Cold Air

Dito, Mimi, Dephu, Anes, and I decided to take a weekend trip to Dieng, to escape the heat of Yogyakarta and experience some mountain air.  Dieng is in the highlands of central Java, and about a 5 hour car ride from Yogya.  A few needed food stops were also made along the way.  Dephu drove, and as a survivor of the ride, can attest to her abilities as a professional Indonesian driver.  Our road trip consisted of jamming out to an array of international music, with an occasional gasp on my part with our many close calls to large trucks speeding down the curving road.  We arrived in Dieng making our way to Anes’ home, had some hot tea, and went to the Hindu temple close to her home.  Exploring the area at night, we took our time enjoying the mountain scenery and fresh air.  We ended the night exchanging stories around a small coal fire, going to bed early as we planned to wake up at 4am. 

I was surprised at our ability to wake up fairly easily at 4am, having had less than 5 hours of sleep.  We wanted to experience sunrise in Dieng, with mountain top views, only if you can manage the hike at 4 in the morning.  It was worth it!  We made it up the cliff, just in time to see the first rays of light break the horizon.  Although there was a lot of cloud cover, we could see Merapi.  We spent some time on the cliff while people exchanging stories of Merapi’s recent volcanic eruptions.