Mount Bromo
Mount Bromo
The roiling thunderclouds rumbled in the distance as I made my way up the stairs and upon reaching the top, I immediately noticed the pungent smell of sulphur that permeated the air. The miasmic sulphur was so potent that it ended up agitating one's throat and left some of the other tourists in coughing fits, somewhat akin to the effects of the organosulphur compounds that can be found in teargas.
As I was taking shots for 360 degree panoramas, two men approached me to strike up a conversation. I found the conversation somewhat amusing as one of the men ended up asking about the mountains in Malaysia and smiled proudly when he was told that there were no prominent volcanoes there but frowned disappointingly when he was told that Mount Kinabalu was higher than any of the mountains in Java.
Shortly after, I excused myself and began to make my way around the rim of Bromo in a clockwise direction. I risked the circumnavigation despite the obvious precarious nature of the fine volcanic sand (that just crumbled beneath your feet) as not doing so would have just left me with a sense of regret. The journey became more perilous the further I went but the obvious photo opportunities that lay in wait on the other side spurred me on.
I ended up going quite slowly at first as the slightest misstep would spell my demise but picked up pace the more comfortable I became and the further i progressed. I was pleasantly surprised upon reaching the other end of the rim as I was greeted by yet another crater that adjoined Bromo that had green vegetation lining its sides. This crater was home to the intra-caldera vent of Segarawedi Lor. There was a stone marker at the highest point that provided one of the best viewpoints so far and the fact that the place was completely devoid of other people also helped.
