Before leaving the UK, we had decided that we would like to go to somewhere completely new on this trip to Bali. I had been to Lombok, the Gilis, north and east Bali, Komodo, Flores and west Java on previous visits, and this time we considered a lot of options. After reading the Indonesia Lonely Planet through and through, we had considered many places... Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumba to name just a few.
When arriving in Bali, we still had not really made our minds up. As we wanted to fit in some time for Bali and Gili Trawangan and not be rushed, our time was quite limited. Wandering up Poppies 1 one morning we fell upon Bali Java Tours (for contact details, see bottom of this report), opposite Bamboo Corner. We were at first drawn in by all of the amazing photographs of various parts of Indonesia plastered all over the walls. At first, we thought we would just ask for some quotes for flights, but soon we were drawn into reading about all of the magical tours that the company offers. Paul Yogya, the owner of the shop and guide for many years, came in to talk us through his tours, and soon we were all booked on a 2 night, three day volcano climbing adventure through east Java with Paul himself. The tour cost 2,150,000rp per person, including all transport, guidance, food and accommodation. We opted to also book a flight back from Surabaya so that we wouldn't have to drive all of the way back to Bali. This cost an extra 450,000rp each.
After collecting us at 8am from La Walon, Paul picked up the other members of our tour (Pascal and Sandrine from Switzerland and Christian from Canada) and we all headed up to Gilimanuk to catch the ferry over to Java. The drive took about two and a half hours, and we drove straight onto the back of the ferry when we arrived. Climbing up onto the top deck, we had a great view of the Bali coast and Java in the not-so-far distance.
The top deck soon proved to be scorchingly hot, and we moved down onto the middle deck with the rest of the passengers. As the only five westerners on the ferry, we caused quite a scene. Christian, who had been in Australia for a year and had never been to Asia before, quite simply told me: 'I feel like I'm on another planet'. I walked up to the other end of the ferry to buy some crisps and bananas, and soon started chatting (in very broken English) to some local guys who offered me a stool. As a looked round I saw a couple of camera phones peeping over seats as passengers tried to take a sneaky photo of the white girl on the ferry. Some just came straight out and asked for a picture. I laughed. Everyone was very friendly. It was a great first welcome to Java.
Kawah Ijen
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We drove off the ferry after a very slow and peaceful half hour journey, and soon stopped for lunch at a food hall in a department store in Banyuwangi. Afterwards, we drove out of the city and into the countryside for around an hour and a half, towards our first destination: Kawah Ijen. Ijen is a massive volcano in east Java, 2300 metres above sea level. It is a deceptively beautiful vocano, which looks rather like a big green mountain - until you turn the corner at the top of the crater, and see that it is home to the largest bright turquoise acid lake in the world.
We checked into the Arabica homestay, a lovely little guesthouse in Sempol, a small village very near Ijen. Paul then took us for a walk around Sempol village, which is a small, delightful place full of carefully tended gardens, excited children and bleating goats. The children all wanted their photographs taken and were all so excited to be able to see the picture on the digital screen. They were so cute with the girls dressed in their little headscarves and boys in their muslim hats. We also had a look at the coffee plantations here, before walking back to the guest house to sample some of the coffee itself. It was excellent. Dinner was a feast, ordered by Paul, including a wonderful soup made of a fruit that I had never seen before that grows in the village. After a couple of Bintangs we played a few games of cards. The hotel was reasonably busy, mostly filled with volcanologists, who stay there in order to test the volcano on a daily basis. By around 9pm, everyone was in bed and it was very quiet. I sat up with my aunty chatting to Paul for a while, before turning in ourselves.
We woke at 5 and after a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast and laughing cow cheese, we drove to the base of the volcano. The walk itself is a steep one - 3km long, and of course, all uphill! But the journey itself was so interesting. Kawah Ijen is not just a beautiful natural wonder, but also the livelihood of hundreds of men: the sulphur carriers. These men carry between 70 and 90kg of yellow rock sulphur out of the volcano every day - twice a day. They load it in baskets upon their shoulders deep in the crater, and carry it at great speed down through the toxic fumes up out of the crater and down the 3km volcano to the collection point at the bottom. All of this is done with a smile, and a hello. Paul carried about 15 packs of cigarettes and cakes to hand out to all of the workers that we met on the way. Those carrying a heavy load would put the cigarette in their pockets for later. It was truly awe-inspiring to see these small, extremely strong men carrying such back-breaking loads for just a couple of euros a day. It really makes you think about how lucky we are.
