Cirebon: Nothing to see here. Very cheap as we paid only 40,000 Rp for a room (cheapest in Indonesia) and the people are very nice.
Semarang: Probably our favourite city in Java. It has super nice people who will all leave you alone as they will think you are expats as no tourists go there. They have some great Dutch colonial architecture and its comfortably the prettiest city in Java, with the old railway headquarters and the canal, which is dirty but atmospheric. There is only enough to keep you busy for a day, but there is not much traffic, its clean and its just a pleasant place to take a break. If Java is breaking you like it did to us, then I'd recommend a couple of nights here to unwind.
Solo: Underwhelming. We didn't even visit anything here. We just kind of hung around. Its a poor man's Yogya and we didn't even like Yogya that much. We met Ash and Reli here though, which was cool as we would travel with them to Bromo and had a really cool time hanging out with them, although they have managed to hook us on Game of Thrones lol.
Probolinggo: Didn't see much outside of the bus station and hotels. The third hotel from the bus station is the best value for money we had in Java. Everyone around the bus station is a total bastard. They wanted to charge us 25,000 for a mie goreng and lie and lie and lie. I hate the people of this town. They tried to force us into taking private transport to go to Bromo for 4 hours before we could get the local bus and even then they were fighting each other. They had done the same in Surabaya when we usually get local prices because we speak some Bahasa. When one guy had said that in Surabaya another guy punched him because he was letting us take local transport. They have some serious problems here. Also when we left they lied about the bus price and then threw us off the bus when we refused to pay the new inflated price and we had to walk 4km back to the bus station before we got a new one. Really make sure you fight hard here and if you have to get a bus wait for it round the corner outside the station where the touts can't find you.
Bromo: Yet more hassle. We were getting worn down in Java now. The public bus eventually took us for 25,000 up to Cemara Lawang, where they ambushed us for a 75,000 Rp entrance. Shit. Ash and Reli said they didn't have enough money and they eventually let us go for 25,000 each. Nice. They then dropped us at a homestay where we paid 200,000 for one room before we realised there were alternatives. There are a lot of homestays at the top, so if you take public transport have a look around and see which ones you prefer. Everyone wanted us to take a jeep and some kid was selling hats and gloves. He wanted 15,000 from a local for both, but then asked me for 20,000 for just a hat. No shame. We paid 25,000 for two hats in the end as he was a nice kid. We opted not to climb up the side mountain for sunrise as the weather had been super cloudy. We were lucky as it was cloudy that morning and we didn't miss anything. We decided to walk the 3km across the plain to Bromo, where we were hassled by motorbike people for half the way before they gave up. The 'tours' take you to sand dunes across the plain. This is laughable because if you walk across the middle you see the same sand dunes, but the jeeps skirt them to the right so you think you have seen something extra and then drop you off 1km from the volcano anyway, so you aren't walking much less by crossing yourself and its so much more scenic. I'd recommend walking across if you want the place to yourself a bit. It was scenic and therapeutic walking across the middle. We walked up the few steps to the top and looked down on Bromo. Its really pretty and well worth the visit. At last something world class to offset the growing dislike of Java we were experiencing. Java probably became the worst place overall on our trip for hassle, while Sumatra was the place we had the least hassle. If they flipped Way Kambas and Ujung Kulon onto the opposite islands it would be complete. Ash walked the whole perimeter of the volcano and has one of those action cams that look amazing. Apparently they work underwater as well and given that our cameras two biggest weaknesses are capturing scenery and being useless underwater, I think an action cam will be our first purchase for our next trip. Bromo is amazing. Just be prepared for the hassle.
Bondowoso: Nice little town and because Cannelle was sick we spent a few days here in a hotel with a swimming pool. We tried to sort out accommodation up Ijen but the hotels were super rude and apparently keep themselves free only for tour groups. Fuckers. I would have gone up in the afternoon and walked the full distance (9km from the last town) and back down for free, but Cannelle was too sick. So we had no option but to take private transport. If you intend to take private transport then I recommend going from Banyuwangi. I reckon you can get a car there for 250,000 or 300,000 to get up for the blue fire. We met someone who took an ojek for 150,000 return from Banyuwangi. We met an idiot in the street who wanted 700,000 and said the cheapest he could do was 650,000. We told him 400,000 or nothing. He said no. So we went with the hotel for 600,000 and get the security at least. Then the idiot came back to us saying ok for 400,000 3 hours before we left. He said we had an agreement with him. I told him that he'd said no. Fucking idiot. So you can get a car for 400,000 or 450,000 in Bondowoso if you stick to your guns, but I still reckon its easier in Banyuwangi and I like the people in both towns, but Banyuwangi is nicer and their bus station people are not arseholes like Bondowoso. Again we were thrown off a bus and had to walk back 2km. Fucking bastards. I was tired of Java. The next one agreed a fee of 16,000 to Banyuwangi and then insisted it was now 25,000. I told him I was too big for him to throw me off, he would get only 16,000 and I would only pay him in Banyuwangi bus station. Arsehole. I was tired of these games. He tried every trick to get money off me. He claimed the other guy didn't speak English so had got the price wrong. We spoke in Bahasa so no go. Next he said he was just a passenger, even though he clearly worked there. Then he told me he had to clear security outside. I said ok when they come on and they never did. Just a fat fuck who wanted more money. Even at the end he begged for 25,000. Bastard.
Ijen: Its cold at the top so take some warm clothes. You do not need a guide under any circusmstances. Not even to go down to the blue fire, no matter what they say. You could take a jeep up the trail. Its that obvious. Also there are about 100 other people making the climb at least so you can just follow them. The blue fire was not as impressive as some photos and its touch and go whether it is worth the effort to go up early and freeze your balls off to see it. It was raining though, so maybe that affected it a bit. Cannelle was scared to go down until I pushed her and it is slippery, but I don't think its that dangerous if you don't take stupid risks and we were both ok vertigo wise. The hike down is nice, though the rain was making us damp and super cold. The blue fire is supposed to be natural, but seemed to be artificial as they were stoking fires. I guess it could be due to the rain. Maybe it put out the fire and they had to stoke it again, because it had looked more blue from up top before the rain came. The sulphur is not as bad as everyone says and you don't need one of their stupid masks. You just need a material you can breathe through. I used the sleeve of my jumper and it was fine, though my throat was burning a little by the time we got back up to the rim. The slow reveal of the lake as the sun comes up is stunning and it was probably the most uniquely beautiful of all the volcanos we had been to so far. Beautiful turquoise waters. Little bit of cloud from the sulphur, but it was undoubtedly a highlight. Its a must see and along with Bromo and Ujung Kulon they are the three highlights of Java. We met a French woman at the top and chatted with her on the way down (which is also a beautiful walk). Its a lot of hassle to do Bromo and Ijen on your own, but I'd still recommend it over the tours between Bali and Yogya, because most of the tourists had to leave before the lake was clear and at its most beautiful.
Banyuwangi: Nice town. Nicest people in Java and a nice antidote to all the shit we had to put up with on that island. Go to Ijen from here as its a nice place to base yourself. They have bullshit prices to the port for Bali but we paid 5,000 for each angkot, even though you could just find the 6 in downtown and go straight there for 5,000. Goodbye Java and thank fuck its over. We saw a lot of nice things but we were so tired of all the bullshit in Java. We left Sumatra feeling very sad, we left Java with a sigh of relief. No question for me which is better. We just had Lombok and Bali left now and then it was off to Sydney to earn some money back lol.
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