Bali Echo Magazine Edition 52 | Mountain Mysticism

Mountain climbing is very popular in Central Java as it has some spectacular climbs on offer. The. best known is Mount Merapi, which has been venting its anger again recently, after a relatively quiet few years. You may have seen photos of Merapi with thick smoke billowing up into the atmosphere or night shots showing lava streaming down the slopes. Many expect an almighty eruption at any time, which would be potentially devastating, but most of the locals continue their lives as normal in the foothills of Merapi. As in Bali, the volcanoes are revered and respected. Mount Agung here in Bali is the holiest place on this island with the great mother temple of Besakih gracing its slopes.

In Java, many people think Merapi's present activity reflects the troubles in Indonesia and is a sign of forthcoming great change (President Gus Dur must be hoping this great change does not directly involve him). Of course, climbing Merapi is impossible now, but if you do fancy a bit of a hike the nearby Merbabu has a lot to offer. It's a little bit higher than Merapi at 3200m, but I'm told it's not quite as difficult to get to the top. l

climbed Merbabu in January and I'd like to tell you a little bit about that and some of the fascinating stories l heard about it. l stayed in the hill town of Salatiga for a couple of weeks over Christmas, Idul Fitri and New Year. My friend and l made the trip from Bali by bus, taking a few days break in Malang. We had wanted to go to Malang for a while, but the city was a little bit disappointing. You can travel directly to Salatiga by bus (or by motorbike, which l heartily unrecommend) or to Yogyakarta by bus or plane. Salatiga's a quiet little town and the surrounding countryside is great and the air cool and clean. The massive Merbabu towers up beyond the town, unchallenged like a powerful Javanese king of old. We are but little ants scurrying about our business. To climb Merbabu take a bus to the village of Kopeng, about 12 km away. It's a steep climb for the old buses with thick black smoke billowing out as they struggle up. It's amazing how many people can fit onto a Javanese bus. It's absolutely packed,
crammed to the brim, bursting at the seams and then it stops to pick up more passengers.

	What a relief to spill out of the bus in Kopeng to breathe the crisp aim (Move off the road quickly before the next bus engulfs you in its plume). In Kopeng you can buy your final supplies of water, biscuits, sweets, cigarettes (l took a couple of packs just in case, although l don't smoke) and noodles. l climbed in a group of six, including one serious javanese climber, who had made the ascent several times. It was more of a Sunday stroll to him. You definitely need an experienced climber to show you
.the way Every year plenty of Indonesian climbers, usually college students, lose their way ancient on the mountain of exposure and sheer exhaustion. l was lucky to go up with these guys, who took care of me (and carried mo my water). l wore a heavy pair of Doc Marten. boot not ideal for mountain climbing, but sturdy and snug. Unlike in Europe, where plenty people wear the latest $200 Gor-Tex, super light-weight, flexible, wind-tunnel tested boots to take the dog out for a walk, these guys wore flip-flops. Thongs. Call them what you will, that's what they wore. The mountain is two miles high. It's cold up There are a lot of rocks. magine coming down wearing flip-flops now imagine running down wearing flip-flops (that's what we did!). Clearly, these guys no longer have human feet. Too long on the mountain has created an evolutionary anomaly and they now have goat feet! I wore my khaki trousers with the big side pockets full with torch, spare batteries, more spare batteries, Swiss army penknife with tweezers and toothpick, wooly hat, big bag of coffee sweets, tissues (could be horrible up there at that altitude with a runny nose and no tissue), two packs of super strength clove cigarettes, matches, money (in the UK, there's always a little shop at the top) and mobile phone. l didn't really want to bring it, but l had to phone my girlfriend at the top or wherever it could pick up a signal. Most of it was in plastic bags in case it rained. l would get drenched, but at least the tissues would be safe. As it turned out we were incredibly lucky with the weather. Climbing a mountain in January doesn't exactly guarantee good weather, but the mountain gods looked upon us kindly that day, l also took a spare T-shirt, with a shirt and a warmer top and a thin jacket as well as a few biscuits and a bottle of water. As the only foreigner l was fully expected to drink the most water and l didn't disappoint, getting through almost as much as the rest of them, put together. Not that l really drank a lot. Our leader, Ari, drank one 600ml bottle of water on the entire trip. They carried quite a few packets of noodles, which l got sick of eating on that trip. l also took my secret weapon. l had never climbed during the night so l was wondering how it was going to be possible to stay up. l took two bottles of Kratingdaeng, which is a super concentrated drink contain