We stopped for a couple of rests along the way, but after about two hours, turned the corner to see what Paul called 'another planet'. Before us was a giant shining turquoise blue lake of sulphuric acid. Toxic gas smoked out of the crater, billowing high into the sky in big puffs. We stopped to take a few photos, before walking around the crater and starting to climb down inside. At the bottom, we could see the sulphur collecters collecting their heavy loads, deep within the gas that poured out of the depths of the crater. As we got deeper, Paul gave us masks to wear, and told us to breathe through out mouths. As the wind changed and blew the smoke into our faces, we could see nothing around us but a thick grey suffocating gas. Paul poured water over flannels and told us to hold them to our faces. We did, and it helped. We started to cough, and I decided that I did not want to go down any deeper into the crater. The gas scared me a little, and I didn't want to panic. Paul told the man that was with us to carry our bags and water to go back up with me and my aunty, while he continued down with the rest of the party. As we got to the top of the crater again, we couldn't even see the lake anymore because the gas was blowing so thickly in our direction. We continued to breathe through our wet masks until we had turned the corner and could breathe some fresh air again.
We waited at a shelter for Paul and the rest of the group. When they came back, Paul was walking with one of the sulphur collectors, a heavy load of yellow rock weighing down his tired shoulders.
"I have told this man," Paul said seriously "that he must go to hospital straight away".
The man put down his load and sat down. As he pulled his shirt down, we all looked on in horror. A huge bloody ulcer the size of a small plate had risen like an erruption on his right shoulder. It was weeping constantly, and looked dangerously poisonous. Paul told us that a man had died from a similar injury the week before. We agreed that he should go to hospital straight away. The man that had been carrying our bag of water and food before now took the load of sulphur, while the man with the ulcer took our bag of supllies (Paul said that he must carry it, otherwise he would feel useless). So ee all made our way down the slippery path to the base of Ijen.
At the bottom, we had a look at the living quarters of the sulphur collectors. In one small wooden shed, tiny sleeping compartments housed 35 men. Nearby, a 'canteen' served food, and men all around had their baskets weighed (they get paid by the kilo) and laid down their heavy loads.
Sandrine and Pascal were not continuing with us but were heading back to Bali, so we waited for a car for them that Paul had organised. Paul gave the man with the ulcer some money, and asked the driver of the car to take him to the hospital 12km away. We wished him well.
Since coming back to the UK, Paul has emailed to let us know that the man needs to have a small operation, and will have to have a month off work, but will be okay. I hope that he is, and can manage without his wages for so long.
Overall, climbing Ijen was an exhausting experience. It isn't an easy climb. If you are moderately fit, you will manage it fine, but it is an uphill struggle at altitude. Also, if you have asthma or any breathing trouble, I would beware, as the sulphuric fumes are very strong. But altogether, it was an amazing experience that I will never forget - not ony for the stunning beauty of the volcano itself, but for the bravery and pure hard work of the sulphur collectors, whose tireless back-breaking work in suffocating fumes I will never forget. And I will never light a match again without thinking of them, and where the sulphur came from.
With Sandrine and Pascal gone, we wound the seats of Paul's car right back down, and settled in for a well-deserved nap while Paul drove us 5 hours westward towards our next destination: in inexplicabley beautiful Mount Bromo.
To be continued..........
For more information about the sulphur workers and some good pictures, I found this report of another traveller's trip there that may be of interest.
http://www.volcanicimages.com/kawa/kawaijen.htmlhttp://www.volcanicimages.com/kawa/kawaijen.html
If anyone is interested in going on this trip or organising any other tours with Paul from Bali Java Tours, he is contactable by email on paulyogya@hotmail.com or on his mobile +62 8 123 64 2000. I thoroughly recommend him.