Indonesia

20/12/16

We're in a large village called Moni.

Up all night as it's one of the locals birthday so they're up till 4 drinking next to our shack and singing with guitar!! Like whaling cats on acid.... I swear it was the same song on repeat.... Of course Noblet snores through.... Anyway we're up at 3.30am anyway to leave for mount Kelimutu which is a dormant volcano which last erupted in 1968.

We walk up around 2k from the gate having paid white mans fees. We get to the top, Noblet did well as it was a proper ridge on the way up.

When we get up there it is truly magical.

3 lakes. 3 different colours! One is a milky blue turquoise, one is bright turquoise and the other is dark green! They all look like paint they are that deep a colour.

We watch the sunrise and the full light allows us to see how wonderful these things are. The photos don't do the view and contrast justice! Clouds are sweeping below us we're at 1639m.

The Indonesians believe that when you die your soul goes to these lakes, and which lake depends on judgement. There is a youth lake, old lake and a villans' lake. They have a pilgrimage here every year where thousands walk up to the top of the volcano and offer food to the gods to say thanks for the previous year, and can you sort us out for this year coming! The wake is never on the same day as apparently it's a mammoth task getting all of the different tribes to agree on when to carry out this holy pilgrimage.

The scientific reason for the colour differentiation is because of the oxygen and primarily sulphur composure (other stuff as well). On the way up and down the sulphur really gets on your chest and Noblet's asthma almost flares up.... Although that could've been the sight of the sudden shear cliff face either side of us!

The lakes change colour regularly even from month to month they can go from blue to red to green.

People watching here is interesting but Noblet got too much info when a newly formed travelling couple were talking about going back to their room and what they would do to each other .... Tmi lol.

Unfortunately for Noblet going back to our room couldn't be further from our minds as we had a 14km walk back down to Moni to complete. He is not pleased.

Some dick (me) forgot the sunscreen so in order to prevent sun I went all Arab camel jockey with my scarf and Noblet used a large leaf to shade his head.... He says this is in my top 4 worst ideas but can't name any other bad ideas so reckon he's being dramatic (or severely dehydrated).

We spend around 3.5 hours coming back down and see a great waterfall which the locals use to bathe in, it's lovely, however to get across it we have to cross bamboo bridges with no handrails. Again he's not happy but gets on with it!!! The bamboo is very old and very flexible, easy does it. Then across another water way on a half log.

We come out into the town of Moni having completed the walk 30mins quicker than we should have!! Ha!!

So we get to our hotel for the famous garlic sandwich.... But to our dismay the restaurant was shut.... By shut, the man was asleep on a coconut mat behind the counter and snored through my polite 'oh helllloohhh' three times.... Not poking this massive Indonesian bear!

Had breakfast instead at the hotel which was amazing it was a really thick buttery pancake with bananas sliced sideways! Awesome!! Noblet also said it's the best cooked fruit he's ever had (sorry Freda).... Progress is being made.

Taxi back with the hotel owner which is a 2 hr drive back through the rain Forrest where there are regular land slides due to the angle of the batter they have carved to build a new road!

Get to the airport 2 hours before takeoff, it's shut.... ?!?! There is a chain and padlock on the door and it's shut?!? Wtf who shuts an airport. Mooch for some food in the mean time (sneaky steps with food at the end mwahahaha) go into a cafe. Woman gets two plates out. We pick something that we've figured out means noodles.... She says no food. She got plates out, but served no food! Bah.

White baby outside the airport where a queue forms... Indonesian men are loving the baby.... Openly buzzing off the baby more than the women! Funny. They're taking photos of it and everything, imagine in the UK that would be weird1 but defo totally ok here. I really like the Indonesians a lot and trust them more than the Indians. They're more cards on the table, they say hello because that's what they do not because that's the opener into getting you into their shop or taxi. They tell you a price and that's the price.... Not figured out a way to haggle with these lot yet, non of the normal tactics are working, may have to google.

Man: Noblet makes it up the mountain.

Donkey: holly forgetting sunscreen.Read more