Greenland: Taking Off & Landing

Kulusuk, July 2014

gazing out of my plane window

This is definitely the best flight I've ever experienced thus it deserves one whole individual blog post. You may already know that I hate flying so it's just unusual for me to say I enjoy my flight. So what did beat my fear of flying? Come join me in this journey and you will find out.

Welcome aboard, fasten your seat belt and I hope you enjoy the flight :)

Air Iceland Fokker

I couldn't sleep before my flight to Kulusuk because the weather in Reykjavik was kinda crazy. It was raining hard the whole night and I kept waking up to the wind howling strong and heavy outside my window. The sound of tumbling aluminium chairs and tables from the outdoor cafe making it even more daunting. I was quite sure my morning flight on a small plane (Fokker) would be very bumpy or it could be canceled due to the bad weather.

well, hello Greenland! 

But no, I was wrong. Who am I to judge the weather anyway? Turned out the flight was very smooth and pleasant. As my plane was descending towards Kulusuk, my eyes widened in awe. There were countless of icebergs floating in the crystal blue ocean, bounded by a row of brown rocky mountains covered with snow. I noticed a couple of whales were floating on surface, perhaps it was their sunbathing session. I wish I had a telephoto lens to capture them. The view from above was too beautiful it felt surreal to me.

approaching Kulusuk

it felt surreal!

Wow! We are going to land on the gravel runway! I was telling myself....still in awe. I don't know about you but this is my first time landing on an unpaved runway.  As expected the landing was a bit rough and bumpy with a sudden brake because the runway is short. I would normally cringe in this situation but I didn't because I was lulled by the stunning views.

gravel runway at Kulusuk airport

Kulusuk International airport is only a small terminal building which host a tiny cafeteria and a duty free stand. Passengers are only allowed to pass through the hall immediately before boarding or after the arriving passengers have been cleared from the hall. Quite an amusing experience to me. The airport is on a mountainous island surrounded by ice filled waters in the least populated part of Greenland. And to make it even unique, all passengers have to walk to Kulusuk hotel (the only hotel in the island) because the hotel van just for transporting the luggage and disable people. It took me 15 minutes to walk to the hotel because I kept stopping to take pictures. I really love this quirky experience!

greeted by this gorgeous scenery at the airport

walking to my hotel

almost there

Kulusuk hotel

view from my room

summer sunbathing, Greenland style :p

airport window

taking off

it's hard to say goodbye

till we meet again, Greenland

On the day of departure, I left Kulusuk with a heavy heart. I really want to stay longer. I even consider about getting a job in the hotel and stay there maybe for 6 months to learn more about Inuit people (population of 250 people in Kulusuk village) and their culture. Greenland is really a fascinating place. I will definitely come back to explore other cities. It's not a goodbye but it won't long until we meet again, Greenland :)

Indonesia: The Majestic Mount Bromo

Bromo, July 2014

Tanah air ku tidak kulupakan

Kan terkenang selama hidupku

Biarpun saya pergi jauh

Tidakkan hilang dari kalbu

Tanah ku yang kucintai

Engkau kuhargai

Walaupun banyak negeri kujalani

yang mahsyur permai di kata orang

Tetapi kampung dan rumahku

Disanalah ku rasa senang

Tanah ku tak kulupakan

Engkau kubanggakan

Tanah air ku tidak kulupakan

Kan terkenang selama hidupku

Biarpun saya pergi jauh

Tidakkan hilang dari kalbu

Tanah ku yang kucintai

Engkau kuhargai

Tanah Air, by Ibu Soed

mount Bromo at dawn

Just because I mostly travel around the world, some people assume I don't love my home country. That's simply a shallow point of view. Little did they know, I'm truly grateful to be born in this beautiful country, Indonesia.

"So why don't you explore this country instead of others?" This is the frequently asked question.

I believe everyone has different ways to travel. You may choose to explore your home country before traveling abroad but I choose to travel the furthest destinations. Neither of us are right or wrong. Because there's no rules in travelling. So can we stop arguing and judging each other now? :)

Though if you still insist to find out....here's my reasons. I want to travel as far as I could while I'm still young and strong. I'm an aerophobic (phobia of flying) so I don't know how much longer I could deal with the long haul flights without having a heart attack when turbulence strikes. I'm not the healthiest person on earth. I've been having a respiratory problem which might get worse as I'm getting older. Naturally I want to experience as much snow / extreme environments as possible while I can without having to drag an oxygen tube along. Okay, it's getting too random. Let's just talk about the beauty of mount Bromo. Shall we?

first glimpse of sunrise

hello, sunshine :)

The beauty of mount Bromo is already well known in the eyes of both local and foreign tourists. Unquestionable indeed. When I was a kid, my parents would take me here for a weekend getaway because it's just a short drive away from my hometown. Lucky me! And recently, after more than 15 years I really wanted to visit it again....to see if it's still as wonderful as I remembered.

