Gunung Widodaren

- Woke up late from our hotel after catching some much needed sleep after Bromo
- Began our drive towards Ijen in preparation for the climb the following sunrise.
- We planned to arrive early to rest, BUT SOMEONES BIKE BROKE DOWN...AGAIN.
- We initially tried to solider on with a stuttering engine, until progress became painfully slow.
- Plan B was to have one of us push the other with their foot on the foot peg. This was tedious and didn't really work uphill.
- Plan C worked temporarily but turned out to be an awful idea. We tied both bikes together with rope and made it a few miles before concluding this was a terrible idea after a tragic accident around a bend.
- After patching up injuries, a local came over and brought anas' bike back to life. We then managed to plod our way to Mt Ijen, arriving quite late in the evening.
- We stopped off for dinner in what looked like someone's house and ordered 2 bowls of noodles. After inhaling it, we requested a refill, and then requested another. Out of shame we didn't get anymore and instead decided to buy snacks from the nearby shop. We ate so much they had to drive to the shops to restock.
- The only affordable accomodation in the area was an absolute shithole, with no shower or proper running water. The only way to get water was to pull a peg out of the wall that was plugging the flow. Anas couldn't figure out how to take it out, someone came over to do it and got drenched, while anas couldn't stop laughing. Stupidly the plug in our room only worked when the light was turned on so we charged nothing.
- After hiring headtorches and gas masks, we were then informed that we need a medical form to show we were fit to climb. The nearest clinic was 10km away, though awful roads and it was already 9pm.
- We made the journey with one of them leading the way and some random uncle tagging along on the back of anas' bike. We still have no clue why he came as he contributed nothing...
- The 'medical examination' took an hour of our time and consisted only of a blood pressure check.
- Upon arriving home we fell asleep at midnight, getting around 2 hours of sleep before climbing.Read more