Now the time for traveling begins. In fact, I haven’t done that for a long time. Just get on the bus and travel from one highlight to the next sight, as I did every year for 16 years. I had a good 2.5 weeks to do this before my visa expired, which unfortunately could not be extended.
Malang
I didn’t want to make any big jumps yet, so I decided to go to the nearest town, Malang. After about 4 hours, I asked the bus driver to let me off. I had no idea where the bus terminal was but according to my map I was getting further and further away from my accommodation. So I quickly got out. A Grab taxi, the Uber in Indonesia, took me back to the place where my accommodation is – the Blue Village – in about 15 minutes.
The Blue Village and the Rainbow Village
“Arema Blue Village” or “Kampung Bira Arema” as the Blue Village is also called, has a history all of its own. The people of Java love football and in Malang their football club is called “Team Arema”, whose club colour is blue. Out of love for their team, the residents painted their houses completely blue, which makes it a real eye-catcher in the city and has a flair all its own.
Right next door, on the other side of the Brantas Bridge and also on the Brantas River, is the “Kampung Warna Warni Jodipan” – The Rainbow Village. While it was a disastrous slum a few years ago, it is now an eye-catching colourful place in the middle of Malang. In 2016, students from the local university, together with a paint manufacturer, painted the village colourful to make it more attractive. A big clean-up campaign followed and the former slum became a real tourist magnet. For only IDR 3,000 (0.20 euros), you can stroll through the village and support the inhabitants.
Allah so close
I found my accommodation via AirBnB. A beautiful and super cosy room with private bathroom and balcony for only 15 euros per night. If you got a taste for it when looking at the pictures, I should mention one thing: About 2 metres, yes exactly 2 metres maximum 3 metres away there is a mosque and everyone who has studied Islam a bit knows that the muezzin or the imam calls for prayer 5 times a day and night. His words in Arabic such as “Allah is great” resound loudly over the whole village through a loudspeaker and he is truly not the only one, but he is the closest to this room.
Tumpak Sewu
From Malang, I really wanted to visit the “1,000 waterfalls” – this is how Tumpak Sewu is literally translated. At the foot of the active volcano Semeru and highest mountain in Java lies this unique place, which was recommended to me by Alfi on the plantation and the pictures on the internet say it all. A waterfall unlike any other.
There are two ways to get there: You can book a tour or you can take the local bus. I decided on the latter. For 4.20 euros, I got on a decrepit bus and, together with only local passengers, the 4-hour journey began.
It was raining cats and dogs that day – even the bus was dripping constantly. This vehicle did not have windscreen wipers either. But the driver had everything under control and with everyone’s combined efforts they dropped me off near Tumpak Sewu at my next accommodation.
Although it was only a 5-minute walk, I arrived at Homestay D’Corner completely wet. Aris welcomed me very kindly, pointing out that it had been raining consistently for over a week. I was to feel the consequences about 30 minutes later. A river runs directly behind the homestay. It is rather a bigger stream that suddenly turned into a raging river and took everything with it. This included a bridge on the only road connecting the homestay to Malang. Everything came to a standstill. That’s where I sat now. No electricity, no idea how to continue, but at least a roof over my head.
The next day, the rain stopped a bit and I went to Tumpak Sewu. After all, that was why I was here. Of course, there was not a single visitor far and wide, but there was not much to see of the waterfall either. Due to the warm and humid air, fog had settled over the valley, only partially opening up the waterfalls from time to time. Normally you can walk down, but due to the water masses the access was of course closed. That was also absolutely ok for me, because the stairs down were extremely steep, which would only mean fodder for my fear of heights.
Gunung Bromo
Whenever I’m in Indonesia, especially in Java, I have to go to Bromo. This 2,329-metre-high volcano was at the top of my wish list. And this wish was more than fulfilled.
After public transport came to a standstill at Tumpak Sewu, Aris drove me to Bromo with his brother. After a 6-hour drive, we arrived in Cemoro Lawang. We stopped directly at the viewpoint in the village. Aris wanted to show it to me and there it was in front of me: Gunung Bromo and right next to it Gunung Batok. It was a fantastic view. But now it was time to go to the homestay. I had no idea where I was going. Aris has a friend in Cemoro Lawang and he has a homestay for a good price. My trust was to be rewarded. Just a 3-minute walk from the said viewpoint, I was shown to my new home. A room with a terrace and hot shower for the equivalent of 12 euros per night including breakfast. I immediately extended my stay and stayed a total of 5 nights.
Bromo for low budget
Of course, it is possible to experience Bromo in one day by taking a tour, even from Malang. A jeep tour that starts at 3:30 in the morning, takes you to a viewpoint to see the sunrise and then to the crater rim of Bromo, costs between 60 and 90 dollars. Of course, you are not alone. Hundreds of jeeps rattle through the streets of Cemoro Lawang. Until about 10am, you can watch the many jeeps parked on the sea of sand not far from the crater.
Around 11am is my time. Right next to the viewpoint is a small trail. This is mostly used by locals who ride their horses down to the jeeps to offer tourists the long way to the crater on horseback.
After about an hour, I was also standing on the crater rim of Bromo. And almost alone. The tours were over and so everyone else had more space and time to look around the crater in peace and enjoy the breathtaking landscape. It was really impressive to look into the mouth of the volcano and get an idea of the power of nature.
Early the next morning, once again awakened by the loud engines of the jeeps, I decided to watch the sunrise. I went to a place I had discovered the day before. While the tourists at King Kong Hill were kicking each other’s feet, I was almost alone here. Only two other tourists and a local woman shared the experience of sunrise on Bromo with me. The sea of sand was completely covered in clouds and a peaceful atmosphere lay over the scenery. This place is really something special.
Unexpected encounter
Aris recommended that I eat at the restaurant “Kusuma Kitchen”. But after my first visit, I had had enough. The restaurant is really very nicely decorated. However, there were only tourists staring at their mobile phones at every table. The food is good but also expensive. So I decided to have a look around the village the next day and ended up in one of the Warungs. A Warung is a small, local restaurant. Sussi greeted me warmly and gave me something to eat. And what can I say? It tasted heavenly. It was so good that I went back the next day and besides the delicious food, I chatted a bit with Sussi. An open, warm woman who loves to laugh. We hit it off immediately and I became her regular guest for the days in Cemoro Lawang.
On my second last day, she introduced me to her brother. His name is Rudy and he was a guide before Covid 19. Now he works in an office in the village and eats lunch at his sister’s Warung. We talked a bit and then he invited me to his house. I should stay a few days and he would show me the area and improve his English. Living among locals. The offer was more than tempting for me. However, I had already organised everything for the onward journey. I put him off until a few days later. I would come back and stay a few days.
You can read about the rest of my journey in the second part. And now enjoy my film of the first part “On the road on Java”.