Indonesia - Karimun Jawa Islands and Merapi

Tuesday 15th May – Karimun Jawa Islands – Day 1

‘Is it today?  Is it tomorrow?  Is it tonight?  What is it?’  These were the thoughts going through my head when the alarm went off and it was still dark outside.  It was 1.15 a.m. and I felt like I had only been asleep for three hours.  That’s because I had only been asleep for three hours.

All ready at for 2.00 a.m. we went out to meet Areei and discovered that the tour itinerary had changed.  The plan was to go to Karimun Jawa and return to Yogyakarta on Saturday.  However this weekend in Indonesia is a big public holiday, Ascension Day.  As a result our planned return boat on Saturday is fully booked so we have to return a day earlier on Friday.  It took a while to negotiate a new price and we all finally settled on 825,000 Rp per person.  The next obstacle was how to fit all our stuff – and us – into the car.  It was a tight squeeze but we managed it. 

We finally got on the move at 2.30 a.m.  The journey was fine except for the lack of sleep – I think I only got about 10 minutes – and the same 10 songs being played over and over again.  We arrived at the port in Jepara at 7.30 a.m. and had a three hour wait before getting the boat to the islands.  To kill time we sat in a café – of sorts.  Breakfast was a Pot Noddle – of sorts.  I felt like I was a student again.  Then Niek got out his cards and I taught everyone Shithead.  I was surprised not one of them knew it, but soon we were all pros and the time passed by quickly.  Our game was watched intently by a local but I’m not sure he understood the rules as he watched in silence.

At 10.30 a.m. we got on the boat.  This was a big boat and easily the fastest big boat I have ever been on.  We slowly made our way from the dock and then the engines were put on full power.  It felt like we were about to lift off.  It flew across the waves with a lot of bouncing and swaying.  Anyone with seasickness would have been in trouble – Simone does but was helped by her super-powerful seasickness tablets.

We reached the main island, Karimun Jawa, and checked into our homestay.  It was basic  - mattress on the floor, no shower, just a mandi (a big thing full of water and you use a handheld pot to throw the water over yourself), and the Asian style squatty-potties.  I had never used a mandi before and now was forced to and have no idea why in the past I turned down hostel rooms because that’s all they had.  They are perfectly fine.  Shaving was a different matter.  No sink.  When I finished I looked like someone had just thrown a bucket of water all over me.  The only real negative side to this whole set up was the plumbing.  At the back of the house there is a little wall which looks over the sea and the water comes right up to the door.  As you look down there are two pipes going out a little distance into the water.  If you look down at the wrong moment you will get a little bit more than you bargained for if it’s at the same time that some flushes the toilet.  Swimming in that water is not an option.  Thankfully everything is quickly washed out to sea.

As we were waiting on dinner to be prepared Simone realised her camera was missing.  We ran back to the boat to see if it was left behind there but my gut feeling was something else.  At the boat the whole crew got involved in what was to become camera-gate.  We tried explaining that we were not sure if it was lost or stolen but they went down the line of stolen and seemed intent on starting a witch hunt to find the culprit.  We gave up trying to explain and next went to the office of the boat company and the same situation arose.  Simone was there for ages trying to sort it out and about six people got involved.  It was good so see that they were so concerned and intent on finding a positive end to the drama.  But personally I think it was stolen by the guy back in Jepara who watched us play cards.  He was sitting close to Simone’s bag.  Fingers crossed this is not the case and the camera turns up somewhere.

After we had eaten we went out to explore the town and find a beach for a refreshing swim as the weather was very hot.  The exploration lasted about 30 minutes and it turned out there is no beach for a swim.  One good thing about our wander around the town was that we quickly realised there were very few Westerners here.  It’s always nice to find a non-touristy spot and this was certainly it.  We were a novelty to the kids.

If you look hard enought it says BALI - because that's where we all met!

Hungry we made our way to what seemed to be the only proper café/bar in town, Amore Café, conveniently located very close to our homestay.  Here we played cards, had drinks and ate dinner.  As night fell we moved to a set of swing seats facing the sea and watched the thunderstorms rage on Java while we had a beautiful clear sky and could look at the stars. 

Wednesday 16th May – Karimun Jawa Islands – Day 2

We were all up at 6.00 a.m. for a breakfast of rice.  It was tasty and filling but I’m not sure about rice at that time in the morning.  Maybe I’m just not used to it.

