Day 1 (27-4-2014)

Arrived at Juanda International Airport at around 6.00 pm local time after 2 ½ hour flight from Johore Bahru. Immigration clearance was fast and our hired driver was there waiting for us. Another 2 ½ hour drive, we soon arrived at Malang and had a short city tour before checking in Ibis Style Hotel Malang.

The stylish hotel we stayed.

The cute and colourful sleepers provided to hotel guests

Eco friendly cafeteria

We did not go out and were busy arranging transport for the Mt Bromo tour the next day. Actually we tried to arrange before coming to Malang. However, the terms were not favorable. So we decided to get our transport in Malang. The driver who took us to Malang also quoted a very high price for the car rental.

Day 2

After breakfast, we were on our way to Mt Bromo, an active  volcano situated about 51 km away from Malang. Most of the tourist will travel to Surabaya and put up a night in Progolinggo. From Progolinggo, they will wake up early around 1.00 am in the morning and take a jeep to Mt Bromo to catch the sunrise. However, we did not do this because it would be too tired and we didn’t intend to watch the sunrise.  After about 2 hours of bumpy and winding road, we arrived at the National Park. We switched to a jeep and entrance fee is Rp 72,000 per pax. The jeep rental is Rp 450,000.

At the foothill of Taman Nasional Bromo Tengger Semeru

The jeep that took us up Mt Bromo

Mt Bromo is situated in Taman National Bromo Tengger Semeru. We arrived at the sunrise watching station around 10.00 am. It was very cloudy and misty, so we could not see anything. Anyway, we were not here to watch the sunrise. The weather was very cool and we enjoyed the fresh air all to ourselves! We took some pictures and soon we were on our way to Mt Bromo.

Our young and friendly driver Setiawan

The sunrise watching station, all to ourselves!

After crossing the sand field, we arrived at the foothill of Mt Bromo. You can choose to walk up to the crater of the volcano or take a pony which costs you Rp 100,000. Of course we took the pony as walking will take a long time as it is not near. The pony only takes you to the footsteps where you will still need to climb up the steps to reach the crater of the volcano.

At first my pony was quite rebellous! He refused to move. After some taming from the pony boy, he finally subdued but was still quite reluctant to carry me!

Mt Bromo cowboy and cowgirl! Haha

However, it’s worth walking up the steps as at the top, you can get a panoramic view of the sand field as well as other mountains around. We did not stay long as the astringent odor of sulphur coming out from the crater was too strong.

See the white fumes coming out from the crater! Smell of astringent sulphur!

The steps to the crater, not many people.

Take a shot before climbing the steps!

An airview of the sand field from the top of Mt Bromo

Taking a rest ….

According to the pony boy, if you come after watching sunrise, it will be very crowded here with more than a hundred pony taking the tourist to the destination. The trip by pony will be very dusty and you can hardly climb up the steps to the volcano crater as there too many people climbing up!

At the top of Mt Bromo..

On the way back, stopped at Telo for potato ice cream. It was not yummy and tasty at all!

This outlet has a restaurant and a minimarket which sells products made from sweet potatoes!

For lunch, we tried the bakso, ( one type of meat balls) at Bakso President, which is situated behind the Hotel Savanna. This bakso store is not very big, but is very popular among the locals. It is just beside the railway track. However, I find it a bit salty.

Taking bakso at Bakso President

The Bakso President is just beside this railway track

Then we went to Oen Restaurant for desserts as highly recommended by Tripadvisor reviewers. I don’t find anything special about the desserts here. This outlet has been operating since 1930.  It was started by the Dutch. We just ordered ice cream and ‘es buah’, a blended ice with mix fruits. It is a bit pricy. I think a lot of people patronize this place more because of nostalgic sentiments as they display a lot of pictures during Dutch occupation in Indonesia.

Restaurant Oen, famous amoung the foreign tourists as well as locals

Opened since 1930..

Es buah

For dinner, we went to Inggil Restro, another restaurant highly recommended by the Tripadvisor reviewers. We ordered ‘ayam penyet’, ‘ikan keli’, ‘sambal mangga’ and ’ulam’. I would say the food tastes good here, not very spicy and salty, just nice. The food is not so expensive either. Here, you get to study some history of Indonesia, as they display a lot of pictures and items of the ancient Indonesia. It is worth visiting!

In front of Inggil Restro

Collection of all types of face masks inside the restaurant

Display of vintage collections

Our dinner, still got one more dish..

Day 3

After breakfast, it was time to check out and depart to Surabaya. On the way, we stopped at Agrowisata Apple Orchard to pluck apples and guavas.

At the guava farm

Of course you need to pay an entrance fee of Rp 45,000 per pax. Each person is allowed to pluck 2 guavas and 2 apples. The price also includes one simple meal, either one plate of ‘bakmi’ , (noodles) or sandwich and a glass of fruit juice. Other than that, actually there is not much to see over here.

The apple tree. This species of green apple is not sour at all!

Plucking the apples!

After a bumpy 3 hours drive, we arrived at Ibis Basuki Rahmat Hotel Surabaya.

Hotel lobby

Hotel cafeteria

At Surabaya, we did not have any particular itinerary. So after checking in, we walked to the Tujungan Plaza which is about 2 km away from the hotel  for lunch and shopping. We had nasi special Ipang, a mix rice with ‘ayam penyet’, something like our ‘nasi lemak’. The avocado juice is good, must try!

Day 4

After breakfast, we took a cab to the Airport for departure. The hotel staff told us it is about Rp 120,000 excluding toll, which is less than Rp 20,000. We boarded a Blue Bird taxi. The driver was friendly and he told us he worked in KL before. Traffic was smooth and soon we were on the highway heading to Juanda International Airport as we could see from the signboard. Then suddenly we were out of the highway again but going through a crowded and congested small town. I asked the driver how come the highway to the airport needs to go through a small town, he said this is the only way to airport. Finally we arrived at the airport with meter charges totaling Rp 185,000 including toll fee. LOL!  Apparently  we were taken for a ride!  I think he must have learned the tricks from the cab drivers in KL as our cab drivers here are well known for overcharging the passengers!

Juanda International Airport, Surabaya

Arrived at Johor Bahru at around 3.45 pm and was 15 minutes earlier according to schedule.  However, all the passengers were not allowed to disembark because of heavy rain. We were told to wait for about 15 minutes to 20 minutes for the rain to stop. Gate 4 aerobridge was not useable as announced by the pilot. In the end we waited for nearly 1hour before the pilot decided to taxi the aircraft to gate 1 to disembark via aerobridge. LOL!

Over all, it was not a very enjoyable trip!

Note: RM 100.00 = Rp 320,000.00

The post Malang, Mt Bromo, Agrowisata Apple Farm, Surabaya 4D3N 2014 tour appeared first on My Story.

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