I've been there
. Ijen is in a very isolated part of East Java. I went there about 12 years ago to have a look at the volcano. To get there you go by bus to a town whose name I've forgotten now, and then hitch a ride in the back of a truck going to the Ijen coffee plantation. They don't let down the tail gate of the truck, you clamber in over it (I do not clamber easily). If I remember rightly we had a burst tyre on the way -- everybody clambers out while they fix the tyre and then clambers back in.
There's a plantation guest house where you can stay for a couple of nights, with a few
warungs (small shops)round about where you can buy bottled water, instant noodles, and snacks. Boiled peanuts are very popular. (You mean you eat them raw! Doesn't it give you a stomachache?)Excuse me a moment while I go and have a look at my photos.
In the morning I went by
ojek (motorcycle taxi) to the base of the mining camp. Kawah Ijen means Ijen Crater. It's in the foothills of a volcano called Merapi (very popular name for volcanoes -- just means firy). I had some good views of the volcano belching out smoke. The path to the crater goes up a steep ridge and then down into the crater itself. The vegetation either side of the path is mainly scrubland and conifers of one sort or another(
pinus in Indonesian). I was reasonably fit in those days but I was definitely panting by the time I'd ambled my way up to the top -- and all I was carrying was a small backpack with a bottle of water and some sunscreen. It took me about an hour to get up but the miners trot up and down the path much faster than I was going and with a
pikulan (long piece of wood with a big panier at each end) full of sulphur rocks (I don't know the specific gravity of sulphur but I'm sure they were pretty heavy). They certainly didn't seem to be showing any ill effects from this.
In the crater itself they chip out the exposed sulphur rocks from the surface of the ground. There's a grey-green lake at the bottom of the lake which I didn't want to get too close to as it was giving off an unhealthy-looking steam. The water running down the sides of the crater was quite hot and smelt horrible, though it's recommended for skin complaints and the complexion, apparently. I did try washing my face in it, but can't say whether it had much effect! Smoke comes out of the ground in places and if the wind happens to be in the wrong direction you can get a lung full which is not very pleasant -- eyes and nose streaming and a terrible smell of something that has gone badly wrong with the drains.
PS. Having been to Ijen makes me a veteran according to Anu.
Bingley