AT 8.00 a.m. we set off in our boat for the day’s activities.  Our first stop was a little sand bar in the middle of the sea.  It was pretty cool – only about 20m long and I felt like Jesus walking across the Sea of Galilee.  Even here, in the middle of the sea, on a 20m long sand bar, Simone and Celine’s fame was to attract attention.  Another boat with local tourists pulled up and it wasn’t long before they were being asked to pose for photos.  There is just no escape.

We jumped back on the boat and headed off to another island for some snorkelling.  With the help of some bread thrown into the water there were fish everywhere.  We were able to swim right through huge shoals as they feasted on the food.  Afterwards we entertained ourselves by diving off the pier.  This is something I would never have done before travelling but now I was loving it.  It’s crazy to think the things I love doing now that I would have been apprehensive about in the past.  We all took turns trying out our different techniques while Celine’s gymnastics background proved she was clearly the best and looked like a torpedo diving into the water.

When all the diving fun was over it was time for lunch on another island.  The amount of flies here was incredible and as we ate our chicken and threw the leftovers away the flies swarmed all over them.  It was a disgusting but somehow fascinating sight.  I have never seen so many before.  It was like something out of a horror movie.  The flies were closely followed by a hungry chicken.  This was odd.  As we sat eating what was probably the cooked remains of its brother it tucked into the rice.  I never realised chickens liked rice but this guy couldn’t get enough of it.

We relaxed after dinner on the beach then it was time to get back on the boat.  We stopped for another bit of snorkelling before going for our final activity of the day.

I wasn’t quite sure what the place was.  All I knew was that we could swim with sharks.  When we arrived it was a building in the middle of the sea and as we walked on we could see sharks swimming below us.  I got in the water and one of the guys working there approached me and gently handed me a ray.  After a few minutes it wanted to swim away so I went to let it go and what happened next was the start of a horrific 10 minutes.  He grabbed the ray by its nose – one of the most sensitive parts of a shark – and hauled it over to another group of tourists who has jumped into the water.  Next he handed me two starfish.  After feeling these for a few minutes I got out of the water.  Next a turtle was brought in.  Turtles can be aggressive animals and very unsurprising it bite one of the people in the water.  At this stage what I was seeing horrified me so much I wanted to leave and started to  make my way out.  As I did so I saw the worker grab the turtle and throw it very intentionally out of the water and onto its back.  It looked like it was some sort of cruel punishment for biting.  The turtle frantically started flapping its flippers to right itself while everyone else laughed.  I had to turn away.  I felt sick.  I made my way back to the boat as quickly as possible, closely followed by the others who felt as equally as disgusted.  Sitting on the boat I couldn’t even speak because what I had seen upset me so much.  I felt so sick at the thought of everything especially the fact that I had been in the water.  It was animal torture.  It was animal cruelty and I just wanted to forget the whole thing ever happened.

With all the activities over for the day we made our way back to the homestay – direct!  As mentioned before, the place we are staying in backs onto the water so the boat sailed right up to the back entrance where we could all jump straight off and into the house.  After dinner we again went to Amore Café for the evening.  With another clear sky Simone and I walked all around the town to find the darkest place to see the stars.  After walking around for 15 minutes it turned out that the darkest place was actually where we started – Amore Café.  As we stood admiring the sky a huge light came on destroying our view.  Something was conspiring against us and our stargazing so we just decided to give up on our mission and headed back to the homestay.

Thursday 17th May – Karimun Jawa Islands – Day 3

Not quite so early this morning – we got to sleep in until 7.00 a.m. and made our way to the boat for 8.00 a.m. after a more familiar breakfast of toast and coffee.

As we made our way to our first snorkelling spot we could see a flotilla of boats around us.  With this being a national holiday all of Indonesia seemed to have descended on Karimun Jawa.   There were about six or seven other boats all full of local holiday makers apart from one or two Westerners and us.  As Indonesia is mostly a Muslim country the woman have to practice the Muslim traditional and remain fully clothed even in the water.  They wore specially tailored costumes for this and it was impressive how they managed to move around in the water so freely.

Snorkelling finished (and stung all over my arms by something I couldn’t see) we headed to a beach for lunch and relaxed for two hours.  En mass all the boats came to the same island.  We were warned not to venture too far into the sea as there were stingrays who could whip a barb at you if you stepped on or disturbed them.  After lunch the same flotilla made its way to the final snorkelling destination.  This actually became a little concerning for me.  There were too many boats in the area for the amount of people snorkelling.  My main concern was not being seen when snorkelling and getting hit by a passing boat.  Combining that with the fact that this must have been my twentieth time snorkelling in Indonesia, I spent most of the time resting on the boat. 

