Sunrise Above The Clouds

Arriving late in Dieng Plateau that night (11-pm) didn't give comfortable options in choice a hotel. I did checked "Bu Jono" (mean Mrs. Jono), a hotel in Dieng mentioned by backpackers in the internet. It didn't impress me, and no one was inside. That led me to another hotel just by its side. Again, nobody answered to the door bell. Yeah..... I was the one to blame. I believe not many visitors come to Dieng that late.

A local approached me offering his service to find a hotel to my preference, later on he became my guide. He took me to another hotel few hundreds meter away from "Bu Jono". After checking the room, negotiated the price then I decided to take this "Flamboyan Hotel". Sharing a clean room, twin beds with hot water shower with my driver for Rp. 150,000/night (USD 16).

I asked my guide the best place to observe the sunrise in Dieng. He suggested a place in Sikunir. I didn't have a problem with that but the time. He would wake me up at 4-am to climb a hill a half an hour later. That was the problem!

We drove a car from the hotel to Sikunir hill for 15-minutes. It was dark and cold. Dieng Plateau was at 2,000 m plus above sea level. Even in the tropical area, that height will give you a cold weather. In August it's normal to have a frosty morning in Dieng.

Pak Wikno, my guide, told me it would be a 25-minutes climb. That was not a big deal, I thought. But soon I felt that 25-minute climb took forever. Thank God, I still had strong foot. But I could hardly breath. It was crystal clear that I had to stop my 2-years hiatus of aerobic exercises.

Finally I made it, and sat on a rock on the top of the hill to catch my breath back. It was still too early for a sunrise. I still had time to recover my ego from being beaten down by that 25-minute climb. Pak Wikno suggested me to stand here and there to get the best sunrise view. I ignored him, my top priority was to breath.

The sun then started to show up but the cloud between my eyes and the sun was there, blocking the view. I was disappointed a bit, but the overall view was really awesome. Being above the cloud gave me an extraordinary feeling.

Panoramic view of the sunrise

I started to take pictures as many as possible. Thanks to the digital technology, I didn't have to worry to run out of negative film anymore.

Gunung Sindoro stood beautiful, covered Gunung Sumbing from my view ("Gunung" is mountain in Indonesian). From the distance, I could see Gunung Merbabu and the infamous Gunung Merapi. The white clouds cover the villages and potato farms below.

Gunung Sindoro, can you see Gn. Merbabu and Merapi in the distance?

I just stayed there as long as possible to enjoy the magnificent view in front of my eyes until the sun was too high. I thought that was the end of the golden time, when the sunlight made everything turn to gold color.

I still have an unfinished business: went down the hill. I hoped it would be easier than climbing it up.

Click here for more pictures.