116. ROAD TRIP INTO EAST JAVA

The drive from Bali across into East Java terminating in Surabaya was much too long. It was at least 1000km. The roads were dangerous to drive on. In some other countries, you can expect to see more fatal accidents but the drivers here are so skillful it's amazing they survive to drive another day...
They weave in and out, overtake left right and center, tailgate, squeeze through little gaps - nobody practices defensive driving here - it's all offensive and perfectly acceptable...I was a nervous wreck at the end of each day...but despite the dangers, once again, I see the give and take...something that's non-existent in Singapore...

From Bali town to the ferry point the ride took at least 3 hours...the ferry ride across Bali Straits took about an hour. This truck driver takes it easy...

Made friends with these young people fresh out of school and starting their own journey of discovery. I was escorted downhill by 2 dashing young men one on each arm! We stumbled along the way, I held on to them for dear life...

These amazing men do this on a daily basis with just a scarf around their noses, no goggles. Can't buyers of the sulphur make life kinder and gentler for them? How much does it cost a company to supply them with simple safety equipment? 

Ijen Crater and its caldera in Banyuwangi. The water's acidic, the fumes sulphuric.
The landscape all around was so alien, it was like another planet. 

It's a steep climb down the volcano to collect the sulphur and up again with their load. They wear no masks, no gloves. Most have rubber Wellingtons but several wore slippers. I had flipflops on too! My feet and slippers were thick with sulphur dust at the end of this trek - I didn't expect to climb, sure not trekking again any time soon, not after falling on the stony patch...

The miners are small in build, yet carry loads far heavier than their body weight (like ants). I couldn't lift his piece of sulphur rock. Everyday, these miners walk up and down this stretch of hazardous terrain with their heavy loads and get paid very little like US$3/day. The path up was steep and slippery when it's dry and stony, when it's wet during the rainy months, it gets muddy. 

I slipped at one stony patch landing heavily on small stones, just behind me where I landed on my bottom was a rock with pointy edges. Phew!

The workers make less trips during wetter days. It was so painful to watch them go about their jobs...

The sulphur fumes stung my eyes causing them to water and made me cough. There were mini sandstorms whipping up small stones and sand and dropping them on me. It was surreal watching the scene, the sandstorms looked almost ghostly as they twirl around...dropping the sand on me was almost playful...it felt deeply spiritual...

The yellow sculptures are from the sulphur mined here. The sulphur is powdery and soft enough to compress into moulds to produce such sculptures

Mt Bromo from a distance

A grocer on wheels in the hilly regions make good sense - this was in Batu, Malang, about 2-3 hours from the big busy city of Surabaya whose streets are choked with traffic and the air's awful...Batu's a nice place - cool and clean...

Lunch in warungs was a regular affair. Food tastes good and fresh and terribly inexpensive and I survived the flies and the handling of food with bare hands...!

These colourful jeeps take visitors right up to Mt Bromo to view the sunrise - everyone, including the driver, overslept...! it's no fun to have to be up at 2am...

We did drive around the town - it was quiet and cool up there and nothing much happens...

Mishap - Indonesian roads must be the most dangerous in the world and they may have the most skillful drivers possibly without a license. 

Somebody bumped into our side causing deep dents and scratches. Both parties refused to compromise on payments so we ended up at the Traffic Police where they argued it out.

It was comical to watch as both parties called in their 'big' 'influential' 'powerful' contacts who showed up promptly on their motorbikes to settle matters! One came in a military uniform. 

It was a good 2 hours before we left the place - everybody shook hands and hugged one another, apologised and said goodbye! Even bade us happy journey! I was most thankful this mishap happened on a crowded busy roundabout and not whilst we were speeding along and tailgating and overtaking at high speed - or I'll be writing this from my Happy Hunting Ground...as a ghostwriter...

 

At the Traffic Police post, I watched the goings-on!
A staff was click clacking on a typewriter - still working beautifully!

Paragliding was sooo fun - I started apprehensive at first and than unlaxed to enjoy the view - would have liked this to be longer...