This post are crazy, the next lots of photos travel ever, since Toba Lake and Solo Batik Carnival...here we come another photography big mouth talks...hahaha..
I was traveling with my friends to Mountain Bromo, Madakaripura Waterfall, Papuma Cape Beach, Jember Fashion Carnival, Ijen Blue Fire Crater then at the end to Baluran National Park (the savannah of Indonesia).
It was fun, crazy, life threatening, full of adventure and of courses...the beauty that only my lovely country can serves you. Hope you can enjoy and imagining yourself there...and yes, hope you decide to pack your backpack and get your butt here...hahaha
Here we are, flight night to get to Juanda Surabaya, our meeting and starting point of the trip. At the airport, I meet this little baby and take his smiling happy face. I believe it will bring all good lucks for whole journey. Yes indeed, the weather just great all the way of the trip.. Thank you baby boy... hehehe..
my traveling buddies....where am I? yeah right, as usual...taking this photo..
holaaaa....thanks to my super wide lens TOKINA 12-24mm f4 lens, now I can selfie...hahaha
Dinner at 00:00 in Rawon Setan (ie. Devil Meat Soup),
it was black soup with beef meat...I hope.. hahaha
And from dinner, we straight to Bromo Mountain. We need to get there soon so we can catch the Sunrise. Then from the parking area, we use a jeep to go to Pananjakan, it was a sight seeing tower area, which you can see the whole Bromo mountains area. It is so cooooooolllllddddd....
God promises are like Sunrise, God love is new every morning, as we staring and waiting for this Sunrise to cast away the cold of Bromo Mountain, we should remember that one day, all the pain and the hurt will gone, when THE ONE come and shine upon us. - md
From the sunrise and some photos of landscape from above of Bromo mountain, we goes for the Bromo crater. We have to cross a dry desert looks land to get to the crater. There are horsing services for they who wants avoid walking. But still, it is only until the edge of bottom stairs, you have to climb up the stairs to get to the edge of Bromo crater. The view is awesome. Who said no desert in Indonesia? We do have some.
Then going to the other sides of the mountains, we find a more heath or bushes area. Unfortunately the season we came is dry seasons, so all the grass is yellow. Otherwise, this area exactly looks like children famous serial movie "Teletubbies". Hahahaha..
They called this area as whispering sands, for the wind swift the sands resulting a sound like whispers. From the far, you might think it was silver / crystal glass land or mountain, but it is all sands. The sunlight just reflected to the silica sands and make it looks like a silver / crystal glass sands. Just beautiful.
Not far from Bromo location. about 1,5 hours by Car, we can exchange the heat of desert into the Oases of beautiful waterfall. It is Madakaripura waterfall, the most beautiful feeling and mood in the journey, so fresh and cool. Well, it is time to bath I guess....after all, we have not taking any bath since flight from Jakarta... Hahahaha..
The waterfall itself have 2 level, the 1st one with the lake in it. People said it was not less than 7 meter depth. Some accident happen before that 2 men are died because drawn there. Local people said (after I swim there, feeling so stupid for my action later), there are a suction current beneath that drag them down. I guess so, the volume of water that fall in to the lake is more than the volume of water that thrown away to lower level, it seems reasonable that there are another "way out" in the bottom.
I test myself, I am not a good swimmer, without my snorkel and fin gear, I am hopeless. So i just take a "tea bag" swimming style...hahaha you know, the one that up down at the short water? hahaha like tea bag in the cup (I hope my friend taking my picture there).
Anyway, I find my self a rock at the edge of the pool, and the rock edge is in the water about 1 meter depth. At the edge of the rock, it was dark water. I test the deep by holding the rock and drawn down my self try to reach the surface of the pool bottom, and gosh, I touch nothing (I am 1,83 meter height plus all my hand length, my body sound like 2,6 meter total, with the rock depth, proximally 3,6 meter depth and still touching nothing). It scared me, imagining there are some creature might hold my feet and I can't go up again...hahaha too much movie, but heck why not? So, I stop it and just stay in the shore with tea bag style. Later after listening to the local people story as I mention above, I regret my "experiment" and feeling so stupid. Thanks God nothing bad happen.
The 2nd level or lower one, there are others falling water, it is shallower and we can walk under it. It feels like rain, if you goes for little one, it feels like small rain, but if you goes the bigger one, you can feel just like in heavy rains. Under these waterfalls is flat with rocks, no pool, so you can walk under. It just beautiful.
After this waterfall, we headed to Jember City, to stay at the nice hotel and preparing to have Jember Fashion Carnival. But before that carnival, we are truly crazy in Sunrise, we spot a beach near by called Papuma Beach, it was a cape with beautiful view to open ocean. They said the Papuma beach represent their gods, each of the rocks island covered Papuma beach has its name of their gods. Well, for detail you better google. Hahaha... I just want the view.
