The God of Mountain, Friends, Failure, and a Trip to Indonesia

Two of my very good friends were talking on a video call - about how we should do something together before me getting married. At first, we mentioned something like walking the Mount Fuji in Japan. Then, one of them suddenly said, in a challenging manner, why don't we hike on a volcano in Indonesia. Not willing to back off from a challenge, here we go - a trip to Mount Rijani - the home of the God of Mountain.

We started with a high spirit. Everything was fun. We had some pretty decent meals in Bali, had spa, and so on. This type of "vacation haven" is not my type of holiday. Still, spending time with friends whom I haven't met in half year is simply awesome.

The adventure then started. We took a low cost domestic flight from Bali to Lombok. There was barely air conditioning during the flight (was that ok?). It reminded me of the good old days of traveling in Europe during my life as an exchange student. We then took a three hour car ride to arrive at a hostel near mountain Rijani. Basic, but we got air conditioning and hot water, so I was grateful.

Waking up early in the morning, we got on a truck to the starting point of the trek. And the journey began. At first, the walk was slightly dull. Very dry, very dusty. And at the first lunch spot, there were way too many trekkers. It's as noisy as a night market. With so many people, some low quality, impolite tourists are inevitable. Having said that, it was nice that someone was there to feed you with hot food while you are hiking in such a remote area.

After the lunch, the hike got more challenging. And at the same time it got more scenic. And as we started a bit later than other trekkers, we were alone and it was much quieter, and I started to enjoy the hike more and more.

Then, my friend cramped. First, it was his calves. Then it got to his hamstring, then his upper leg muscles, on both legs. It was obvious that he was in such pain and it was impossible for us to continue the hike after some resting. We called the trek off.

Truth to be told - I was disappointed. After all, we planned for a long time for this trip and we travelled a long way to the god-damned island. Still, I am proud and glad that we made the decision of leaving the mountain together. It doesn’t matter what you think or say - what you do matters and reflect your real quality and friendship. 

We got back to the spot where we had lunch, and camped there. It was a completely different scene without all the people. It's so quiet and peaceful. And the next morning, I saw the first sunrise in my life. It's actually one of the best camping spot I have been to. When life gives you lemon, eat the lemon and try to enjoy the sourness. You might like it.

On the same day, we took a bumpy ride of ferry back to Bali. (Unfortunately, one of our friends vomited again.)

Before taking the ferry, we randomly looked for things to do in Bali. We saw a hiking track on Mount Batur. So on the next day, we went on another hike on another active volcano.

We imagined it to be a casual tourist spot which to be honest, would be quite boring. We just needed something to kill time in Bali. Fortunately, we were wrong.

On our way, there was a very dodgy coffee bean farm. My friend and I suspected that we would be locked there and be turned into slave farmers. Luckily, we were released soon once we have shown that we had zero interests in purchasing any products from that farm.

The hike on Mount Batur turned out to be the highlight of the trip. The tour guide was a bit silly and extremely friendly, and had his own sense of huomr. He kept playing with his walking stick with random kung fu moves in a self entertaining way. He cooked eggs and banana for us with natural steam from the volcano. And the view was absolutely stunning. At the same time, there were many trials of snake and a fire in the mountain opposite to us. We only managed to get down the hill until it’s completely dark. I would happily classify that trip as an adventure. We ended the day with a lot of meat in Naughty Nuri - which was by far the best meal we had in Bali.

A few days later after the trip, I am still a bit upset that I could not got to the top of Moun Rijani - there's a real sense of un-fulfillment. Maybe it is not that easy to visit the God of Mountain. Yet, outdoor activities (or life) does not always go as you like. I always want to be a more flexible person and be relaxed and chill facing uncertainty and challenges. This trip serves as a best reminder and I actually feel tangible personal growth after this trip. And yes, I will certain do the trek again and complete it, someday.