All snorkelled out, it was back to the main island again, but to a different section from where could watch the sunset.  Only a few metres from the beach was a long row of stalls, with seating areas, selling fried banana and drinks.  After sitting there for a while we made our way along the beach to watch the sunset.  What was a quiet spot soon became a play area for a group of Korean holiday makers.  Koreans are hyper and always seem to be the people doing the craziest things – but in a fun way.  And it wasn't long before we were at the same thing!

Once the sun had set we jumped in the boat and it powered back to the town.  I got the impression it was a race against time with the light fading.  Once back on land we all headed to Amore Café for lunch and drinks.  Tonight were also joined by our guide, Areei.  He was an excellent guide and a lot of fun.  He catered for our every need and always made sure the food we had each day was what he wanted.  Strangely for a guide running snorkelling trips, he was unable to swim, but got by using a life jacket and his diving skills were much better than most.  He lives in Yogyakarta and will be back to see his wife and young baby later in the week so we have planned to meet up with them to go to the cinema.

Friday 18th May – Roof Sleeping

Our Karimun Jawa Tour was now over.  We got up at 7.00 a.m. and had breakfast before getting ourselves ready and having dinner at 10.00 a.m.  It was a strange arrangement but apparently we had two meals left according to the tour details.  It was far too much food for so early in the morning – even for me.  We went to the pier, thanked and said our goodbyes to Areei before getting on the boat.

This crossing was much worse than the one over.  The sea was choppier and the boat was rocking and bouncing all over the place.  I was fine but a lot of other people on the boat were not.  It wasn’t long before I saw the crew being requested by lots of passengers for sick bags and a few in our section suffered badly.  I just buried my head in my book and tried to pretend I couldn’t hear it.  It’s not the most pleasant sound to be around.  Thankfully all of us survived any sickness and we reached Jepara at 2.30 p.m. 

With two hours to wait for our bus to Yogyakarta we sat in a different café than the mugger’s café we were in a few days ago and again played cards (unfortunately it would seem that Simone’s camera is lost and gone forever).  The bus appeared at 4.30 p.m. and we were on way to Yogyakarta.  The journey was painless and quick so we arrived in Yogyakarta sometime around 10.30 p.m.

As soon as we stepped off the bus I spotted Moko.  Seems he’s a long way from Sumatra.  He tried his best to hide behind a few other people but I made sure he saw me, said ‘Hello’ and shook his hand – just to let him know we were back.  He seemed a little sheepish and not as friendly as when we arrived a few days ago.  I wonder why?

The big challenge ahead of now was getting accommodation for the night.  Last night before we left Karimun Jawa we got Areei to book rooms in Utar Pension Losmen again but the big problem was that they had no rooms for tonight, only from tomorrow night.  Areei tried many other places but with no luck.  Over this public holiday everyone spends their weekend in Yogyakarta.  We tried our luck walking around Sosrowijayan but every single hostel was full and every person we passed basically told us we had no chance of finding a room.

Desperate, we remembered that Utar had benches and seats in the corridor and considering we had stayed there before and were booked in for tomorrow night we called in to see if they would let us use the seats as beds.  What they did was very generous and amazing.  In our hour need they gave us permission to use the seats but then suggested the roof.  It was perfect.  Outside on a cool tiled floor.  As we settled ourselves in the owner appeared with mats, pillows and sheets for us.  I couldn’t believe it.  I asked how much he wanted but he waved me away, laughed and said, ‘Free!’  All this treatment after we got him and his wife out of bed when we arrived at this late hour.

So off to sleep it was on the rooftop.  This is without doubt my favourite hostel in Indonesia.

Saturday 19th May – Mall Wrestling

It was a good sleep on the roof.  I was woken at 4.00 a.m. by the mosque and then an hour later by a crazed-caged bird.  There seems to be a fascination in Indonesia for caged birds.  This hostel has at least 10 and all other hostels have several as well.  It also has a turtle in a small aquarium.  I can’t say I agree with all these captive animals around – the turtle in particular looks very anxious to escape – but it’s the same in all the hostels.

We were all up by 7.30 a.m. and with one of the rooms available we offloaded our stuff and headed to Bintang Resto for breakfast.  We discussed our plans.  Everyone – Simone, Celine, Niek and I – want to climb Merapi and afterwards head to Jakarta.  At that point our little group will come to a sad end as Niek and Celine fly off to Vietnam while Simone and I will head further west on Java to see Krakatau! 

