After separating with my amazing new friends in Klaten I found myself on a train headed to Surabaya with few expectations or ideas of how the next few days would unfold. I decided to schedule a few days in the city for a change of scenery, before venturing towards Bromo mountain. I figured rather than exploring on my own I'd leave it in the hands of some friendly locals, I only hoped the amazing hospitality I had experienced thus far would continue. After some back and forth on Couchsurfing, I finally settled my plans to stay with Titi (her aunt and cousin) the same girl I'd agreed to travel to Bromo with, and as an added bonus she offered to pick me up from the station. As I exited the station into the swarm of eager taxi drivers I felt a swell of relief when I could utter the words, "A friend is picking me up". This of course sent eyeballs rolling, none of the drivers wanted to believe that the little white girl had a friend coming to get her. True to her word though, Titi and her cousin Galih soon arrived, as friendly and full of life as I was expecting.
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While my visit to Indonesia didn’t include much in terms of sightseeing there were a few things I wanted to make sure to accomplish. The first, Borobudur, I completed within a few days of arrival, the other though would take some time. I hoped to visit Mount Bromo in East Java, a place I had heard about via various travel blogs I’d been reading. From the information I found one was to work their way via public transport to the town of Cemora Laweng, wake up much earlier than the sun and hike two hours in complete darkness to the viewpoint where you’d join loads of other tourists. I didn’t bother thinking about the logistics of this trip and just jumped into it.
People often ask me why I travel and as time goes by my answer to that question has evolved, from a simple desire to explore to something much deeper. The first time I left home it was to fulfill my thirst for adventure, to see somewhere new and experience a culture different from my own. During my service trip to Jamaica in 2009, I realized that meeting and interacting with the local people is an integral part of [my] travel. Now, after two years of living [and teaching] in a foreign country, countless Couchsurfing experiences, volunteering and exploring nearly 20 countries I’ve realized people really are at the core of it all.
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AsiaIndonesiaWell known as the parent to ever-famous Bali, this is a country that has so much more to offer. Similar to the Philippines the beauty is spread out over thousands of islands, which means you need time. Once you start exploring, trust me, you won't want to stop. Categories
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