Mount Merapi is Indonesia's most active volcano and since an eruption in 2010 it has continued to spew out lava which can be seen at night from certain viewing areas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Merapi
Of course I couldn't resist a night tour to spot the lava and so at 7pm I was picked up by our guide Ardho and was joined by a German couple. Ardho was a really lovely and lively guy who had only learnt English that year. He was telling us about Indonesia and that he was from Sumatra which is quite a different island from Java. It has rain forest and a lot more diverse wildlife. There are Tigers there - which are protected - and he told us a story of when he came face to face with one age 7. Apparantly he froze - and so did the tiger - then they ran in opposite directions!
He was also saying the food is different in Sumatra - more spicy! He then started talking about poisonous snakes and that if we were to see one up the mountain he would push it away with his bamboo stick............Hmmmmm......I hadn't thought about the fact that Indonesia had poisonous snakes!
He told us that many people that work in the fields get bitten by snakes every year and so they had taken to killing the snakes which is bad for the environment, since the snakes eat other creatures which keeps the balance of nature. He said he was involved in a project developing anti-venom to distribute free to the farmers so that they stop killing the snakes.
I got the feeling Ardho was quite into nature and conservation.
He also had a very strong attachment to Mount Merapi spending many days and nights not only guiding up the mountain but monitoring the lava flow. He said he can tell by the cloud type and colour and the weather conditions when there would be eruptions.
He drove us up the mountain to a station or cafe where we were to trek up the mountain to a good viewing point. The trek was basically 1763 steps up. We were joined by his friend, another guide, and a French couple.
It was quite tough walking up all the steps. The other guide was fast.....Ardho, despite going every day, was flagging at the back. (I think cigarettes are too cheap here!!!)
Note: the Indonesian for 'come on' is ayo, pronounced ' eye - oh ! ' and take care is
'hati - hati'
At the top the mountain was not at all visible, due to the fog but the guides kept positive, saying that the weather can change so quickly. There was very little wind however but it was strangely beautiful and peaceful up there. The area where we waited was a temple for prayer. In the past Indonesian people would pray to the mountain and make sacrifices.
There was a great view of the city lights but after an hour or two the fog hadn't cleared from the mountain.
It was teasing us because you could clearly hear the bubbling noises from eruptions as we sat and waited. There were also tiny lights flitting about from fire flies and fluttering bats
We sat on rugs and drank tea and coffee and Ardho told us that he was 37 and had 3 kids. It was clear also that the standard of living was different to Europe but that many things were much cheaper here, including things like cars, wifi and Netflix 😂. I said that the roads were certainly a lot better than where I live at home! He said you couldn't drink the tap water - even locals - since it is poisoned by chemicals used to control mosquitoes in an effort to eradicate malaria.
We also saw a large spider which, alarmingly, Ardho said was a venomous one......I hadn't thought about that either!!
Foreign travel is out of reach for most Indonesians and Ardho wanted to see more of Indonesian first, it being so vast & diverse. As a Muslim he was saving money to visit Mecca one day....he said he may be able to go when he is 45.....that's 2033!
Eventually - after midnight - the cloud finally moved enough that we could see the mountain
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