Unfortunately we get lost while driving to the beach. We missed the turn and end up somewhere in the middle of nowhere villages. Well, in the map, it look closed, but the road is small and not making any sense. Anyway, we missed the Sunrise at the beach, we stop the car and get the sunrise in the plantation...hahahaha. But don't worry, at the end, we finally get the beach.
Here we are at Papuma Cape Beach. It was stunning view from above, and the roar of the wave sure will awake us from our easy life, and the strong rocky island stand still to show us that we are not always have to follow the current. What the meaning anyway? Hahahaha...just talking poetry. :p
And then after long journey from Papuma Beach (which suppose to be take only 1,5 hours go and 1,5 hour back), at last we are back to the hotel and get ready for the Jember Fashion Carnival. Well actually Jember Fashion Carnival is an international event. So the photographer should registered and pay for the tickets, but we just come to traveling and photographing, we dont have the tickets. The best thing we can do is finding the spot between all people who watch outside the fences. And thats mean we have to fight for it...hahahaha.. anyway, thanks to my 85mm f1,8 AFS Nikon lens and my tall body, it just not big deal for me. Hahahaha....
"Nekad" Photographer.
What DSLR can do to a baby girl? Hahaha
Fighting with phones, iPad, Tablets photography and head/hat...hahaha
How many happy face?
Nicely captured. Love this one, because it is so hard to framing between crowds.
That's all folks about Jember Fashion Carnival, now after taking a break with pizza, we ride to the next stops. This one is the famous attraction in East Java, very famous so many foreign come there, some even brings all their family. It was a volcano crater called Ijen Crater. What makes this so famous, because it has blue fire lava, and this only 2 places in the earth, one is there (the other one... I don't know...hahaha).
But before we enter the remote area, we should fill our belly with food. So we stop at Bayuwangi Alun-alun and having culinary there.
After long road trip to Ijen then we arrived there. It was not so far but the road is rough sometimes. And after arrived at Ijen parking area, we prepare for the trekking about 600 meter climb up and 100 meter down to the crater. Actually there are warning to not to goes down to the crater, only local mining worker is allowed, but it is habit that traveler wants to see closer. So I guess if anything happen here, your insurance wont cover you..hahaha.
Below are the last three who survive back to the top from the crater. It was sudden smoke of sulfur coverage all the crater while we still down there. I feel poisoned by the smokes and cough many time like hell. Oh God I pray for that God will send some wind to clear the smokes away so I can manage to get in the top and get out from this NDE (Near Death Experience). I only have small baff to cover my breathing, I should bring oxygen and real masker in the beginning. Thanks GOD, even slowly and with a lot off help by The Almighty, I can safely out of there. It shows me how God save me again, also it shows me how stupid I am and will never be the same without proper preparation.
Face after panic attack...hahaha. Survivor #1
Just sit for a while catching the breath at the top of the mountain. Survivor #3 is me.
They are the other two in front of me. Survivor #1 and #2.
The last man standing...hahaha
Beautiful scenes of morning shining clouds.
Beautiful spot for "tongsis", good idea guys!!
After Ijen Crater area, our next destination is Baluran National Park, It is the feeling of Africa wilderness in Indonesia. Well it is awesome. But in the way to Baluran National Park, right down from Ijen, we find a quiet road then the madness begins...hahaha
Suddenly we stop for there are deer right in the road side, and we take the photo, this is just great welcome hi for us... thanks dear oops.. deer!
My lens just not suit for wild photography, but why not trying anyway...perhaps someday God will let me have one such of lens...hahaha
The electricity off everyday at 22:00, while everyone sleeping because of tired, I alone (the future Nat-Geo photographer .. hahaha) going out in the dark, risk my life from lion or any night predator, to takes beautiful night landscape.
Can you see the deers?
The rocks just great to make dramatic photo, with wide lens you may only get small Sun but you got the feeling like you are standing there.
Just in time, while he pick his tripod and going to move somewhere else, the silhouette just perfect.
How grateful we are to see another day, thanks GOD, You are so good to us.
It is me...hahaha
This is the only food shop in the area, it took 20 minutes by car from our cottage just for eating. And the options of food - day and night - only 2 options : fried rice or chicken soup (Nasi Goreng or Soto Ayam). But it just delicious.. Hahaha
Baluran National Park
Savanna Bekol
Thats all folks, the trip getting better and better, at the end we have whole package of stories to tell our kids and grand kids (if I find the lady and marry ASAP.. hahaha), and this time the trip giving a bonus of life saving from "threatening Sulfur Smokes" of Ijen crater and also from "a deep who knows what is in it" of Madakaripura waterfall....hahaha
See you again at the next short or long trip.
Thank you for reading. God bless Indonesia.
