Ijen Kawah

We headed eastwards, as the van swerved around the serpentine roads, flanked by dense lush tropical trees. I knew we were going deeper and deeper into the interiors of Java, as my cellphone's signal plummeted to nil. Oh well, that is what an adventure should be, isn't it?

It was already nightfall by the time we reached our hostel, so we just cleaned and prepared ourselves for an early rest. Dinner was well spent with our new group of friends - 2 French couples, whom we would be hiking Ijen Kawah together.

In the early wee hours the next day, we set out in the darkness in our sturdy mini van towards Ijen Kawah, 30 minutes away. By 2.30am, we arrived at the base of this dead volcano crater, together with zounds of tourists already gathering there awaiting to climb up to see the legendary blue flames! 

The hike was tough for someone who has been so used to a sedentary lifestyle like me! 2km of up slanting terrain got me huffing and puffing and I swear that I almost given up, if not for my loyal travel mate who threatened to whack me if I quitted! Upon completing the hellish 2km of torment uphill, we were left with the 1km relatively-flat terrain until we reached the edge of the crater. It wasn't hard to know that you have reached the crater; the brackish sulphuric fumes got stronger as we approached the precipitous steps that lead us down the base of the crater.

After another 800 meters of descent, we finally reached the base at around 4.30am and were welcomed by the legendary blue flames. Well, since dawn was imminent, and most of the sulphur extraction activity was coming to a halt, the blue flames that we beheld wasn't as dramatic as the promotional photos. 

Instead, it's just like this.

As dawn broke, we realized we were in the middle of a barren terrain with just rocks and sands and nothing else aside the swarms of tourists. 

I presumed that the sulphur here existed as a different compound, where the miners where would purify it by lighting it in flames, and the chemical reaction emitted the legendary blue flames. Consequently, the liquid hot sulphur would flow out into a container unit and later solidifies into these yellow chunks, which the miners would then carry down the mountain to sell. So that's how we get our sulphur!

And in the middle of the crater lies the infamous turquoise lake.

Actually, despite the fumes from the lake surface, it wasn't really that boiling hot, as evident by my surviving pair of hands. Some say the lake water does have medicinal properties, but I'm not gonna risk my feet just to try that out! 

And that was when my travel buddy revealed his hidden murderous intent by trying to push me into the deadly lake!

Before leaving the crater, the bunch of us and our guide had a group photo. 

So, after another 800 meters of thigh breaking climb up the base of the crater, 1km of flat terrain and 2 km of down slanting hilly road, we hopped onto our minivan for our final destination in Indonesia - Bali!