Cloud Nine

 

So this chat, inviting me to go to Mount Batur, came in all of a sudden last Thursday and after overviewing my schedule (and being the "let's-just-go" person I am), I decided to hike Mt. Batur. It was my very first time hiking Mt. Batur so I got really excited and just had all these sceneries that I would expect seeing in mind. There were the five of us, with the three of them being my seniors in uni, my friend's brother, and me. Dharma and I departed Denpasar to Bangli at 9.30 pm. The Asia-Australian Monsoon wind really got us, we literally shivered through the whole ride to the friend's place 30 minutes away from the Batur basecamp. As we got to our friend's place, we slept for a few hours and woke up at 2.30 am (I didn't really sleep though, I only slept half way. I couldn't sleep thoroughly). After another 20-minute shivering ride through Bangli's freezing fog, we finally arrived at Batur's basecamp and by foot to the summit we go.

We started walking at 3.30 am, and after some short breaks we got to the summit around 4.50 am. The track wasn't as long as I thought it would be, but it was definitely much more rocky and sandy than I assumed. The summit's a crowd, there were literally people everywhere. I kept my parka and beanie on even though it wasn't as cold as the ride towards here. The stars appeared, but rather embarrassed. The moon was half lit, lighting the camping ground we're currently sitting at. People were starting small bonfires, and we just sat down having a conversation while Dika tried taking a picture of us below the starry sky (didn't capture it well though due to lack of tripod).

Around 6 am, the orange rays started to be seen from afar and people were eagerly standing up by the edges of the crater. The wind blew harder and the fog blew upwards, the sky was no longer seen in sight. The once standing Mt. Agung and Mt. Abang from a distance were also covered with fog. After a couple of useless times of me saying "go away fog", it finally went away (I guess it's not so useless after all). The sky was painted with pastel colours and the mountains were back! We stayed at the summit until 7.30-ish, and decided to go down due to hangry bellies. We really wanted Ikan Mujair Nyat-Nyat, a Bangli legendary food (but it was still closed once we got down, so we ended up eating a bowl of warm bakso instead. Still good). We got to the bottom at 10 am and after getting some breakfast, we head home.

I was really sleepy after the hike, I kept bumping my motor helmet to my friend's helmet during the ride back home. Nevertheless, I was happy to finally be able get my own two feet up a mountain in Bali. Thank you Dika, Dharma, Danan, and Tama for hiking up to the summit with me (and keeping patient enough of my constant "ngantuk kali nok" and "laperrrrrr"), and Henyog for the place we kept ourselves warm at nearby the Batur basecamp. 

To more adventures :)

Details:

- We didn't camp since it was only an average 2 hours hike (one way)

- Takes roughly 2 hours form Denpasar by bike

- What I packed in my Fjallraven Kanken: 1 t-shirt, 1 shorts (didn't use it because change of plans), 1 bandaid pack, 1 lip balm, 1 sunscreen, 1 baby wipes, 1 headlamp, 1 tumbler, 1 power bank, 1 phone cable, 1 camera, 1 extra camera battery, 1 beanie, 1 utensils set, 1 nobi bag, 1 phone, 1 debit card, 1 ID card, some cash, 1 pad, and 1 gorilla pod.

- What I wore on me: t-shirt, bralette bra, harem pants, parka, motorcycle mask, long socks, sneakers.

Tips:

- Remember to fill in your power bank

- Get enough sleep and enough food

- Wear something light on the inside but a thicker outerwear

- Plan the hike ahead and well

- Fill your tumbler and buy some energising snacks (chocolate bars, nuts, power bars)

Pictures mostly taken by me using Panasonic Lumix GF-9.

Edited also by me, using Afterlight and Adobe Photoshop.