day 266 – the previous day i’d seen some signs advertising the ‘medewi surf comp’ which was a local event organised by a few expats. the whole idea was to promote surfing and improve the medewi community. after breakfast, i found the organisers and offered to photograph the day for them. they jumped at the offer and i spent the day in the sun taking photos of local kids riding long left hand breaks.
i got sunburned to all shit and in the afternoon i took a break after the finals. there was a party and presentation in the evening, so i returned for that. i got free food (in return for my photos) and took pictures of the presentation. then they started dancing and singing, drinking and having fun. i’d had a few beers, and since the festivities were winding down, i decided to go and get some sleep.
day 267 – i met alex, one of the surf comp organisers, early and gave him all the photos. i took around 400 pix in all and he was happy with the results. i returned to my hotel, checked out and got a bemo to gilimanuk. gilimanuk is the port town where ferries make the jump to java. i got on the ferry and enjoyed the ride over to the main island. i got a bus to probolinggo which took forever to arrive. i got in really late and had to stay in a hotel near the bus terminal. a local tout had tried to convince me to spend $15 for a private taxi to bromo (my destination) which annoyed me, mostly because i was so tired.
after checking in i realised i was hungry and ventured off to find some food. there was a small restaurant nearby which was still open. they sold goat kebabs (10 sticks for $1) and some rice. the food was good and i got into a coversation with the young guy who was running the place. he was obsessed with western women and wanted my advice on how to get a western woman to have sex with him. i lectured him that women don’t like to be treated as sex objects, which he pretty much ignored, so i just advised him to treat them nicely, have good manners and try to be interesting … then he might get lucky. the conversation had limited interest to me, so i headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. when i returned i realised that java time is an hour earlier than bali.
day 268 – i had a big breakfast and while i was eating i realised that java was an hour earlier than bali. so i had picked up an extra hour to get to bromo. bromo was a mountain range with a number of active volcanoes. i got a bemo to bromo and during the trip we picked up three polish travelers. the four of us got to talking and the polish guy was not happy about the cost of the bemo up the mountain. the price was $2.50, which he thought was too much, and when we arrived he refused to pay the full price. the two polish girls with him paid, i paid (even though i agreed the price was a little steep), and the polish guy continued to refuse. he offered to pay less and a fight broke out between he and the bemo drivers. i walked away to check out the hotels and was disappointed to find that the hotels were so expensive. a polish girl had found a cheap homestay around the corner and that looked like our best bet.
during all this, the polish guy was still refusing to pay the full price. i’d returned to see what was happening. one of the bemo drivers was angry and took out a metal tyre iron and was threatening the polish guy. i stepped in and stood straight in the bemo driver’s face. he backed down and another local guy took the tyre iron from him. i stepped out of the way and let them finish their fight (i didn’t care about the fight, as long as it was fair … and unarmed! lol). two guys tried to drag the polish tourist to the police station. there was scuffling and eventually a local, who spoke good english, intervened and negotiated a truce. the bemo drivers, realising they couldn’t win, accepted a lower amount and stomped off huffily.
the three polish travelers were going to the homestay and i offered to share a room with the beligerent polish guy. we got the room cheap and halved the price (which worked out well).
i dumped my stuff and wandered off to find some food. after lunch i read my book and had a small nap, planning to avoid the heat of the day. when i woke up it was mid-afternoon so i grabbed my camera and made the trek to cemero lawang, an active volcano with a large open crator which spewed sulphur into the sky all day. it was a long but easy walk there, down hill and across the flat plain between the village and the volcano, then up the stairs to the crator’s edge. i took some photos, choked on a cloud of sulphur when the wind changed direction, and started the walk back. the last part of the return walk was the hardest, since it was all uphill to the township.
i had a small wash and met up with the polish group. we had dinner together overlooking the mountains and were treated to a spectacular sunset. i was a bit disappointed that i hadn’t brought my camera, but i enjoyed the sunset anyway. we bought some beer after dinner and sat outside our rooms to chat and share travel stories.
day 269 – the polish group planned to wake up at 4am, hike up the hill to a lookout point and watch sunrise. i agreed to join them and we got going at about 4.15. we walked briskly towards the lookout point and i realised that we were never going to make it in time. the sun had already started rising (it was light, but the sun hadn’t reached the horizon yet) and the hill was very, very high and steep.
about half way, the sun was peaking above the clouds. i realised that i’d never make it to the top of the hill to get photos, so i stopped at an outcrop which had a decent view. i took some photos and watched the sun come up. the other three continued up the hill. i don’t know if they actually made it or not.
i enjoyed the sunrise and i could feel the heat creeping in quickly, so i headed back down to the village. i packed my bag, left some money on the bed so that the polish guy could pay for the room, and headed off. in the main street i had a fantastic buffet breakfast for $2.50 and then got a bemo back down the hill to probolinggo.
on the bemo i met a couple of indonesian tourists and we got to talking. i got to the bus terminal and said goodbye to the indonesians. i jumped on a bus to surabaya and then got another bus to jogjakarta. buses in java were slow and i arrived in jogjakarta late. i grabbed a cycle trishaw to the hotel, checked in and crashed.
day 270 – in the morning, after breakfast, i was told that my room had been prebooked and that i couldn’t stay. cursing under my breath, i packed and walked around the block to another hotel. the second hotel was much nicer and i had access to wifi from neighbouring hotels. that cheered me up. i checked my email, put some washing in, and spent a few hours looking for tours to borobodur and prambanan.
i had a small nap, collected my laundry (yes, they were that fast!!), had dinner and slept.
