An Indonesian ex-colleague has once shared about his trip to Kawah Ijen, he told me to not miss this amazing wonder of nature and one of the must do of a life time. This has been in my YOLO list since few years ago. During those days, not many Malaysian knew about this place.
Bromo and Kwah Ijen have then became more popular in recent years, thanks to Airasia for launching the route to Surabaya (of course LOL). Many friends have been there and returned with great recommendations. I am still waiting for my flow to realize this bucket item.
Finally there was a short break and as usual an impromptu decision to go for a quick holiday, we were considering between this and another beach destination. We both burst out laughing and pretty sure Bromo would be our next destination the second we saw motorcycles in one of the POI photos.
As a true biker, how can we miss such an adventure?
There goes our not so common kinda Bromo adventure.
ROADIE ADVENTURE
Day 1
Surabaya Airport - Madakaripura waterfall - Kawah Ijen
Madakaripura waterfall is no kidding stunning. I was already impressed the minute walking under the waterfalls but the surprise did not end here. The deeper we explored into the valley, the more waterfalls await us. We were surrounded by not one group of waterfalls but few!
Definitely one of the must do at Surabaya. It is my NUMBER ONE most stunning waterfalls I have ever seen.
Headed straight to Kawah Ijen after the waterfall, arrived around 12.30am at the car park without any rest. Quickly put on some warm clothing and ready for the hike. It was freezing cold and we were kinda under-prepared......gosh! body shivering the minute we got off the car!
Day 2
Malang
It took us 5 hours to hike up and all the way down to Kawah Ijen crater. We were exhausted. How did we even complete the journey? God knows! I think I was hiking while sleep walking? LOL.
After the sunrise, we hiked an hour returned from the crater to the peak, took some photo break as the surrounding started to clear, saw the sea of cloud, turquoise crater, yellow sulfur mine and crowded tourists. Took another 2 hours to descend to where we started.
Without shower, bed and intensive hiking overnight, we knocked out throughout the whole journey to Malang, so glad there was nothing on day 2, and all we wanted was just a good energy recovery of a sleepless 24 hours++
Day 3
Bromo Tengger Semeru - Surabaya
This was the day we were waiting for!
Picked up our dirt bikes at Malang town. Moto East Java offered two models, KLX 150 and CRF 150. Due to my height, I was recommended to go for KLX. After testing out the bikes, we took off around 9am with our guide.
Riding a dirt bike in town needed quite a bit of adjustments. The bikes did not have side mirrors and signal lights, we were not used to it especially on the congested Indonesia traffic.
About an hour ride from town we arrived at Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The scenery after entering the park was magnificent. Hill after hill of plantation, followed by the unblocked mountains view right before we start the sea of sand adventure.
Took about an hour across sea of sand as I was struggling with the bike and the soft sand. Could not remember how many times I fell, to the extend of giving up in frustration and fear. I was blessed to have my teammate offering to swap his bike with mine. After the swap, I was able to better control the bike and has not dropped even once until the entrance of Mount Bromo. Later we realized my bike had a shorter handlebar and slimmer tyre which resulted more difficulties in maneuvering on the sand.
After the challenging ride on sand, we proceed to a short easy hike up to the peak of Mount Bromo. The crater was dry unlike Kawah Ijen which was filled with water. We were able to see the signature triangle shape of Mount Batok from the peak, which is just right next to Mount Bromo.
After checking out both mountains, we did a challenging ride again on the sea of sand, returned to Malang town and headed to Surabaya for last night.
Day 4
Fly back to Malaysia
BIKE TOUR & RENTAL
Engaged Moto East Java at Malang.
Uphi the contact person speaks excellent English. Quick response and very attentive.
Later I found out from a Thailand lady biker friend met over Facebook, she just returned from Bromo offroad ride, also engaged the same company!
I would recommend them if you are keen to explore Bromo with two wheels. They also have bike rentals without tour guide, as well as some offroad bike adventures other than Mount Bromo.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is a big thing for us!
For this short trip, we initially booked 3 hotels from Agoda.com however we were off track on day 1 after the visit to Madakaripura waterfall. We decided to skip the first night hotel at Banyuwangi to catch up the schedule to Kawah Ijen.
Later 2 nights, we stayed at 5 stars hotels in Malang and Surabaya.
YOLO INVESTMENT
How much Indonesian Rupiah did I invest for this dirt bike adventure? (in thousands)
Bike 200
Guide 175
Bike fuel 40
Car with driver 800
Car fuel 175
Food 1359
Toll 175
Other 198
Total 3122
Applying an average rate of IDR 1000 : RM 0.30, this is approximately RM 930.
This exclude return flight ticket and accommodation.
SUMMARY
Exploring Mount Bromo with two wheels was a very unique experience. Unlike many who went in with a jeep, the ride was unforgettable as all our senses were engaged. Highly recommend to do it with motorcycle if you can ride. You can even ride all the way to waterfall and Kawah Ijen if you have a good stamina!
But do ensure some good sleep before you do that, as majority would explore both Mount Bromo and Kawah Ijen during sunrise, that means a sacrifice of sleep and start journey in the middle of the night!