The Rocky Road to Pantai Timang

after we were done with our cave adventure, we were heading towards our final stop. as part of this explorer tour, we were given a few options after goa jomblang: cave tubing at goa pindul, light trekking at nglanggeran volcano, air sri gethuk (waterfall) or see gondola at pantai timang. initially we opted to see the sri gethuk waterfalls because (1) we've just been to a cave, so we don't want to do tubing in another one (2) we've just been to the most active volcano and (3) we're not really interested to ride the gondola. 

as we left goa jomblang, dodi dropped a harmless comment that sri gethuk is just a small waterfall. the lack of enthusiasm in his tone made us reconsider. he takes tourists around central java for a living, so i bet he knows what the best places would be. we asked about cave tubing at first, since it's just close by, but then we had to pay entrance fee which goes beyond whatever rupiah we had left. then we asked about pantai timang. i honestly thought that this is just a beach, so i asked if we can actually lie down by the beach and swim. dodi almost gasped, "no! it's a cliff! you can't swim!" confused, we googled up. the place is called timang beach because there is indeed a white sand beach, but that was not where we were heading. instead we were to go at the cliff, overlooking another one, and the gondola brings people between the two over wild waves crashing against the big rocks. the pictures were so beautiful.

he said riding the gondola is optional but we need 50.000 IDR for the motorcycle ride from the drop-off point to head to the area. this we could afford. so we went.

pantai beach is way south so it was going to be a couple of hours drive to get there. after a while of driving dodi calmly said, "remember the bumpy road to goa jomblang earlier? this is worse." and he giggled slightly. he probably thought, you guys have no idea what you got yourself into.

when we finally arrived, there were a bunch of men hanging around and chit-chatting alongside a number of motorcycles. dodi made arrangements and picked a couple of guys to take us. it was going to be 3km of unpaved road, he said. hang tight, and don't worry. we waved goodbye and off we went.

the roads started as tolerable. unpaved dirt and rocks, it was shaky but quite alright. and then another 300m on, the road started to have more rocks and less dirt. in fact, it felt like they just dumped a lot of rocks and called it a day. i did not dare take photos because i want to live, but if you want to imagine what it was like, think of muesli. now amplify that muesli by a million times and imagine taking a motorcycle ride over it. exactly.

grabbed from allrecipes.com

what's more, the path was winding up and down, so the driver have to throttle to climb up, and the motor roared like it's about to break. and then, when it's winding down, you couldn't tell if the driver was actually using brakes because it was going too fast! my arms and legs were so tense, my muscles couldn't relax. my palms were sweaty which worried me as i gripped on the steel bar behind me, which is pretty much the bar between life and death. it was so stressful! on the other hand, the scenery was so beautiful. lush vegetation on the hills, rice terraces, farmers working with their straw hats on. it was like seeing heaven, when you're on a ride to hell. LOL

after 15 minutes of reflecting on how many bruises it would give me or how many stitches it would take to fix me should i fall from this bike, we finally arrived unscathed. woot! i get to to do this again later!

there are some customized platforms for photography for a fee. we opted to support the locals and paid up. we took turns taking photos using jasmine's camera. it was definitely not for the acrophobic. 

the main viewing platform is a giant rock that's been chiseled by years and years of water erosion. from there you can see the renowned gondola and the hanging bridge, which was a recent installation.

the gondola is in fact a wooden cart hanging on thick ropes that cross between the cliffs on timang island and a tiny 'island' called panjang. this island is abundant with lobster, and this gondola which is now a tourist attraction was originally a transport used by the fishermen who brave the wild waves to catch lobsters. it was 200.000 IDR (about 20 sgd) for a roundtrip ride, which at this point we do not have. as for the hanging bridge, it's 100.000 IDR to walk through it. 

gondola ride

walkers

it must be exhilarating to ride the cable car or walk the hanging bridge, especially when the big waves come in! it's really a shame we ran out of cash! 

the sight of the big crashing waves was irresistible that people come close to the edge for a closer look. there was a group of 3 friends and they all got drenched. ha! i knew the risk, but i sat near the edge waiting for that perfect raging waves so i can capture the moment. and it came. and i snapped that shot, and paid for it. it was too late to move, so i got drenched. from head to toe, to my phone and camera and every item inside my backpack. smart of me to put my wallet and passport inside a ziplock plastic bag!

kodak moment

totally worth getting drenched for

i didn't know that jasmine was behind me, taking photos. it was pretty awesome that she captured this. haha

UH OH.

