We got to Solo without any hassles or delays and located the guesthouse we’d found out about. It wasn’t brilliant but then you can’t expect much for a fiver a night! Besides it was just somewhere to sleep as we were off early the next morning to tackle the Hindu temples in the region. The guesthouse organise tours but of course that would have cost more and you would have been ferried from one site to the other by vehicle. With walking being the main focus of the 4 days that was not an option for us. However we did find out that it was possible to climb Gunung Merapi and that they could organise a guide for us. So we knew it was worth getting back to Solo in time to fit that in.
We simply flagged a cab to get us to Candi Cetho and already we’d saved money! The ride over was lovely and until reaching Solo we had no idea that the area’s agriculture included tea. Never been to an Indonesian tea plantation before and we’re guessing no one else thinks to do it either as there was no evidence of tea rooms like in Sri Lanka and the Cameron Highlands. The temple was steeped in low cloud and mist and the photos are very moody. The sight is quite extensive and has been very well restored. There was even some carved detail left in the stonework. We’d read that you could walk over the tops from that temple sight to the other but the man in the ticket office wouldn’t show us where the beginning of the walk was as we said we didn’t want a guide. We remembered that years ago we’d commented on how much less friendly the Javanese are and it was looking like that was still true.
Anyway we were not to admit defeat at the first hurdle since we knew which way to walk down the road. The roads out there are very quiet so it wasn’t imperative that we found the scenic route. To be honest it was a lovely 10km walk down the valley admiring the tea plantations. Back down at the main junction we decided to try to get some local fodder as we weren’t sure how long the walk the other side would take and wanted to save the sarnie material just in case. Obviously the walk up to this point had been very easy as we didn’t have to watch our step and it was mainly downhill. The challenging part of it was getting used to carrying more gear. In fact we had everything with us, as we weren’t going back to Solo that night. Anyway back at the junction and a small town we found a local food stall open and tried to order a couple of things they were advertising. Steve duly ordered and we patiently waited. Once it had been a while we began to wonder what was going on and then someone else was served before us who had only just arrived. Steve asked again for the food and was told NO! She wasn’t going to serve us and that was that. See what I mean about how unfriendly they can be! Not to mention down right rude.
At the junction we knew it was only 2kms to the next temple, namely Candi Sukuh. What we didn’t realise was that it was 2kms straight up and I’m talking very steep. So with all the gear and no food in our bellies off we set. In the end it was just as well we’d not been served, as I don’t think ploughing our way up that steep hill with full tummies would have been a good idea. By the time we’d been at the next temple for about 20mins we were ravenous so out came the sarnie ingredients. We found a lovely bench in the temple grounds with great views and enjoyed a well-earned rest knowing that the walking for the day wasn’t finished. This temple site was not as extensive as the previous one but the details left on the friezes was very impressive and so we enjoyed it just as much but in a different way. We were lucky both times in that we got there just as the coach loads of local tourists were leaving.
The guard at this temple was much more friendly and he showed us the start of the road that would lead us to the nearest town. Again this was a lovely stroll through local villages and lots of crop farms. Everything is so incredibly neat and the way they prepare the veggies for market is great. All the loose soil is brushed off and the outside leaves on things like cabbages are removed. We got down to the main road but realised that we’d gone slightly wrong somewhere so had to catch a bus to the nearest town. This was a busy little market town and there were supposed to be loads of buses going to Sarangan and our final destination. Unfortunately this turned out to not be true and we ended up having to bargain a fare in a mini-van. We eventually set off and once we realised how far it was and how steep the hills are we didn’t feel like we’d been ripped off too badly. We later learnt that we paid double the fare – so not too bad.
Sarangan turned out to be a lovely little town built round a small lake and surrounded by high peaks. We had some information about a couple of hotels but they turned out to be a bit too rough around the edges for the money they were asking. For the first time in ages we found ourselves traipsing from place to place looking for just the right spot. Don’t forget we’re still carrying all of our gear! Luckily the town wasn’t big enough for this to totally wear us down and we soon found just the place.
Sarangan was very quiet and not only were we the only foreign tourists in town we were in fact the only tourists since it was mid week. Splendid nosh was not going to be an option but we found some tasty enough noodles then went to find out about transport to the beginning of the walk at 5am. One of the hotels in our very out of date Lonely Planet was supposed to be the place so we gave it a whirl. With their few words of English and our few words of Bahasa Malaysia (very similar to Bahasa Indonesia) and of course lots of sign language we got 2 motorbikes organised and a price sussed. I was not looking forward to climbing back up the hill to the start of the trail on the back of a bike but hey it had to beat the extra up hill miles on foot! Time for a very early bath since we’d had a long day of walking and temples and of course had to get up earlier than the birds.
In the end the bike ride wasn’t anywhere near as scary as I’d anticipated and I think most of it was my unease on the back of bikes in any situation. The trail is extremely well cared for and of course very easy to find hence there is no need for guides. The hike up to the top of Gunung Lawu is undertaken by many of the locals as they do it as part of a pilgrimage and many of them like to do it at a leisurely pace and camp overnight. None of that shenanigans for us and we managed to shave the 4/5 hours to the top we were told about down to 3 hours. This instilled us with a lot of confidence but even better than that was the fact that we didn’t feel exhausted at the top. The views going up were fantastic and we managed to get to the top before the clouds came in. From up there we could see Gunung Merapi peeping out through the clouds – our next venture.
