This is the beginning of the Indonesia travel series. My trip to Indonesia was divided into three legs — Mount Bromo, Bali, then Jogjakarta.

Kurt, my friend from Switzerland, and I booked tickets to East Java, Indonesia. Our plane landed in Solo where we took a grueling 12-hour bus ride to Probolinggo, the jump-off point for Gunung Bromo. We were tired, sleepless and hungry. Our facial expressions started to look like a crumpled piece of paper.

Night fell. We met a smooth-talking travel agent in Probolinggo. He did his usual sales talk, pulled out maps, showed us photos of folks smiling on a mountain trek, the works. Noticing that we were desperate for a clean bed and warm shower, he talked us into paying the fees up front by offering a big discount. We had no Indonesian rupiah left. With a grin on his face, he bid us goodbye and led us to the mini-bus that will take us up. We fell for it.

We arrived the hotel close to midnight already. The plan was set: check in and exchange money, grab something to eat, take a warm shower and rest before the 3:00 am trek. How could I expect things to go that smoothly?

The receptionist at the hotel lobby said in a thick Indonesian accent, "Soreh sir, no rum! (Sorry sir, no room!)" Kurt and I exchanged amused looks and said, "Yeah, funny joke, man. We'd like to check in." The receptionist repeated, "No room," and showed us the rack where all the rooms keys were placed. It was empty. "Maybe you can try the other hotels," he continued.

From the hotel window, we see a small mountain town blanketed in darkness. We helplessly wandered the dark streets to look for a place to stay but to no avail. All hotels were fully booked and hotels didn't allow backpackers to sleep in the lobby. It was freezing, about ten degrees, and we started seeing our breath when we spoke. We wanted to exchange money to buy a hot drink and thaw our frozen limbs and spirits but the only the man who would buy our dollars tried to fleece us. Out of principle, we refused his offer even if meant going hungry for the next 12 hours. The locals said the temperature will dip to zero degrees in a few hours. The cold bites harder when you have an empty stomach.

No photos at this point. Too annoyed and hungry.

Aimlessly wandering the dark streets, I chanced upon this house with the light on. Inside were students hanging out. I caught myself staring at the bowl of warm soup each had in their hands. Their couch looked so soft and inviting, almost seductive. Out of pity, one of the students invited us to enter the house. They offered us a bowl of soup. With broken bahasa Indonesia, I explained that we had no room to stay so they offered us their couch for the rest of the night. We eventually broke the ice and played cards. We didn’t get a chance to learn each other’s names.

We woke up at 3:00am to start our morning trek to Mount Penanjakan, the sunrise viewing point. A small jeep brought us close to the top then we continued by foot. There were about 200 people already there at such an early hour! Everyone was clad in thick clothes and a camera in hand to document the slow rise of that yellow ball of warmth. There were even fireworks for the tourists.

When the sun completely rose, we basked in Mount Bromo’s full glory. I didn't realize how high above ground we were. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, picturesque yet fleeting as daybreak.

From the mountain top, we took the same jeep and headed down to the foot of the volcano. Here you can take the easy way up Mount Bromo: by mule or horse. Or you can do it by foot which will take about 1.5 hours back and forth. The trek was tiring but as I climbed up, the view from the volcano become more stunning with each step. It's an achievement to reach the mouth of the crater after a sleepless night, a dry throat and an empty stomach. The crater smelled like rotten eggs because of the sulfur. The stench was suffocating so we quickly went down after taking a few photos.

A trip to Mount Bromo is a perfect rest point between a long haul trip from Bali to East Java. There's no need to stay longer than one day or two here as the volcano is the only main attraction. Guides will offer side trips to surrounding mountains but I think seeing Bromo is more than enough.

We went back to town and waited for the shuttle for Denpasar, Bali.

TRIP DETAILS:

Date: March 8-15, 2009
Main stops: Gunung Bromo, Bali and Jogjakarta (Indonesia)
The Route:

• Kuala Lumpur to Solo by plane, 2 hours

• Solo to Surabaya by bus, 8 hours

• Surabaya to Probolinggo by bus, 4 hours

• Probolinggo to Denpasar, Bali by bus, 11 hours

• Denpasar to Jogjakarta by plane, 1 hour

• Jogjakarta to Solo by bus, 2 hours