We’re still in Indonesia, but for our last week we hopped over to another island: Java. The main reason to come here was Mount Bromo. If you haven’t figured it out yet, we love mountains.
But while we were in Bali, I got an email from the Government of Canada announcing that Mount Semeru had a pretty serious volcanic eruption. The hiccup? Semeru isn’t far from Bromo. So we monitored things closely and, despite more than 80 eruptions over the last three weeks, the area was still considered safe for visitors. We kept our plans, with the understanding that we might have to pull the plug on Bromo at any moment.
We based ourselves in Malang, a relatively small city by Asian standards, filled with cute neighborhoods and plenty to do. After our tiny hotel room in Nusa Penida, we were ready for an upgrade—so we swapped our downtown hotel for an apartment in a residential area. Best decision ever. It came with a pool, a waterpark, a gym, playgrounds, and—most importantly—a washing machine. And the cherry on top? A piano. Emma was over the moon, and it took her all of five minutes to get her confidence back.
Our first day was intentionally slow. We spent the morning doing schoolwork and the afternoon at the playground and pool, where the kids made friends instantly. At one point, a family asked to take a photo with me. Apparently people as pale as I am (or showing that much skin, since most of Indonesia is primarily Muslim) are a bit of a novelty.
Once conditions were confirmed safe, we booked our Bromo tour. Most visitors go for sunrise, but tours leave Malang at midnight. Yes, midnight. There was no way we were doing that with the kids, especially Joey. Reviews also warned of crowds, with over 500 jeeps crawling up a narrow, steep road with almost no parking. Hard pass.
So we went for a sunset visit instead. Joey booked the tour, and I assumed it would mostly be a long drive to a viewpoint. It's the rainy season, the forecast looked terrible, and honestly, I expected we’d just end up inside a cloud. My expectations were low… and to top it off, I had been admiring the wrong mountain in all the photos. I had no idea what Bromo actually looked like.
Our driver picked us up at 11 a.m. in a vintage Toyota Land Cruiser—older than any of us—and the kids were ecstatic. After about an hour, we stopped at a waterfall. The trail down was slippery from the rain, but it was a refreshing break, and the falls were surprisingly nice.
Then we entered Bromo–Tengger–Semeru National Park, and suddenly the jeep made sense. The park is a vast, 10-km-wide sea of black volcanic sand surrounded by towering caldera walls. The “roads” are just sandy tracks full of potholes and water crossings, framed by surreal green, wavy mountains. Clouds drifted in and out, but whenever the landscape appeared, it felt like we had landed on another planet.
Our driver stopped for what he called a “hike,” and only then did I fully realize that Mount Bromo is very much an active volcano—and we were about to walk right up to its smoking crater rim. As soon as we parked, we were swarmed by people offering horse rides to the stairs. It was pricier than we wanted, so I decided to walk, much to Teddy’s disappointment. The first stretch was flat, then it turned into a steep climb—made much harder by the 2,000-meter elevation. Just as I was bracing myself for Teddy’s complaints, a man magically appeared offering both kids a horseback ride for five dollars. Yes, please! After a long, seemingly endless staircase, we reached the rim—and WOW. Peering into an active volcano, with smoke billowing out and even lava visible at the bottom, was mind-blowing. The kids were thrilled, and honestly, so were we.
With the weather finally improving, we headed toward the Penanjakan viewpoint at about 2,700 meters. We actually got a glimpse of the famous view, but only for a moment before the clouds rolled back in. We waited, caught another quick peek, then full whiteout. After an hour, the rain started, sunset was still 90 minutes away, and hope was fading fast. So we headed home, still buzzing from an unexpectedly amazing day. About 15 minutes after we left, I made the mistake of checking the live webcam, and of course the skies were perfectly clear. The entire panorama was visible. But we couldn’t predict the weather, so we just had to laugh and let it go.
Next up was Malang itself. We visited Jodipan Village, just outside the city center. Once a very poor and rundown area, it was transformed by a student project into an explosion of color and street art. The makeover has drawn tourists from all over, improving local income and motivating residents to keep the area clean. On one side, houses are painted every color imaginable; on the other, the entire neighborhood is painted blue—Kampung Biru Arema.
The following day, we surprised the kids with a trip to a waterpark. We had wanted to take them in Bali, but the cost was ridiculously high there. In East Java, it was about five times cheaper—and just as fun. We all had a blast, and the kids were over the moon. We were the only white family in the park, so the photo requests continued!
Wrapping Up
We had such a great time in East Java. Malang’s cooler climate—500 meters above sea level—was a welcome break from the heat. Up in the mountains, it was even chilly at times. The people were incredibly friendly (except for a few mischievous kids at the waterpark who hid Emma and Teddy’s sandals). We got more school material printed for Teddy. He has gone through the Grade 2 curriculum twice already, and picked up some craft supplies to make Christmas cards. I even dared to buy glitter, since the mess wouldn’t be in my house.
The craft session lasted an afternoon, and afterward Teddy casually walked up to Joey and said, “Eh Daddy, there’s glitter on my penis!” Oh, parenthood.
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