Close friends know that I've been wanting to trek Mt Rinjani for the longest time and I'm so glad I did! It was the toughest trek I've ever done! Not that I did a lot. Just this and Mt Kinabalu. If you think Kinabalu is tough, this is worse. But the view in Rinjani is so much more awesome!!!
So, I've been quite worried about the climb as I know I'm not physically up for it. But I thought, if I don't go now, I'll never go. What luck do I've to find the people who wanna do Rinjani? So my thoughts were just do or die. Fortunately, I didn't die. haha!
I reached Lombok on a Sunday. It was an adventure even before reaching. We were racing to catch our flights! The flight from Singapore to Jakarta via Air Asia was delayed. By right, we had a buffer of 2 hrs to catch our next flight. But with the delay, we were left with only an hr. No idea how we rushed but we were darn lucky to be able to catch our next flight to Lombok!
We reached Lombok at about 11pm, had some light supper and reached our guesthouse only at 2am. The ride to the guesthouse was a highlight. The driver drove at F1 speed and he was dozing off. OMG can you sense our horror? But I was able to sleep like a baby. hehe! I just just too tired! Upon reaching the guesthouse, we showered and slept. However, I kept getting woken up by a stupid rooster who kept going on and on from 3am. Bad night.
Day 1:
We were brought to Semnalun to start our hike. It was non-stop walking for 8hrs to our first camp site. The first third of the hike was okay. Walking on flat ground but we were exposed to the sun. Too hot! And the guide was walking too fast. I was panting and perspiring when we reached our first rest stop, LUNCH.
I was quite amazed by lunch. The porters brought pots and pans, together with lots of food. It was so good! There was even coke! Something I craved for so badly.
Super yummy indo mee with asam soup!
Lunch for Day3. Spag!
Horror begins after lunch. We were just walking non-stop. The last third was walking up slope nonstop. I wished I had trained even a tiny bit before attempting this hike. For the last part, every 10 steps I took, I had to rest. Can you imagine how slow I was?
I was so glad when we reached our campsite. The sunset was so awesome! Too bad I felt feverish and had to hide in the tent all night after taking panadol. I did have a glimpse of the night sky. So much stars!
Day 2:
We were woken up at 1am for the summit climb. After reading so many blogs on how people fail to make it to the top, I was so adamant on giving up before I start. But I'm so thankful C made me do it! He said things like it's my dream to do it. If I don't, it's never. I've come so far. So wasted to give up. With all the pep talk, of cos I've to at least attempt!
I regretted my choice when we started. Again, the summit climb can be broken down into 3 parts. The first was non-stop climbing up slope. 2nd part was almost flat group, and 3rd part was the notorious torture.
We let the guide and A went first cos they were too fast. We didn't want them to miss the sunrise at the summit. I didn't want C to miss it too but he was too nice to do the hike with me.
After hours of struggle, we finally reached the top!!! The view was magnificent! I was so glad I made it. One item off my bucket list!!!
Going down from the summit is not as easy as it seemed. It was too slippery! I kept slipping and almost falling. Quite tiring to walk. And it got damn hot. I had to remove my 5 layers of clothing. haha!
After a quick breakfast, we embarked on the second half of our arduous journey. Just when I thought horror was over, I was so wrong. After a brief dip with the hot spring, we proceeded to climbing again for about 3hrs. OMG I was already aching like mad and still had to climb. And now, in the dark. I was so whiny and frustrated. I was even angry with the guide for putting us through the torture. By the time we reached the top, it was dark and windy. Nothing to see. And, I was feverish again.
Day 3
Our last day of the hike! I was promised it's gonna be a breeze. As we had to descent fast, we didn't see the sunrise from the crater rim. Wasted. :( We climbed all the way up for the view which we couldn't experience.
The last day was just non-stop hiking down. I fell a couple of times! Nothing serious though. And finally, we've ended our 3D2N hike.
Super appreciative to C & A throughout the hike. I was a huge burden yet they didn't seem to mind.
When I was at Lombok airport, I received a text from a friend telling me that MFA issued a travel advisory to Mt Rinjani!
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mfa-issues-travel-notice-on-volcanic-activity-in-indonesia/3212178.html?cid=fbcna
Luckily I only saw the text on wed when I'm safely in the airport. If not I might be too scared to go! Yup Mt Rinjani erupted a month a go, and it's still active. What a huge risk I took. By right, we should have more people in our group. But due to the eruption, people pulled out. Lucky us to have 1 guide and 4 porters!
Tips for Rinjani:
1. Train hard!!! I stopped running after my Gold Coast Marathon. That was about 3 months back. I regretted not exercising. Go climb steps! Go Bukit Timah hill! Just do something!
2. Bring lots of wet wipes and tissues! You're not allowed to shower for 3 days. (I'm secretly glad cos I'm a very lazy person). Anyway it's too cold up there to stink. Also, it was slightly messy for me cos of u know, ladies' prob. But all's good. And thankfully no cramps.
3. Good shoes are very impt!!! I wore Timberland, which was supposedly good. But think mine is more of the fashionable go out shopping type of shoes. Get one with a good grip!
4. Go with good company!!! I enjoyed my trip so much cos of C & A! They were hilarious throughout.
5. Don't forget to appreciate nature while going through the torturous journey.
p.s. Picture credit: Amirul. Only that selfie and lousy food pics are mine. HAH!
