Bromo

Very early Thursday morning (so early it may as well have been Wednesday still) my parents and I embarked on a trip to Mount Bromo for sunrise. We arrived around 4am and were greeted with the coldest temperatures I have experienced for a long time. It was ok at first, but after 15 minutes sitting on a hard cold bench on top of a mountain with cold gusts of wind I was as good as frozen to the spot. The sun couldnt rise fast enough! Before it emerged on the horizon an eeriee glow was cast over Bromo and Semeru, emerging from a valley of mist. It was very other-worldly. The sunrise itself was dwarfed by the amazing view of the mountains.
After the sun had risen we drove down into the valley to climb Bromo. The path to the mountain was black volcanic sand. The sun hadn't managed to lift the mist so we walked with limited vision, occassionally glimpsing the sides of the craters looming over us. If we were weightless we could've been on the moon! The climb up Bromo itself consisted of 200-odd steps straight up one side. From the top you could look down into the crater, though it was mostly obscured by plumes of smoke. Then at our normal waking up time, we headed back to Malang.