could barely see the others. After half an hour of climbing back up, we were very happy to be outside again and could see into the volcano from above. By now it was daylight and we could finally see the beautiful blue-green crater lake in Ijen and were even rewarded with a rainbow. Then we started the journey back and walked the 3 km back - this time in daylight. This allowed us to finally see the beautiful landscape that we couldn't imagine during the ascent in the dark. Once we reached the bottom, we continued directly to the ferry to Bali. There, a few relaxing days were waiting for us, which we were really looking forward to. However, the tours to Mount Bromo and Mount Ijen were the most impressive and memorable on our trip so far.