OH NOOOOOO

there were benches and a few cafeteria around. i asked the lady if they sell beer (i saw a few beer bottles near where the drivers were). she looked startled and said "no we don't sell". ahh, how can i be stupid, of course alcohol should not be allowed there! sharp, slippery cliffs AND a roller-coaster-rocky-road-ride back to civilization + alcohol does not seem like the right combination.

we left around 4 as we have no intention of sticking around until it's somewhat dark, as we imagine the ride back. but in fact it was not so bad this time, because a 4x4 jeep was in front of us. our bikes could not overtake until we got to a wider road (and thank god they didn't try) so we were going pretty slow. the folks in the jeep kept taking photos of us, probably curious as to how that ride was like.  

finally we headed back, a long drive to the hotel. along the way, we had a final chance for a blissful sightseeing of rice terraces and hills and the sunset and everything beautiful about java.

before we reached the traffic jam on the way to our hotel, dodi let us have a pit stop at bukit bintang for an overlooking view of the city lights. it was a favorite spot among locals, there were a lot of young couples along the bridge.

as we were flying quite early the next morning, we opted to stay in a hotel that's really close to the airport. the coolest last thing we did was have dinner at the rooftop of the hotel, where we have a direct view of the airport and enjoyed an air show. 

and it's a wrap! what a great holiday, definitely a memorable destination. special thanks to kresna tours (merapi trekking) and discover your indonesia (tours) for the tour arrangements. highly recommended!

"Light of Heaven" at Goa Jomblang Cave

for our third and final day of adventure in jogja, we opted to do an amazing cave adventure at goa jomblang. apparently this is one of the highlights of any jogja trip, so i was really looking forward to this! 

we started early for this trip. dodi picked us up at exactly 7:30 AM, punctual as always. it was going to be a two-hour drive to get there. after a long drive and a rugged 200 meter bumpy ride to jomblang resort, we got off and picked our rubber boots and red helmet. we're ready for action!

goa jomblang cave is in fact a cave complex where we are to be lowered through a sinkhole, about 50 meters ~ 15 stories down. from there, we take the muddy stairs towards the dark muddy track in a 300 meter cave tunnel and to the end of it is where the treasure will be - the light of heaven.  

there were a lot of adventurers though, and we were group 19 in the queue. we had a lot of time to kill, and i didn't want to spend all that time in those smelly boots and smelly helmet haha. i took them off as i sat at the edge of the sinkhole to watch people rappel down and disappear to the jungle down there. we were admiring this dad who is traveling with his 2 teenage girls (and their girl friend) and going all-out stage dad on them: adjusting one of the girl's go pro snapped onto her helmet, fixing the other's harness and photographing every single move they make. talk about #dadgoals :-D 

i was carefully watching the process of them lowering people down via those ropes. i was impressed that they work very fast while making sure everything is safe. they would let the next batch of people sit down first, and when it's their turn, two guys would immediately attach their safety ropes to each person. as they come closer to the platform, the safety rope is attached to the back side of their harness, before the first rope attachment is removed. and then, they would position them and pull up their harness in front a little bit (must've hurt for the guys) so they can put lock the main rope in place. then it's go time. 

when it was finally our turn it was already 10:45 am. there is a cameraman from the tour company who ensures that people's moments are captured as they abseil down. however, there are those who want to take their own photos, so a lot of selfie sticks were present. we didn't have one, but jasmine managed to take this cute short video haha

i also took some photos as we zoomed down. i couldn't resist it (no selfies though). you'd think a 50-meter-down glide would take some time, but we were going down so fast most of the other photos were blurred!

a guide was waiting for us as we landed. he told us to trek down, walk through the tunnel where there's a bit of light (but we had to use our phones too) and we'd know when we get to the end. before we went, we waited for the next set of people to descend to see what it was like.

it was really muddy and slippery, so there were ropes to hold on to as you walk down the stairs. the guide told jasmine to walk backwards and hold onto the rope to avoid slipping. i did not listen because i'm a rebel because i didn't wanna miss the view of the cave entrance and after a bad fall from the hike, i have no more fear hahaha 

