A priceless experience: Mt. Rinjani of Lombok, Indonesia

Morning @ Plawangan Sembalun 

It has been a few good year since my last camping and now I am standing at the gate to the great Mt. Rinjani, an active baby volcano in Lombok, Indonesia. Starring at the then not-so-high mountain, I don’t know what to expect but feeling excited as if butterflies were fluttering in my stomach. As we walk from flat plains filled with thatch grasses as tall as me until descending down the lush rainforest, I see no end but only dots of striking colours of my group mates’ trekking bags. We followed the trail from wind blowing morning breeze to blinding sun and to chilly sunset above the clouds.

The panorama was never as rewarding as anything I had seen in my travel experiences. The stars were so bright and sparkly as if we could reach it when we stretch our arms. We even tried taking photos of the Milky Way but there were too many disruptions during the shot, unfortunately.

For 4 good days and 3 freezing nights, the best thing that I achieved from this trip is meeting new friends and doing something I never thought I would. Slowly as I grow up, my circle of friends tends to get smaller and this is a very good opportunity to expand and meet new people. The hiking group was as diverse as participants came from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. I also got the opportunity to learn to speak Indonesian which some terms are so different from Malay. Never expecting, the hikers and literally everyone, yes, everyone is so friendly and helpful.

Morning @ Plawangan Senaru

 Another amazing thing is the porters. I was so dumbfounded whenever they speed past me in broken
sandals while I needed to use both my hands and legs to ensure I do not fall to my death. Here, I thank them for being there to provide us the service having to carry 30-40 kgs of things and cooking to feed our starving stomachs. One thing, when a porter tell you its going to take you about one hour to reach, expect double to triple the time for us to really reach. Porters hike daily so imagine their stamina and speed against ours.

All in all, it was an amazing journey and wonderful experience that money can’t buy. Despite being a first-timer, 'difficult or dreadful' is never the right word to describe this experience. Many experienced hikers said if you are able to hike Mt. Rinjani, other mountains should not be a problem to you (except Himalayas and the extreme ones). Mt. Rinjani is very challenging because its trails are like never-ending; as in it just need a real few good hours to scramble through, but not impossible to hike.

It is beyond physical strength that is needed to push and pull ourselves up and down the hills but positivity as well as determination plays a huge role too. Not only in hiking, it is the same as living the normal life that we need to look ahead, plan our steps carefully and move forward.

FUN FACT: My face was baby-soft after the trip despite having it not washed and nourished properly with cleansers and skin care. Weird *scratch chin*

Evening @ Plawangan Senaru

Before the trip, I researched on what to bring for the hike and little did I know that there are certain
things that you could not afford to not bring it along. As you can find lists of things to bring for a hiking trip on Google, I would just like to emphasis the most important things that I wished I had during the trip was;

• At least a set of good thermal wear
• Trekking pole – or a pole as long as it helps to gain balance
• Gaiters – only if you’re hiking places that has lots of gravels/sand

Fjallraven Bootcamp Rinjani 2017

Lastly, hugs and kisses to pretty Yvonne for inviting me to join the camp, or else I will never thought of going hiking. I would also like to express my gratitude towards Fjallraven Indonesia and Actually Singapore for organising this bootcamp, giving me a chance to meet wonderful people and time well spent for a priceless experience.