I'm gonna share how I managed to go Ijen & Bromo from Bali. Initially I didn't even plan to go to Ijen & Bromo, so I didn't prepare myself for the 'coldness' of both of them & didn't research thoroughly how to get there. But during my stay at Bali, I tried to google some infos but they were all confusing. Some were helpful but only to a certain part.
So this is how I managed to reach Ijen & Bromo from Bali.
(Day 1) From Bali, I took a bus to Situbondo.
Initially I wanted to take a bus to Port Ketapang but was advised by my 'ojeker' (the motor taxi driver) to take the bus all the way to Banyuwangi. When we were negotiating for the ticket price, the bus driver advised us (me) to stop at Situbondo where he assured me that there will be Bemo/ minivan to take me directly to Sempol (Sempol is the last village where a Bemo stops). I've read on the internet that somebody actually did it this way, so I was convinced that I could take a Bemo at Situbondo. So I bought a bus ticket from Bali to Situbondo for Rp 150,000 (actually Rp 130,000 but they wanted an extra Rp 20,000 for something and I didn't really wanna argue with them).
I thought I could get to Ijen by this evening but bus being bus, it took almost two hours before the bus could depart since they were waiting for the bus to be full. Eventually I reached Situbondo by 7 pm.
At Situbondo bus terminal, I tried my luck to find a transport to Sempol, at least. But some becak told me that Bemo last service was at 4/5 pm. Then I went to the police post to ask for some infos on how to proceed to Ijen. Turned out there were no transports going directly to Sempol, not even Bemo. I should either take a taxi to Sempol, or ojek or..... anyway since it was late already, I couldn't take any risk, being a single lady on the road.
So I went to Hotel Ramayana for a sleep.
The hotel situated just behind the bus station. When I reached there, I was starving and exhausted. When the hotel staff showed me the price of the room, I was exhilarated coz it was super cheap. Rp 50,000 was the cheapest but it was the driver's room. So I took the economy room for Rp 65,000. Then I regretted my decision.
The next morning, I checked out early in order to reach Ijen early. My aim today was either a stop at Sempol or Paltuding (the post where all hikers have to register). Estimating the journey that would take hours like yesterday, I figured that I could reach Ijen perhaps by evening. So from the hotel I went to the bus station. Again I was informed that no bemo would go to Sempol. My choice of the day was to take a bus/ minibus to Bandowoso.
(Day 2) I took a bus to Bandowoso for Rp7,000.
It took almost half an hour to reach Bandowoso from Situbondo. I thought the bus would drop me at Bandowoso bus terminal - but then again, I was wrong. The bus left me in the middle of the road, and suddenly a man appeared in front of me and persuaded me to take ojek with him. The journey from Bandowoso to Sempol is 60 km. I didn't want to hurt my back by riding a bike all the way. But the ojeker told me, there was only 1 bemo - the bemo itself won't be going to Sempol as it was on a different route. I could be here all day waiting for a bemo to take me to Sempol. Sold!
I took ojek to Paltuding for Rp 250,000.
The view was beautiful. I had never ride a bike for hours before so I was really enjoying the journey. It was getting cold as we were getting higher. We reached Pos Perbatasan Sempol to register my name (some people get through registering by giving the officers Rp10,000. I told them I didn't have small change so they didn't push me to pay), and reached Sempol by 10.30 am. It was still too early to do anything, so I decided to have a brunch and then went straight to Paltuding.
I reached Paltuding by 11.30 am.
The place was poorly maintained. When we reached there, I was shocked to even think where I'll be sleeping for tonight. My ojeker asked the ranger for a room, which I paid for Rp 150,000 for a night. Now, lessons learnt. Never ever ever take a room below Rp200,000 in Indonesia (unlike some other 3rd countries, 10 dollar could get you a decent room). I was then left to a half day, at a place with almost no civilization (no phone signal at all), and thought to myself, "What am I gonna do here?"
After some me time and bored with nothing to do, I went to a small shop. Turned out there were three other shops here and they open all day (though some hours at night, the cook would sleep). So I stayed there, ate my lunch, then had some snacks, then had my dinner, while reading Gone Girl (glad I brought it). Had some good chats with the locals, then I called it a day and retreated to my room. It was freezing cold as the rain won't stop pouring since 2 pm.
(Day 3) Paltuding to Ijen.
I understand my body well, so I took a guide (Rp 150,000) to reach Ijen Crater - so that someone would always wait for me when I stop. Coz I know well, I'd stop several times and eventually I did. The entrance fee was Rp150,000 (only on Sundays).
Ijen to Bromo by Mobil for Rp500,000
I asked my guide to send me to Banyuwangi so that I could catch another bus to Probolinggo. But then he managed to ask one of the driver whether I could join in the group. The group & the driver said yes, so I hopped in and managed to reach Bromo by the evening.
(Day 4) Sunrise at Bromo, then Bromo to Surabaya
So there! From Bromo to Probolinggo to Surabaya it won't be much of a problem since the routes are well known and there are a lot of public transports available.
Some Suggestions:-
1) From Bali, you might want to take a bus directly to Bandowoso. Stay overnight there, tomorrow morning stay at Sempol for a nice view.
2) If you plan to stay in Paltuding, rent a tent with the ranger. Or you could simply rent an already set up tent with the small shop opposite the ranger's office. Bring some warm clothes, windbreaker & sleeping bag if you intend to sleep in a tent. Night tends to get colder than normal. Freezing cold.
3) If you're in Arabika Guesthouse, Ijen, don't forget to buy their Macadamia nuts!
** Update:
Someone has informed me that you could take a bus from Bali to Banyuwangi, then take another bus from Banyuwangi to Ijen.
Till then!
No comments:
Post a Comment