 

here's a photo for you to appreciate how dark it was going to be in the tunnel.

there were a few spotlights inside the tunnel but they were not enough. my new phone (which Lovro calls "mama's phone not broken anymore") came in handy.

and then i could see the light at the end of the tunnel, literally. along with that, the exciting sound of rapids. there was indeed a river system here. as there were a lot of people who were there ahead of us, we had enough subjects to take photos of. 

this is my favorite photo.

the human evolution

it was nice that the tour operators got things orderly and in control. it was wet and slippery everywhere, and there is this spot where everybody wants to go and take photos of the light of heaven. so they assembled people to queue and allowed only about a handful at a time, to avoid accidents.

and then finally, it was our turn. as we moved forward, the sun shone brightly and the sunbeams piercing through the cave came brighter and stronger and therefore awesome for photos. the previous group awww'd in unison as they missed out. poor guys.

wait for it...

hello there!

it was so heavenly. i swear this angelic sound was playing in my head. (yes, you need to play it.)

there were a lot of ingenuous people who were setting up tripod and their own lighting to take the perfect photos and people posing with their arms stretched out. i'm pretty sure they were pretending to depict jesus christ's second coming. 

for people like me with normal photography skills, we can only manage to do portraits with a noisy light background, or do silhouettes.

after all that fun, we were ushered to go back along with everyone else. and then it was queueing time again! the same was as going down, only two people can be pulled up at a time. but first, a bunch of people went astray. i followed them as they seemed to have stumbled upon something. it was some sort of graffiti.

earlier before we got down, dodi told us that it takes only one person to get two people down, but about 30 to pull up. we made sure that we weren't the last in the queue so we'd get a chance to see it in action.

i didn't count if there were in fact 30 of them, but there sure were a lot! they also take turns, a different group of guys would do the pull alternately. it must be exhausting! they seem to be having fun doing it though. that's definitely the attitude you want the boys to have if you're hanging on a rope and your life depends on them :)

we finished our adventure around 1pm, and i was starving. i was so happy to learn that they were providing lunch! yeaaah! 

after a satisfying morning, we headed to our next and final sight-seeing for this trip.

Overnight Hike to Mt. Merapi

after borobodur, we wanted to kill time before the 11 PM pick up from muntilan so we headed to cempaka villa and arranged for massage. since it was arranged via the hotel, the massage was rather expensive for what it is, but the good thing was that we had our own private room for a few hours so we were able to bathe and chill at the bed. in the end it was worth it.

after some difficulty in communicating with the staff, we finally had a taxi deliver us to klenteng hok an kiong. the lady from the villa said it is a chinese temple in town. i asked whether the place is crowded (ergo, if it's safe because there would be people around) and she was not sure how to answer (her english was not good). i told jasmine we need to make sure we are waiting in an open area, a well-lit one. she found that there is a convenience store near the temple. good enough. as we got off the taxi, a few men were inquiring who are we waiting for, where are we going, etc, so luckily we already know that we would have to wait opposite the temple and i sent a mail to the tour company to pick us up from there. perhaps they just wanted to be helpful, but being around a few men in the dark and in a foreign country gets the pinay in me to switch to auto-defense mode :)

it was around 11 when the transport arrived and it seemed we were the last group. probably all the other hikers were staying in yogyakarta. after about an hour and a short bumpy scary ride in the darkness we reached base camp. we were given coffee and tea, had a chance to be acquainted with fellow hikers and at exactly 1 am, we started walking. 

by the way, gunung merapi means mountain of fire. this volcano is the most active in indonesia and therefore dangerous to trek, hence it is advisable to get a guide. the last two major eruptions occurred in 2006 and then in 2010, destroying villages and there were casualties. as such, before any trekking is done, the guides need to check-in with authorities to know until which summit hikers are allowed for the day, as the seismic activities are constantly being monitored for any risks.

that evening there were 11 hikers and 4 guides, and the main guide said that the ratio of 1 guide to 3 hikers is just nice. they anticipated that the groups would split up at some point, depending on people's pace. base camp is in the hilly town of new selo, so at first the path was okay as there were some lights from the houses. but as we reached the end of the neighborhood that was where the fun began. it was pitch black save for our head lamps. we were walking on the edge of the mountain, and the ground was moist and a bit slippery. 

