Before getting dropped at our lodging for the night. I can't say that I have a clear village of Sempol even though we were there. It seemed to be a lot of little villages separated by clusters? We would be passing by a cluster or really nice and orderly homes before moving into nothingness and then into a new batch of homes. If we were to take the bus, I can't tell which way to go or where to get accomodation. Our lodging was really huge but out of the way. I am not very sure if they had a town centre or anything but I would like to explore the place if I had more time! 

Our accomodation was really basic. I think it was called Catimore? They had wifi, a pool and judging from the cheers in the middle of the night, live World Cup coverage as well. (Sidenote: I love how things like the World Cup have the ability to bring people together and bridge their differences even if it is for just that moment.)

We slept at about 7pm and woke up at midnight. Got ready and we were at the reception area at 1am, trying to feed off wifi. At 1.30am we left for the start of the trail of Kawah Ijen. Torches are a necessity! It was completely dark. It qould be good to have ponchos too as it started raining halfway when we were trekking. 

Once again, we read somewhere on the internet that the road to Kawah Ijen goes steep for the first km before evening out. Lies, lies everywhere. That is not the case, it actually get progressively steeper and more difficult as you go up. We found out the difficult way. Casslynn and I were quite steady for the first km, pushed on by prospects of an evening out road. But we were panting quite hard and starting to feel quite breathless, while legs were on its way to become jelly. 

But when the road did not even out but when we flashed our torches and saw long stretches of steep slopes in front of us we were pretty unhappy. We were in a group so we were unable to slow down and rest for too long. It was one of those situations where it was too late to back out. With only one guide for the group, there was no question of going back down or just waiting there till the sun came out. We had gone so far, the only road we can take is up. This is anyone one of hose moments where I just felt like crying. Luckily I did not. So we pushed ourselves. We also got pushed by our guide. So thankful for our guide, he really was such a great help. Climbing in the dark also has its advantages where you can see how difficult the climb in front can be and all you are doing is just concentrating on taking one step at a time, with hopes that the next step will be on flat ground. 

If you are like me and the only things you climb on a regular basis are overhead bridges, I think it is safer to get a guide. The road to the crater rim is pretty straight forward, but I am totally willingly to pay for the motivation of our guide, he was really supportive and telling us to take it slowly and easily. Our guide was super nice, he even offered to help me take my bag for some distance which really saved my life. 

After about 2km we reached this rest stop where people inside were surprise! watching the world cup. I refused to take a seat because if I knew I did, it would be impossible to stand again and I would be more tired than before. By then my legs were on autopilot just forcing itself to move and move. Wanpei was really fit! And I was super thankful that she kept encouraging us and motivating us along the way. 

Once we reached the crater rim the road really did began to even out hurray! In the distance our guide pointed the blue flames to us. It felt like we had been walking forever by then. It had started drizzling so it was really slippery. It did not help that I was wearing converse sneakers and not hiking shoes. Going down the rocks was really steep and quite dangerous. One slip and you are off, rolling down into the deep to I have no idea where. 

One lady commented that 'This is like going to Mordor.' I completely agree with her. It was dark and we were clamouring around rocks, trying not to slip. Once again, our guide was super awesome, without his support, I really might have slid off the rocks. I don't know what boots he was wearing but they seem to be non slip and really steady. Are they the same kind of boots fishmongers wear at the market? I don't remember fishmongers sliding around in markets either. It was really reassuring to have a guide there to make sure you were safe and on the right track. 

For people who say they did not need a guide going down, they either had a very good sense of direction or were sponging off other people's guides. For the hard work these people do, I really don't mind paying just a bit for their services. For more information, go watch the youtube videos on sulphur miners of Kawah Ijen. Actually, I am just very impressed with my guide so I am recommending guides to anyone who has decided to go. 

It was incredible and surreal once we made it down close to the blue flames. It was a very ethereal experience. 

This is a sample of a picture I took from where I was standing. I was too exhausted to go any nearer and besides, the sulphur gases were absolutely choking. Speaking about that, the N95 masks that we have for haze protection does quite an incredible job for protection against the sulphur gases! The smell was not that bad and we could breathe freely. 

Ok, so once again, guide to the rescue! He takes my phone and goes into the flames to capture these incredible photos for me. Literally 赴汤蹈火. 

Believe me, when you are there, it is magical to watch the flames come to life and dance in the dark of the night. It is spectacular and absolutely beautiful to watch. Just standing there, in the darkness, admiring the beat and the movements of the legandary blue flames. 

When the sun was almost on its way up, we made our way back to the crater. Again, we almost got lost. A gust of wind had blown the smoke in our direction, blanketing us and we could not see which way to go. We just went blindly up and it turned out to be the wrong way. Another frightening moment in our adventures. But the smoke cleared and we found our group yay! At the crater rim, the sun had risen and we were greeted with yet another magnificent view.

Absolutely stunning. The yellow bit at the bottom are where the blue flames are at night. We descended all the way down, just navigating our way through the rocks. It took us a lot faster to climb up though, I think it was because it was getting bright and all we were focusing on was just to get a good grip and not fall. 

Wet hair from rain does not make photogenic hair. This is the sign at the top. I am so glad we only saw this after coming up from the crater. The sign is useless for people climbing in the dark because noone will notice it. 

We love our guide very much, the life saver. 

As we hiked down Kawah Ijen it was a lot easier. We just had to be wary of the slippery gown. Surprisingly, my converse did pretty well, I did not fall and tumble down. I feared too much for my life so actually I grabbed everything that I can, rocks, trees, everything. 

The view down was also splendid. I don't know enough words to describe all the amazing views we have seen! 

That is Mount Merapi in the distance. Not a volcano and it can't be scaled according to our guide. 

We reached the end at about 6.30am. That is about 4 solid hours of trekking, of not sitting down and resting. We were very very proud of ourselves. 

I wanted to get a cup of milo but the queue was too long. Luckily, our lodging had thoughtfully packed breakfast for us. Breakfast was an odd combination of two slices of bread spread with butter, kaya and chocolate sprinkles. It tastes nicer than expected. There was also a hard boiled egg each which nobody ate and could be heard rolling around on our way back. 

No time to rest and it was time to hit the road again. The driver took us to Banyuwangi where everyone else went down at the harbour to set off for Bali. This is , in my opinion, a much better option than heading back to Surabaya. If we had more days, going to Bali to do white water rafting and more trekking would be ideal. 

Driver went for breakfast and he just let us wait in the car. Bojio leh. We also wanted to eat and would happily join him if he had thought to mention it to us. So we went to a nearby mini mart to get drinks and snacks instead. I adore cold milo. Why is Milo not found around the world? The only places I have ever seen it is in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. 

It was a very very long way back to Surabaya. 

Along the way, we saw trucks full of cows. The first truck had cows just chilling in the back. The second truck of cows were bot so chilled, in fact, they were too hot. Shortly after this picture was taken the two cows on the left fainted. The man on top hurriedly gave them water and untied their nooses. I hope they are okay now. 

We reached Probolinggo at about 12pm. From there, we were dropped at the bus terminal to get the express bus to Surabaya. 

As we were waiting for the buses to set off, vendors will go up the bus trying to sell things. From drinks to chips and even a penknife/lighter set which was quite funny. 

It was about a 2.5hour bus ride to Surabaya. From the bus terminal, our legs were jelly so we took a taxi to our accomodation, Garden Palace Hotel Surabaya. 

That marked the end of our Kawah Ijen adventure. Although our trip was short, the excitement did not stop there. Next up is our Surabaya adventure.