This story is about five rookies in mountain climbing, trying to reach the peak of Mt. Rinjani in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.
Among others, I have the longest distance to travel, from Bengkulu to Jakarta and then to Bali and finally to Lombok. Four islands, four airports, one hour time difference and many hours of waiting...yeah! that's how big Indonesia is...(Not to mention two harbors on my way back... :D... )
I'll start my story from my hometown on October 29.
Bengkulu-Jakarta (29 October 2013)
My flight to Jakarta was the last flight on that day and during the day I still had to teach two classes in the afternoon which were completed at 4.40 pm...(while my flight was on 6.25 pm). Luckily, I have finished my packing the day before. One backpack and one camera bag for ten days' journey :)
I went to the airport (which usually takes about 20 minutes by motorcycle) at 5.30 pm and still made it on time, well, not exactly on time according to the rules of the airlines, but in Bengkulu, they'll wait for you until the last minute :p... and my flight was half an hour delayed :D
I reached Soekarno Hatta International Airports at about 8.00 pm. My friend said that she would pick me up at the airport and that I should wait for her. That night, I stayed at her house because my next flight to Bali was on the next day. Her work hour was extended that night which means that I had to wait longer...
While waiting, I felt something strange happened when I was making steps. When I looked at my shoes, I saw that the soles were crumbling down. I didn't see this coming. I brought no sandals with me and that shoes were the only means to cover my feet at that time. I sent text to my friend to help me solving this problem. She offered to borrow her friend's shoes which were a number higher than my size. I thought that it would be very difficult to climb a mountain with oversize shoes.I planned to buy a new one but I panicked a bit because I thought at that time my friend picked me, there would be no more stores open. So, plan B is to buy a new one in Bali or Lombok.
My friend picked me at about 10.30 pm and she offered me to visit a traditional market near her house just in case some shoe stores were still open...and voila!!! I found one still open at midnight! Jakarta is amazing! It was a small store. The shoes were arranged in one big pile without any rack. I have to dig in to find the fitted one, but I didn't care...I found new shoes and I was happy. It cost me IDR.65K...a very cheap one to replace my €65 shoes.. :)
My old shoes would have to be let go although it was still fixable. But there is no way I could brought it with me on my journey. So, the garbage bin in front of my friend's house became it last resting place... :)
Staying at my friend's that night, I tried accompanying her unpacking and repacking her back. She had a very early flight and had no plan to sleep and we planned to went to the airport together. I didn't realize that I was very exhausted and fell asleep. I woke up because she called me...from the airport!! She left me behind because I actually had a later flight than her and she thought that I could use some more minutes to rest. Well, thank you for the call...otherwise, I might woke up late and missed my flight! :)
Jakarta-Denpasar, Bali (30 October, 2013)
I met other "contenders" at Soekarno Hatta Int'l Airport that morning while waiting for our flight at 8.45 am. Some of the contenders I met during my previous journey to Ujung Kulon, West Java. Some were new friends, a friend of a friend. We talked about our baggage, some are light traveler, some aren't :D. As rookies, we actually have very little idea of what to bring and how much and our interpretations of information provided by friends or blogs were shown in our size of luggage :p...
We reached Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali at about 11.35 am which was an hour ahead of Jakarta time. There, we had to wait for the next flight to Lombok.
Ngurah Rai airport had a major renovation at that time so everything was a bit confusing. From domestic arrival to domestic departure, there were a lot of asking and walking involved. The flight to Lombok was at 1.55 pm so we still have time to grab some lunch.
Denpasar-Lombok (30 October 2013)
The flight only took about 35 minutes and used a small airplane. This was my first time flying with small plane and considered my experiences with airplanes...let say it was NO less worriying.. ;)
Luckily, the weather was very nice and during the flight I had a chance to see Bali island, the sea, and Lombok island in their "miniatures" :D
We arrived in Lombok Praya International Airport and met the other team members. After buying necessary logistics in Mataram city, we went to Senaru Village, the nearest village of Mt. Rinjani, by a rent car and stay there for one night before the real journey started....
Next...