at first we were in the middle of the pack, and a couple of french girls were walking very fast and are ahead of everyone else, including the guides. at some point, they got carried away while walking and talking and took a wrong turn. the main guide shouted for them to turn back, and then he led the way. i was right behind him when the madness started. the path started to become really steep. it was like walking up a staircase, except you're walking on uneven steps with nothing to hold on to. as we traveled without check-in luggage, i did not bring walking sticks. which was a mistake. again. 

jasmine was behind me, so i did not notice how she was faring then. suddenly she called me out, and she was huffing and puffing. i was worried and i immediately thought we are not going to make it at this stage. but then, there is no point pushing someone beyond their limits when you are not exactly in a position to help much. not wanting to hold the entire group, i asked the main guide to let everyone else go ahead, but to assign one guide to stay with us. he stayed, and i was glad, because he seemed to be the leader of the group. 

in a few moments, the entire pack was gone. we never saw them again until we all reconvened at the base camp later on.

it was not safe to stop where we were, so i asked our guide where can we take shelter and wait for the sunrise. he said we have to do it at pos 1. he said it will take another 30 minutes perhaps, and jasmine said that at the rate we're going maybe it will be an hour. 

we took another hour and a half.

to help ease things up, he carried jasmine's backpack, and eventually held on to her and started to pull her up because the ascent was really steep. it was no means easy, and i was struggling as well, but there can only be one princess in a hike :-D not that i mind though as i really wanted to push myself this time. in fact, i did not bring warm pants because i had no intention to stop and anticipated that i will sweat like a pig anyway.

when we finally arrived at pos 1, it was past 3. at that point there was no way we would make it to pos 2 for the sunrise. the guide then arranged to make us comfortable and found a spot behind a big boulder and collected lots of leaves for a make-shift bed and then started to create a bonfire. i knew that my ass would hurt if i lie down on the ground with only the leaves - that are still connected in twigs - to support my back. so i tried to rest at the hut and sipped on my green tea which was quickly becoming cold. when i couldn't take it anymore, i went over to their shelter. "he said you'd come here eventually", jasmine told me. of course he knows this mountain and how cruel it is. the boulder was a good shelter because the winds were too strong.

it was really hard to sleep, but since we were all tired, we managed to snooze a little bit. around 5 i got up and wandered as the first light started to line up the sky. (if i'm being honest though, i got up because i had to pee. and after greenland, i've become an expert at wilderness peeing mwahahaha). after a few minutes i woke them up, as i'm sure they would not have wanted to miss what i was seeing.

the guide then showed me the spot for viewing the sunrise. he said that it's quite cloudy, so it might not be so likely to see it completely. but i think i've already had enough misfortune, so the mountain gods gave me this as a consolation.

it was so perfect. everything was suddenly right in the world. LOL

we sat there in awe for a few more minutes until the sun melted into the clouds and the rainforest came alive. the morning dew has made the ground wet and somewhat muddy, which means very slippery. that made for an exciting descent, if you can call it that. jasmine and i were slipping alternately. if i had a video for every time we slipped it would have been a segment in just for gags. it was all funny until i finally had a serious one. jasmine was being escorted by our guide, who attentively held her hand and made sure she won't slip, while all i had was one walking stick (not a pair, just one) that our guide lent me. i made a wrong step and slipped and dragged my ass for about a meter! 

WITH ESCORT.

WITHOUT ESCORT. that's already after wiping most of the mud on to the grass blades. 

they asked if i was okay, and i said i was, but i was sure there were going to be at least 2 bruises from that fall.

later on i found out i had a total of 5. hahaha!

we continued on and saw amazing views of the neighboring mount merbabu. merbabu is taller than merapi but our guide said it is somewhat easier to get up there. interesting.

when we finally reached new selo base camp, we had to wait for the rest of the pack. i tended to my small scratches/wounds by applying isoprophyl alcohol which i brought from singapore. i poured it onto the wounds and it stung like a hundred bees. but it was an instant relief afterwards. i love it.

the rest of the group arrived after about an hour. they said that they were not allowed to go all the way up to the rim of the crater. we were glad that everybody unanimously agreed not to stop for breakfast anymore and to just go be dropped straight back to their hotels. i really wanted to do the same because i was so sure i'm ready to pass out haha.

so this adventure in merapi did not end up as i expected, which taught me another great lesson: never underestimate the mountains. i should have brought enough warm clothes (pants especially) even though i would have had to remove them later on anyway, because i didn't and i suffered for it. also, to never hike again without walking sticks.

the highest point we reached was pos 1 which was only at 2150m above sea level. apparently a few hundred meters further up, the trees are smaller and less dense and further apart, until you don't see any. when finally you feel that the ground is warmer then you're probably closer to the peak. i guess i won't find out how that feels :(

OR i can. i just need to be prepared to pay again for flights and accommodation. 
>.<

and so, merapi is now an unfinished business.

