Mount Ijen

On 13.09 I moved to Java. I booked a hostel in Banyuwangi, its the nearest city to mount Ijen. I have seen scenes of the mine workers at Ijen in the movie "Samsara" and I really wanted to see how these people working up there. So I rented a scooter yesterday an drove to Ijen. The ride was really beautiful. Small curvy streets throughout jungle and higher I get the stranger the landscape was. After one hour scooter ride,  I had to walk the rest because the street was to steep. Two hours later I stood on the edge of the crater. I had not seen any people so far. So I started to climb down the crater to the lake. After a few meters the sulfur clouds started to get thicker and it was really hard to breath. But coughing and sneezing I finally reached the sulfur mines. The workers were all sleeping in a hut next to the mines. One of the workers stood smoking in front of the hut and started to laugh when he spotted me stumbling down the crater. He asked me what I am doing down here and where I am came from. I told him I came here to see the lake and the sulfur mines and that I am taking pictures. He told me that they are working only in the night and early in the morning because the sun is to strong during the day. But he showed me around the area and tried to explain me how he is working and living. After an hour or so I wasn't able to stay down there for longer because my lung really started to burn and I was coughing all the time. The way back up was even harder when the way down and when I reached my scooter I was really done. I made some nice pictures from the landscape and the lake up there, but I want to show the conditions of the workers as well. So I decided to go there tomorrow at midnight and stay there till morning. But this time I'm definitely going to get a guide and a gas mask.