With plans finalised we made our way to the train station to book our tickets to Jakarta for Tuesday.  The trains are not tourist trains.  It’s a national train network.  Why then is buying tickets such a hassle?  From the moment we entered the station we were given different details and different prices for trains to Jakarta.  I expect this when haggling with tour operators, but not with the national train company.  Finally we found the office we were looking for and got some straight answers.  We knew the details they provided were right.  What we didn’t know was which option to go for.  It’s all very complicated.  So many classes (Business, Executive, Economy CA, Economy and the rest) and not all options are available on all trains.  After much deliberation we booked ourselves on a business class seat leaving at 8.56 a.m. on Tuesday morning for the price of 225,000 Rp.

We had lunch at Mi Casa Es Tu Casa and wandered over to the shopping mall on Marliboro.  On our way we got stopped by a bunch of school kids who wanted to help improve their English.  This wasn’t the first time it had happened.  They stop you, get their phones out and video the conversation which involves them asking a set of prepared questions – Where are you from?  What is your favourite food?  Where have you been in Indonesia? and other similar queries.  It’s so cute.  But I have to say I feel a bit sorry for them because as soon as they show the video of me to their teacher they will get scolded: ‘You were supposed to speak to people who could speak English!  I don’t even know what language this man is speaking!’  The Indonesians have a very hard time understanding my accent.  It’s troublesome.  At the end they wanted a group photo with us all.  One of the guys wanted to stand beside and – I think a little bit lost in translation – said ‘Can I hold you?’.  Trying to keep a straight face I said ‘Of course’.  With our teaching lesson finished off to the mall it was.

It’s not every day you walk into a mall and see a wrestling completion taking place but that’s exactly what was happening.  After lazily walking around the mall and spending most of our time in the kids arcade area playing a basketball game, we sat down at a café.  While I had a coffee the others had some spectacular looking kind of ice cream thing.  It’s rare I have food envy, but this time I did.

In the evening Simone and I decided to check out the jazz band in Lucifer’s.  As we approached we realised that whatever band was supposed to play had been replaced by Maria Carey karaoke.  We made a hasty retreat and went to Hell’s Kitchen instead where a very original band were doing cover versions using a double bass and similar instruments.  After dinner we went to Bintang Resto to see the same cover band that played last week, and tonight they played the same songs in the same order.  We didn’t care.  We got drunk and had a brilliant and fun night!

Sunday 20th May – Pre-Merapi

This morning we booked our Merapi trek.  We got all the details yesterday and agreed on a price – 175,000 Rp each – but waited until today to book it.  We wanted to make sure the weather forecast was good.  We leave at 10.00 p.m. in a car to Selo from where we will start the five hour trek to the summit in time for sunrise.

Knowing what is ahead of us we did nothing all day.  We went to Bedhot where I got a burger which passed all my expectations and in the late evening went to Mi Casa Es Tu Casa to load up on carbs to prepare for the hike.  Other than that the whole day was spent in the hostel getting as much (but nowhere near enough) sleep as possible.

At 10.00 p.m. we went out and got our lift to Selo.  We arrived in Selo at 11.30 p.m.  As we waited to begin our trek we were joined by another group of about five guys.

Monday 21st May – Merapi

We were given a briefing about the trek and warned that if the weather was not suitable close to the summit we would not make it all the way.  Finally at 1.00 a.m. we were off.

The beginning of the trek was through the town of Selo along sealed but very steep roads.  After about 30 minutes we reached the Hollywood-esque ‘New Selo’ sign on the side of the volcano.  Here we rested.  Already I was thinking the pace was a bit slow and to rest after such a short walk was not a good idea.  We stopped for a too long as well.

After about 15 minutes we were on the move again.  We left the comfort of the sealed roads and were now on the volcano proper, walking over dirt tracks – at an incredibly slow pace.  I find it very difficult to walk so slow and also much more exhausting especially when going uphill.  But it was pitch black and with only a headlamp to light the way I didn’t want to go ahead of the guide.  Again we stopped and again for too long.  If this was going to be the pace we should have started later.  At each stop the biting cold caused my muscles to seize up and each time we started again it took a few minutes to get back into rhythm.

After three hours we were approaching the region known as the plateau.  As we got higher the wind got much stronger and the cold was hard to keep out.  Just as the wind was getting to its worst we went over a ridge and made our way onto the plateau.  This area was much more sheltered so we got some respite from the wind but not the cold.  Here we stopped to rest before the final one-hour ascent to the summit.  Standing still was not a comfortable feeling.  I put on every item of clothing I had – long sleeve t-shirt, t-shirt, fleece, wind breaker, gloves, hat – and still nothing worked.  Thankfully the weather was favourable to reach the summit and after 15 minutes we were on the move again, much to everyone’s relief.  Moving stopped the cold.

