Bucket List

Climb a volcano: check. A large group of ETA's went on a trip to a small town about 3 hours away from Bandung (where we are currently staying and where we will be staying until September 17), to do some hiking. We arrived in the town on Saturday afternoon and checked into the Terta Merta motel, a stark contrast to the 5-star Sheraton we are currently staying in in Bandung. The upside was that each room had it's own hot spring tub fueled by the nearby volcanoes; however, the hot spring tub also served to flush the squat toilet which stood nearby. Needless to say, we did not use our hot spring tub.

Sunday brought a day of climbing beginning at 6 am. A small group of us (me included) decided to brave the nearby volcano unaided, while the majority of the group paid a tour guide to drive them to another volcano a little further away. For an inexperienced climber, it was quite intense or susa (difficult) (6 hours up and 4 hours down), with little or no trails, and thick volcanic gravel paths left by a past eruption. All of this was well worth it to see two beautiful waterfalls and a view for miles from the top. I was able to pass out in my clean Sheraton bed last night with the feeling of not only physical exhaustion, but also of accomplishment. I will post pictures as soon as I can! Selamat jalan (good-bye) for now.