True to form we were almost as slow going down as we were up. I wish I knew how to build up my downhill muscles and get the confidence to just go for it instead of thinking about where to place my feet. At one point I landed on a wobbly rock and took a tumble. Not bad but enough to shake me for a little while and it can’t have been very pleasant for Steve suddenly seeing me with my arse as the highest point on my body!!
That evening was of course another quiet one and we simply had a couple of beers on our balcony enjoying the view we had of both lake and mountains. The next morning was lovely and sunny so we walked around the lake and were very pleased at how little our legs ached. Yes they knew they’d done 2 full days of walking but the down hill part didn’t hurt my legs anywhere near as much as it has done in the past. Again we were feeling quietly pleased with ourselves since it was a descent of 1500m in just two and a half hours. We’d soon exhausted all of Sarangan’s attractions so it was time to head back to Solo to organise the final trek.
We managed to organise a trek up Gunung Merapi back at the guesthouse we’d stayed in previously. We looked at a couple of the other hotels in the area but they were no great shakes for double the price. In the end it was better to have a room in the place where we booked the trek as that way we could keep our room past checkout time without being charged more. We had to haggle more over the timing of the trek than the price since we wanted to set off later to avoid being sat freezing cold on the top for 2 hours waiting for the sun to rise. At one point they wanted to charge us more even though we were asking for exactly the same package but actually needed the guide for a shorter length of time. Strangely enough we didn’t feel it was fair to be charged more for less and they quickly came around to our way of thinking.
We had an afternoon to fill so set off to see the cultural sights of Solo – namely its two palaces. Unfortunately both of them were shut by the time we got there. We tried! Instead we helped a couple of groups of students with a tourist survey designed to help them to improve their English skills. Hunted high and low for postcard shops too but failed miserably. I hope postcards aren’t soon going to be a thing of the past.
Another incredibly early bedtime since we had to get up at 1am to drive to the beginning of the walk. We ended up starting the walk at around 2.45am along with heaps of other people. They were mainly in big groups so of course were going slower than us. Getting round people in the pitch black with only 1 torch between the two or us and not sure where the drop offs are is not my idea of fun. We managed to pass the main groups quickly and avoided falling in any ditches. A little further on I took a bit of a tumble but again nothing serious and this time I just felt a fool. It led to me having a good rant and I recall saying something along the lines of call me old fashioned but I like to see where I’m putting my feet and moaning about the walk being no fun at all. Just hiding my embarrassment really! We set off at a steady pace and only had one other big group to get past. However not much further on Steve’s torch started to loose power and a rummage through the bags revealed we had no spare batteries. Great, still dark and now only 1 torch – the guides!! Believe me we will not be this badly prepared for Kilimanjaro and we are never going to do a night climb without a headlamp each, spare batteries, spare bulbs and did I mention spare batteries?! It’s no fun trying to scramble up a mountainside with one hand occupied by a torch – not that I was encumbered with such an item! Oh yeah – neither was Steve now either!!
Once we got beyond the vegetation line the landscape opened up and the sun was beginning to shed some light. You could see well enough for the most part but that didn’t stop Steve taking a tumble this time. The rocks were quite sharp and he actually cut his leg and hand but not badly. By this point all sense of decorum was out of the window anyway and it was a case of pulling yourself up using all 4 limbs. The guide was still setting a good pace but we were keeping up nicely without feeling it was too fast. We ended up getting to the summit in 2 and a half hours and he said that was a record even though he knows he can do it in only 2 hours. Luckily the sunrise was well on its way and we didn’t have to wait around too long getting colder and colder. I did of course manage to feel mighty chilly by the time we’d been up there for 30mins and have vowed to invest in the most super duper gloves I can find. The views from the top were amazing and there was plenty of smoke activity but no lava to be seen you’ll be pleased to hear.
Since we’d had such a mad scramble to get up there I was a little worried as to how it would be going down the top, steepest part. It turned out to be nowhere near as tricky as I thought. Once we got back to the vegetation level and looked back up to the top we were amazed that we’d managed to scramble up there so quickly without feeling shattered – once again we were very pleased with our fitness levels. The guide said that they encourage people to climb in the dark as many groups have seen the top part in daylight and refused to go any further. I have to admit that I can see where they’re coming from as when we looked back it does look like it’s not possible. Very steep and full of loose rocks – don’t think we’d get you up there!
The guide was all on for setting a downhill record too but I had to disappoint him and explain that I’m not as confident or fast going down. Still we got back to the main gate in the same time it took us to climb up and then had to set off down a very steep road to find our car and driver to take us back to Solo. Luckily we met the car coming up the road and went back to the guesthouse for a very welcome coffee before heading back to Solo. Once showered, changed, packed and checked out we had a couple of well-earned beers before heading to the airport.
My biggest fear was that 3 full days of walking including scaling a total of 3000m and of course getting back down again would have it’s toll by Monday morning. Granted I was slower than usual on my bike and the hills did appear steeper but I made it and my legs ached minimally. All-in-all in was excellent preparation; we carried heavier bags one day, ascended steep ups in good time, had a taster of cold, tested out some of our new gear and didn’t go all wobbly legged on the descents. The most important thing we realised was that no walk should be underestimated and it doesn’t matter how much it’s going to cost us to get kitted out properly as it will be worth every ringgit. Besides it’s not as if Kilimanjaro is a one off walk for us and we know that over the years we’ll get more than our money’s worth out of the gear we’re in the process of investing in.
Where will our next adventure take us?
