Travel | We Bring you Elsewhere – Riding Indonesia
Indonesia, a Southeast Asian nation made up of thousands of volcanic islands, is home to hundreds of ethnic groups speaking many different languages. It’s is known for its beaches, volcanoes and jungles sheltering elephants, tigers and Komodo dragons. With 17,508 islands, the country of Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago made up of thousands of volcanic islands. Part of the ring of fire Indonesia is part of the “ring of fire” and has the largest number of active volcanoes in the world. Eruptions and Earthquakes are frequent. At the same time, El Nino phenomenon has made the weather very unpredictable since 2014. We will have to deal with it!
Our journey starts in Lombok and our plane lands in a downpour, under a dark monsoon sky. We were initially drawn to Indonesia by the mighty Gunung Rinjani, Indonesia’s second-highest volcano (3,726m). Unfortunately, the weather conditions are pretty bad and the access to Gunung Rinjani has been closed. We decide to board a speed boat to be in Bali the next day. On Bali, you can lose yourself in the chaos of Kuta surf wild beaches in the south or just hang out on Nusa Lembongan. Instead, will spend 4 days in the middle of Bali, the area around Lake Batur is dominated by the dramatic volcanoes of the central mountains and hillside temples.
Bali is so much more than just a fun-in-the-sun retreat, the inhabitants of this small island are indeed generous, genuinely warm people. There’s also a fun, sly sense of humour behind the smiles. What a delight to hang around with our local crew Danny and Together, they really made our time in Bali precious.
for a well deserved local lunch.
Our journey brings us later to the center of the island of Java where lies Indonesia’s vibrant city of Yogyakarta, known for gamelan music and traditional puppetry.Gunung Merapi is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. Located approximately 28 kilometres north, smoke can be seen emerging from the mountaintop at least 300 days a year, and several eruptions have caused fatalities in the past. In the light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes and is under a very active volcano monitoring program.
We have to be cautious and stay in the safe areas wich still offers some very decent slopes and some exciting singletracks. East Java and the Sea of Sand Mount Bromo is an active volcano and part of the Tengger massif (2,392 m) nested in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The name of Bromo derived from Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu creator god. Sitting in the middle of a vast plain called the “Sea of Sand”, Gunung Bromo is a sacred place : on the fourteenth day of the Hindu festival of Yadnya Kasada, the Tenggerese people, will travel up the mountain in order to make offerings of fruit, rice, vegetables, flowers and sacrifices of livestock to the mountain gods by throwing them into the caldera of the volcano.
We are very lucky as the local authorities agrees to let us hike the volcano and ride down the actual slopes of Bromo. It’s definitively the highlight of this trip !
We are not mountain bike superstars, just a bunch of average joes in love with mountain bike and this is truly one of most exciting riding experience. At ADVENTURE WE LIKE we actually believe that everyone should have and seize the opportunity to ride such an amazing place!
For more information visit adventurewelike.com.
Words & Photos: Thiromana Yin, Florent Telliez + Florent Poilane