Temple-Hopping (Sambisari, Prambanan, Borobudur)

if our first day was all about castles, the second one was all about temples.

i have picked this 3-day itinerary from discoveryourindonesia where the first day of tour would be a visit to 3 temples. we were promptly picked up by our driver dodi at 8am and i immediately had a good feeling about him. he's a jolly fella.

the first temple we visited was candi sambisari. it's a tiny 9th century hindu temple that was accidentally discovered by a farmer when he was working the land and his hoe his a carved stone. the temple is buried 5 meters down and was suspected so as a result of mount merapi's volcanic eruption. 

we did not spend a lot of time here because it was so small, and by 9:30am we were already on our way to the next one.

that next temple is prambanan temple complex. most people visit both prambanan and borobodur and there is a package price for it. dodi said that the price in IDR fluctuates because it is pegged at 40USD, and so depending on the exchange rate, the price in local currency can only be determined in the morning of that day. today it was 550.000IDR. "do you want to pay only 500.000IDR?", he asked. it took us a moment and then we agreed. of course, who doesn't want to pay less? :-D it helps when your driver has serious connections!

prambanan is a lot more impressive, being the largest hindu temple in indonesia. it is a UNESCO world heritage site. even with a discounted price, 40USD is still quite a lot to pay for visiting this temple and borobudur. hopefully all that money is funding the restoration and rehabilitation of the temples. the complex is quite clean and orderly, so the people in charge must be doing it right. it is definitely worth visiting even for that much.

we spent quite a considerable amount of time here because there was a lot of temples and each one contains different hindu gods. jasmine and i went different ways to explore so we could both take our time. it was quite sunny then, but as i went up the temples there was a gentle breeze and it was lovely. i didn't even need to put the auntie towel on my back, i wasn't sweating so much! ha!

there is a lot going on in this place. as i exited the temple compound, i've seen that there were a lot of activities available for visitors such as horse-riding, archery and a mini amusement park for kids. there are picnic areas too, and even deer and birds enclosures. there's something for everyone!

we were parched after this visit so we headed for lunch. the next item in the itinerary was borobodur, but that was supposed to be for sunset viewing and it was just past noon. so post lunch we asked dodi if he can squeeze in another destination that is along the way to borobodur. he suggested tebing breksi. jasmine looked it up and the pictures looked good, so we went. haha. 

tebing (cliff) breksi is a relatively new attraction, inaugurated in 2015. there is no entrance fee per se, it is by donation basis. dodi just had to pay 5000 IDR for parking. 

the place itself was not as astonishing as the temples, but it was a nice break from the long drive from prambanan to borobodur and also, the views of jogja city and the temples was quite nice. and then there's the familiar breeze that was totally welcomed on a hot afternoon.

we left after maybe half an hour and headed to our final temple destination: borobodur temple. of course, this needs no introduction. the largest buddhist temple in the world, another UNESCO world heritage site, the pride of yogyakarta. understandably, there were a lot of visitors.

we arrived around 4pm so it was only about an hour until sunset. even though the temple is huge, it is all sitting on one giant platform, unlike in prambanan where the temples were scattered, so navigating around was easier. an hour was more than enough time to take photos and also sit and enjoy the views as the sun was getting ready to set. 

borobodur closed at 5pm, which was just around sunset time, and the guards had to persuade everyone to start walking towards the exit. the funny thing was, as people were leaving, the temptation to stay a little bit was stronger, because there was less likelihood of people photo-bombing. 

like when we put on a timer and took this photo :-D i was giggling because the guard was standing and looking at the camera timer, as if begging for it to snap already haha

  
as it got dark we hopped back into the car, and dodi delivered us to cempaka villa where we arranged for a massage to prepare us for the overnight hike to mount merapi. and that ended up to be quite an adventure.