Before I arrived on Lombok for the first time, I never thought about surfing. Even though I love all activities in the ocean, it never came into my mind. But when I arrived in Kuta and immersed into the spirit, I quickly decided to give it a try.
Kuta and the beaches in the south of Lombok offer many great surf spots for all levels, while it is not nearly as crowded as Bali. Often we went to the spots very early and we were alone.

I found a well experienced instructor, Jen.
We started at Selong Belanak, a beautiful white sandy beach that offers perfect conditions for beginners. I could ride a small wave soon, but I twisted my knee at our first training. I stopped for a few days and went to Gili Trawangan temporary.

I returned soon and after two more days I was able to ride a wave all by myself.
Jen was quite ambitious and took me to Seger Beach at my last day in Lombok. We went there shortly after sunrise to get the best waves at left hand. Already paddling out with my big beginner board was really hard. The current was strong and took even more of my energy.
But: at one time I could ride a huge wave, I guess about 2 meters. I screamed, such a fucking crazy moment! I will never forget those seconds and I want to surf again as soon as possible.

I was always amazed about the popular photo motiv which is shown at the Lonely Planet cover for example: Mount Batok in front, Mount Bromo steaming behind, and the huge Mount Semeru in the background. The stunning scenery is exposed in a vivid light situation, captured during sunrise. A big highlight I wanted to see with my own eyes.

I made some research and quickly I figured out I won’t book a tour. I wanna go off the beaten path.
I took the train to Probbolinggo, where one of the nearest train station is located. To avoid annoying discussions with taxi drivers, I’ve booked the following transfer for a fair price at a travel office in Yogyakarta in advance. My driver was already waiting for me and he drove me to Cemoro Lawang, which takes about 1,5 hrs.
Although it was only his job to drive me there, he continually tried to persuade me to book something: jeep tours, accommodation, food, train tickets … The region lives mainly from tourism and he also wanted a piece of the action. I was warned against such people before. Making clear all your activities are already booked is the best way to stop the sales pitch (nevertheless he came to my room twice at night and asked if he should bring me to Bromo).

Most people come to Cemoro Lawang for one day only, so don’t expect a high level of service. A lot of accommodations are offered by the online booking portals, but it’s not necessary to book it advance, there‘s a huge choice.
You can get a good dinner for a cheap price in a local Warung. Western food is also available. There are supermarkets and souvenir shops, even trekking gear is provided. I strongly recommend to bring some warm clothes as the temperature at night is significant lower as usual in Indonesia. And proper shoes for your little adventure of course. A torch is indispensable, and I also recommend to bring trekking poles. I made the route planning using maps.me. 

Currently it’s impossible to hike up to the crater of Bromo as it’s a restricted area. But you can climb Mount Batok and get a good view to it!
So in the early afternoon I took the „Secret free entrance to Bromo“ (so it‘s called at maps.me) behind Cimara Indah Hotel. A steep path takes you down to the flat area in about 10 minutes. A big prohibition sign stands there, but nobody is watching.
You can walk straight to the foot of Bromo, passing Pura Luhur Poten Hindu Temple. On the right side are toilets and a parking area, guardians are watching there.
They advised me to climb Mount Batok. I was in doubt because it’s really steep, but you‘ll never know if you never try 😉
It’s a challenging way to the summit. Not really a path, sometimes you‘ll need your hands to hold and don’t look back if you‘re afraid of heights. After about 45 exhausting minutes, I finally reached the large summit of Mount Batok. And was the only one there! The view is stunning, you can look into the crater of Bromo (it’s on a lower level) and you see an amazing 360° panorama of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. No crowds, no guides, no entrance fees. An exceptional venture!
I returned to the bottom messy and dirty, with a big smile in my face.

The following day I left at about 3am to get the desired sunrise view. You don’t need your alarm clock, the jeeps racing through Cemoro Lawang will wake you up.
I’ve paid a fee of IDR 20.000 (USD 1,40) at a gate. Some guys drive around and offer to give you a motorbike ride to the parking area, but I walked. It takes a bit more than one hour on a sealed road to Seruni Sunrise Point 2 (you can find it at maps.me), passing a small bridge und a long stairway. And it’s terribly crowded.
At Seruni Sunrise Point 2, you’ll find a huge platform. On the right side, you’ll see small stairs. After them, you have to climb a small section to arrive in a small forest.
Almost nobody was there and the view to Bromo and the surrounding mountains is excellent, just check my pictures. I’ve met a group of travelers I encountered the previous evening and we watched the stunning sunrise together, shared some snacks and experiences.
I made my way back to Probbolinggo with the same guy. He still tried to sell me something.

After my great experience on my first trip to Indonesia (where I stayed in Bali only), I always wanted to discover other places in this huge country. 

On April 11, I arrived in Jakarta early in the morning. Although it’s the second largest city in the world, there‘s not much to do. I enjoyed the amazing view over the endless city at a fancy skybar in the center and rummaged at a large market (Pasar Tanah Abang).

Two days later I went to Yogyakarta. I stayed at Mergangsan, a really nice and quite area in the south. 

One day I got up in the middle of the night to go to the Borobudur Temple, which had been on my bucket list for ages. I arrived at about 4am. At this time, tickets are sold at an associated hotel only (Manohara Resort), and the entrance fee is much higher than during the day (about USD 34, it includes an abundant buffet breakfast at the hotel when you return from the temple). You get a torch and go to the top of the temple in the dark, accompanied by religious songs which cover the entire area. Just before dawn, it’s getting very crowded with selfiestick tourists. I made the best of it and walked around the upper platform to take some good shots without the crowds. Finally I was interviewed by Indonesian students who want to improve their English language skills. That happened very often to me when I was traveling on Java. After Borobodur I went to the so called „Chicken Church“ (Bukit Rhema) to get another amazing view over green Java.

There are a lot of other activities to do in Yogyakarta: Visit Prambanan or another of the dozens temples in the surroundings. Have a little adventure at the caves Jomblang or Pindul. Roam in one of the rainforests (I went to Mangunan). Enjoy the view to Yogyakarta from Bukit Bintang. In town, you can visit Taman Sari Water Castle and the Malioboro shopping street.

From Yogyakarta I made an amazing train journey along the magnificent landscape with thousands of rice fields, and very poor settlements on the other hand. My final destination on Java was Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, which I will  show in the following post.

As I left the Denpasar airport late at night, I realized how badly I missed Asia. As I heard the motorbikes hooting, smelled the fumes of the incense sticks, felt a warm breeze in my hair. Damn, it felt so lovely to be back!

You may recognized that it has been quiet at justhalfaworldaway.com. I took my time and completely charged my batteries. Spent the nights in luxury resorts (for the same price I paid for a campsite before). Spent the days in spas, ate delicious healthy food, rented a bicycle and drove across the incredible green landscape, made a sunrise trek at Mount Batur and enjoyed the sunsets watching the shining green rice terraces.

Yes, Bali was love at first sight. Bali is my paradise.