We had been warned that the final section was over looser scree and would be very tough.  All I had in my mind were the memories of Rinjani.  But this was much easier.  The scree was actually loose sand which easily compacted under your foot meaning that the slipping and sliding was very much reduced and it wasn’t long before we were clambering over solid rock. 

During late 2010 there was a large eruption of Merapi and the rocks we were climbing over were the cooled remains of the lava it spewed out.  The eruption also sent large pyroclastic flows racing down the side of the volcano which killed 353 people.  This figure would have been much worse if the eruption had not been predicted by scientists.  As a result of their predictions around 350,000 people were evacuated thus saving countless numbers of lives.

As we approached the summit we could smell the sulphur in the air and see the steaming vents to the side of our trail.  Suddenly we were there – at the summit of Merapi – 2930m.  It was an incredible, overwhelming and emotional feeling.  I had stepped on the peak of the No.2 volcano on my list.  Little did I know better was about to come.  As we walked along the crater rim I leaned over and looked into the crater to see glowing lava.  After 8 months on my LAVA Tour I finally saw lava.  I couldn’t contain my excitement.

When we reached the top it was still dark but shortly afterwards the Sun started to creep over the horizon and we had a beautiful sunrise.  As the morning light spread we had amazing views of the surrounding area and – just like at Rinjani – when we looked into the distance could see the shadow of the volcano with its silhouetted peak in the distance.

While standing admiring the view I met Nicolas who as it turned out is also a volcano hunter.  He was on the summit of Merapi in 2008 before the eruption and said he could not believe the difference – now it looked like a completely different volcano.  We swapped a lot of stories about the different volcanoes we have been to.  He has been to many more than me as he has been on the hunt for years and has inspired me to visit many more.  Later he was to show me a video he took at the top of Semaru – the puffing volcano behind Bromo.  It was amazing.  While standing filming, the lava lake erupted.  He stayed as long as he could but it was not long before all that could be seem in the video was the ground as he is ran away.  Now I am seriously thinking about heading back to west Java to climb Semaru.  I want to see that in person.

We were able to stay on the summit for quite a long time before making out descent.  After clambering down over the rocks we hit the sand.  As always it was time to run!  I’ll never grow tired of racing down the sand piles.  This time I had a spectacular fall and got sand everywhere.  The rest of the descend was slow and steady and frustrating.  My boots are not far from seeing their last days.  The grips are awful and I find it very difficult to go downhill as they always cut my toes.  As a result I got down the mountain as quick as possible.  It took about four hours of pain, anger and cursing.  I have vowed to hold a boot-burning ceremony once my trip is over.

But none if that could possible detract from what I had just experienced – Merapi.

We headed back to Selo for breakfast at about 8.30 p.m. and took the opportunity to get photos of the volcano.  Seeing it now in the daylight and realising the height we had climbed made it all the more impressive.  Of course the view was again destroyed my mobile telephone masts so I took a walk up the road to get better photos.  As I did three school children spotted and started calling me: ‘Hello Mister.  Hello Mister’.  I grabbed my camera to get a photo of them and they all posed.  The kids here are hilarious and love getting their photo taken.   Once I had taken my photos of Merapi I walked back towards the school and from the noise knew what awaited me – the whole school had come out, all shouting at me and posing for photos.  Too cute.  Too funny.

After breakfast we got our car back to Yogyakarta and arrived at the hostel at 11.30 a.m. and it was straight to bed for much needed sleep.

At 4.00 p.m. Simone, Celine and I ventured to Bedhot for lunch (Niek was still passed out) and talked about the climb.  I could talk about it forever.  They loved it and thanked me for recommending it.  But I think I had to thank them more for doing it with me.  I love these climbs and they will always be an incredible experience but doing them with people that you know and have enjoyed travelling with makes a big difference.  Shared memories we’ll all have forever.

Fit for nothing we relaxed in the hostel and met Areei, our guide from Karimun Jawa, at 8.30 p.m. in Bintang Resto.  We were all too tired to venture to the cinema.  Areei really is a good guy and I would recommend using his tour company www.thextripholiday.com if you want to visit Karimun Jawa.

With a train to catch early in the morning to Jakarta and a lot of sleep to catch up on we crashed early.