My Dad fulfilled his dream to view Mount Bromo at age 76 safely and without strenuous steep walking uphill, thanks to Bromo Eco Tourism making it possible!😊
My Singaporean family and friends just had a smashing holiday at Mount Bromo, with a private tour customized for my elderly folks on an adventure to view Mount Bromo, as their retirement bucket wish list on our East Jawa holiday. To begin our list of drama for the agency: one has weak knees issues and need help to walk down even a 6-seater car, another has a weak stomach and motion sickness having to throw out on a long road trip. I prefer my Dad not to walk too far any strenuous steps uphill so as not to exhaust him and the best part, I have acrophobia!
We are very grateful despite all these problems to overcome, the affable agency boss, Anjang and his very caring driver, Arwin, were still so kind and willing to customize a most elderly friendly private tour for my family, thoughtfully bringing us to Seruni Viewpoint, instead of King Kong Hill, when we were completely clueless how best to plan this trip from Surabaya city. With that, we saved the hassle of walking 1.5 hours on the steep mountain peak, braving a 10 degree Celsius of cold overnight in our winterwear till sunrise, as safety always come first.💯
After a windy 5 hours ride with 5 sleepyheads, some snoring away, in the 6-seater to reach the mountaintop where Seruni View Point is, I attempted to brace my courage and walked the 21-degree angle uphill slope to reach the observation tower. However, just when I had reached barely 10 metres uphill, my lower limbs in my sturdy Timberland mountain trekking boots simply froze in fear. I knew acrophobia has gotten the better of the scaredy cat in me and I had to unabashedly walk back downhill in the chilly 4:30am weather in the wee hours of the morning. The rest of travelers around me are excitedly walking upward to seize the best spot for the Mount Bromo crater and beckoning sunrise..
Just when I thought I would regretfully miss the stunning sunrise when my Dad and our elderly friends had already proudly reached the observation tower, Arwin quickwittedly spoke with the owner of the provision hut near where I was resting to let me go up the hut’s 2nd level open deck to place my camera video standee there, and best part to view the stunning sunrise. He also initiated to walk backwards up the steps in front of me to block the open stairway view from the well-worn ceramic steps till I reached the flat open-air platform to help me eliminate the visual fear of heights. That was an utterly sweet gesture and very kind of Arwin, and most unexpected! 🥲 Viola! My jaw simply dropped as I behold what is before my eyes! 😮
The cloud like thick white morning fogs encircling the puffing crater as it gently emerges from the iridescent glow of the sun rays simply took my breath away! I have seen nothing like that before. It feels celestial and I was mesmerized!
We certainly have the best and most earnest driver who went the extra mile in helping each of us get the best sunrise view spot, so that our overnight trip is not wasted. We are really grateful to Bromo Eco Tourism for assigning Arwin to us, not to mention we are all impressed by Arwin’s amazing driving skill up the 2,500 metres mountaintop. This fella knows the route like the back of his hand, even in the dark of night! It’s just a matter of one wrong turn and wrong speed could cause the car to overturn and tumble down the merciless mountain slope. Pardon me for my wild imagination! 🙄
I had the preconceived notion that I would expect sand howling fiercely and hurling all over me at the sea of sand at the foot of Mount Bromo so we wanted to scrap the sea of sand with the dissipating morning fog welcoming the fragrance of sates stalls, and head straight to breakfast at a fusion cafe. Yes, you guessed it! I was imagining The Mommy 1 desert storms scenes! 🫣Arwin knew our fears being first time visitors and assured us that the sea of sand experience was way safe and certainly an experience not to be missed. We went ahead thankfully! Otherwise, I would be beating myself up with my ignorance and letting my Dad and family friends down for flying in from Singapore, and missing such a great sight to behold and take cool photos on the red jeep with! 😝Haha!
Mount Bromo is certainly attainable even for scaredy cats with acrophobia like myself and elderly folks with ailments. You just need a fantastic driver like Arwin from Bromo Eco Tourism to make it possible! Thanks Anjang for the wonderfully packed breakfast sets you prepared for us (that was a sweet surprise!) and thanks to our Batman with his batman mobile, Arwin, we get to have enough “pit stops” along the way for toilet breaks, drink fresh coconut juice and get great East Jawa coffee powder and recommended sambal chili from the minimart! We would strongly urge everyone to take Bromo Eco Tourism’s advice on the best travel itinerary to visit Mount Bromo and Tumpak Sewu waterfall and not try to be smart Alec. Being an established professional tour agency, they certainly know best the better routes and where to stay, even less travelled, and how to ease the extremities and tiredness of travelling on such long road trips to a most pleasant and much more restful experience for young and old!
Thanks Bromo Eco Tourism! We have the best mountaintop experience because of Anjang and Arwin! Choosing you to arrange our private tour is the best decision we have made! 😊
I had taken the videos and shots on this trip for everyone’s viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
Contributed by Lynn See, Singapore
