Dang Doan Sang, currently living and working in Hanoi. His trip to Mount Bromo and Lake Kawah Ijen took place over 4 days from May 2-6. In addition to the two above mentioned destinations, he also went to Bali, so the total itinerary was one week for his recent trip to Indonesia.
“People often jokingly say that Bromo and Ijen are a 'couple' because tourists to Indonesia often go on tours that include both places. Although they are on the same tour, these two places are quite far apart, nearly 300 km, crossing many steep passes and dangerous coastal roads, but in return, they are very interesting and allow you to admire the beautiful scenery in eastern Java,” Doan Sang shared.
Doan Sang's trip to Bromo volcano and Kawah Ijen lake took place over 4 days from May 2-6.
Bromo Volcano - the angry fairy and natural masterpiece at Kawah Ijen acid lake
Bromo Volcano is known as a famous tourist destination for those who love trekking, located in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in Indonesia with an area of about 800 km2. With a height of 2,392 m, Bromo is not the highest volcano in Indonesia. However, this is an Indonesian tourist destination that attracts tourists from all over the world because of its majestic natural picture and the feeling of being challenged with courage when trekking an active volcano.
Mount Bromo is located in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, with an altitude of 2,329 m.
Not only Bromo volcano, adventure tourism in Indonesia also has an equally attractive place - the world's largest acid lake Kawah Ijen. This is one of the adventurous but also fascinating destinations, likened to a giant acid cup located on the Ijen volcano crater between the Bondowoso and Banyuwangi plateaus, east of Indonesia's Java island.
Lake Kawah Ijen is located at an altitude of 2,300 m above sea level, up to 200 m deep and contains up to 36 million m3acid. The lake's surface is a beautiful emerald green, covered with a thick white smoke that creates a mysterious, magical feeling.
In Kawah Ijen, visitors should choose to sleep at a homestay at the foot of the mountain so that they can go trekking early the next morning to watch the sunrise.
Kawah Ijen Lake has a distinctive turquoise color, hidden in white smoke all year round.
There are two ways to go on a tour to these places. One is that people can go to Bromo first by flying to Denpasa airport, then take a car to Bromo volcano to experience. Then, move to Ijen acid lake later. The second way that Doan Sang's group chose to go is to fly to Bali airport, then move by car and take a ferry from Bali to Java. Go to Ijen lake first and the next day will explore Bromo volcano.
"The difficulty for me when conquering Bromo and Ijen was that the distance was quite far, it took 6 hours by car to get to Ijen. From Ijen, it took 9 hours to get to Bromo and then another 2 hours by jeep to get to the campsite, sleeping overnight in the harsh cold," Doan Sang said.
The trekking route in Bromo and Ijen is quite difficult.
The difficulty of this trip is also the walking distance. In Bromo, you have to go through a hot and dusty desert about 2 km long, then continue to climb 250 steps to reach the top of the mountain. In Ijen, you have to climb about 4 km of steep road to reach the lake, many tourists who cannot walk have to hire a rickshaw from the locals to get there. The final difficulty, because Bromo and Ijen are both at an altitude of over 2000 m and are volcanoes, you will have difficulty breathing due to low oxygen levels, very unpleasant smell from SO2, H2S and many tourists cannot stand it and have to go down the mountain.
“Impressive experience at Ijen acid lake when I took photos at the rocky outcrop. It was jokingly called Titanic outcrop because the outcrop jutted out in the middle of the lake like the front of a ship. After queuing for more than 15 minutes, it was my turn to take photos. As soon as I stepped down, I was cheered by many tourists from all over the place, saying things like: wow, amazing, supermodel... then it was the turn of others above, everyone cheered the same way, making the atmosphere at the lake very cheerful and even though we had to queue for a long time to take photos, we still felt less tired and very civilized,” Doan Sang recounted.
Because Bromo and Ijen are both over 2000 m high and are volcanoes, you will find it difficult to breathe due to low oxygen levels, very unpleasant smells from SO2 and H2S gases, and many tourists cannot stand it and have to go down the mountain.
The most memorable memory at Mount Bromo was sleeping overnight at the camp to watch the mountain by himself. During the day, the temperature was quite high but at night it suddenly dropped and was terribly cold, only about 7-8 degrees Celsius. Lying on the ground, despite being covered with a thermal pad, wearing warm clothes and a sleeping bag, Doan Sang still felt cold to the bone. In return, when he woke up in the morning when the sun rose, he could see the majestic volcano slowly appearing in the middle of a sea of clouds, which was extremely beautiful.
What should Vietnamese tourists to these two destinations pay attention to?
Doan Sang advises tourists to choose to go on a tour instead of going on their own at these two places. By going on a tour, you will have a local tour guide help the group buy entrance tickets, give out flashlights, gas masks, drinking water for everyone and follow the members throughout the trekking process to ensure safety. In addition, they also guide on prohibited laws, behaviors to avoid and help tourists avoid being ripped off when shopping.
In Kawah Ijen, everyone should choose to sleep at the homestay at the foot of the mountain so that they can go trekking early the next morning to watch the sunrise. The best time to take beautiful photos on the mountain is from 6am to 7:30am when the dawn breaks. After this time, the sun is quite harsh, plus strong winds make the smell of H2S even stronger, making visitors feel uncomfortable. After 8am, there will be no one on the mountain and the entrance ticket sales will stop at 12pm, and in the afternoon, the mountain will be completely closed at 4pm.
Kawah Ijen Lake is located at an altitude of 2,300 m above sea level and is up to 200 m deep.
Bromo and Ijen are both sacred mountains in the eyes of the people and we should also have a certain amount of respect and solemnity when traveling here.
In Bromo, visitors should choose to camp overnight at the viewpoint to fully enjoy the sea of clouds and volcano at dawn - a view worthy of millions of dollars.
If you stay at the homestay at the foot of the mountain, start driving to the sunrise viewing point at 3am, but when you get there, you will often be at risk of traffic jams because many cars go at the same time while the pass is quite narrow, only enough space for 2 cars to pass each other. And when you get there, you will have to jostle in line to get beautiful views and sometimes miss the time to hunt for rare photos.
Doan Sang added that Indonesia is a Muslim country and is very spiritual, every 100 meters you will see a temple or pagoda. Bromo and Ijen are both sacred mountains in the eyes of the people and we should also have a certain amount of respect and solemnity when traveling here.
"These two destinations are both located in East Java where many Muslims follow Islam, so pork is not served here. People can try fried chicken rice at the foot of Ijen mountain at Tien restaurant, which is quite delicious. At the foot of Bromo mountain, there are many rows of popular restaurants serving buffet rice with Indonesian-style spring rolls or fried eggs, tofu, duck meat at very affordable prices, around 30,000 Indonesian dong (about 47,000 VND) per serving," Doan Sang said.
Both of these destinations are located in East Java where there are many Muslims so pork is not served here.