As the sun started to rise up over the horizon, the mist evaporated revealing a breathtaking view of mount Bromo, mount Batok and mount Semeru in pinkish hue. It was magical and blew me away that I almost  cried. Yes, it's still as wonderful as I remembered....or perhaps better.

my pillow sleepy face

the beauty lies within your eyes

the foggy desert

horse ride across the sea of sand

stairs to Bromo crater

Hardest part for me was climbing the stairs which lead to Bromo crater. It was exceptionally foggy that morning, I could hardly see anything. My eyes began to water and my nose burned against the strong smell of sulphur. I started feeling short of breath and dizzy. Just few more steps, come on....you can do it. I keep telling myself as my legs felt very heavy to move. I wished I had my nasal inhaler. I couldn't be more relieved when finally reached the top. So glad I didn't give up half way :)

snack seller

never ending stairs

Bromo crater

Edelweiss

One thing that kinda annoyed me... there were some locals who sell Edelweiss to tourists. It's a pretty flower and I'm sure a lot of people would like to own it. But I think it looks prettier in the nature. I read it somewhere that Edelweiss is at a risk of becoming extinct in the next few years. It's just sad. Why can't we enjoy the nature without destroying it?

above the clouds

mount Batok

Don't you think the scenery is so gorgeous? It's even much better in real. I have no reason not to love this wonderful country (besides the bureaucracy and politic thingy). Sooner rather than later, I'll start my journey to unveil the beauty of the world's largest archipelago. This is my promise. Happy 69th Independence Day, Indonesia. Stay awesome!

Iceland: Snowmobile Adventure On Langjokull Glacier

Langjökull Glacier, July 2014

snowmobile

Probably snowmobile is the coolest vehicle I've ever driven so far. Well, riding an ostrich in South Africa was pretty cool too but of course it would sound odd if I said I've driven an ostrich, right? :p

Langjokull (Icelandic for "long glacier") is Iceland's second largest glacier and only about 30 minutes drive from Gullfoss waterfall, part of Golden Circle. Though last 15 minutes was rather a 'painful on the bum' ride since we had to pass the narrow gravel road. 

a long very bumpy ride in the middle of nowhere

the super jeep

rocky road before reaching the glacier

winter overall 

Upon arrival at the base camp, 2 helpful crew hand me a thick overall to keep me warm during the ride, including a pair of overshoes which I wore over my winter boots. Then the crew put on a balaclava - a headgear designed to expose only part of face (what occurred in my mind was: a head condom! well it's kinda look like that, lol) and last were helmet and gloves. Walking like an astronaut, I was all set and ready to go!

super truck!

I was supposed to ride a super jeep to reach the glacier but then a large group of Chinese tourist came so the crew decided to transport all the people using their super truck in one go. The BovMan, monster truck fleet! That's how the crew named it. A custom made hybrid of three cars; a MAN cargo truck, a tourist coach and the chassis of an 8×8 military truck. It has a unique ability to drive through rough terrain and in all sorts of road conditions. To me it looks quite similar to Ice Explorer in Canada.

snowmobile parking lot

From base camp to snowmobile parking lot, the super truck was passing through some very steep and rocky terrain. In some occasions, I held my breath because the road swooped down sharply surrounded by large rocks. It reminds me of moon landscape.

After a bumpy and shaky ride, I could not wait to jump out the truck and drive my snowmobile. But certainly not before got a briefing from the crew about safety and how to operate the machine. By the way, you will need to be at least 18 years old and have a valid driving license. Always drive in one line and keep a safety distance between other snowmobiles. It is totally prohibited to drive side by side, overtake other machines, or make unnecessary curving or speeding up. Or taking pictures while driving (I broke this rule. I did take one or three pictures sneakily. Sorry, I couldn't resist it :p)

and the adventure begin. woohoo!

Accelerator/gas on my right thumb and brake on my left hand. Okay, it's easy! or so I thought.
It was actually quite hard to steer specially because the surface was uneven with many holes on it. Some parts of the glacier were melting too, so it's a bit tricky to drive through the streams. I basically had to move my whole upper body for steering to the right or left. It took a while to get used to it and my face started smiling and grinning like weirdos with excitement. The scenery along the route was simply so sooo breathtaking.

it's photo time :D

a very happy face of mine :D

what an incredible view

We drove until reaching one point where all I could see in any directions was the glacier with volcanoes in a far distance. The volume of Langjokull glacier is 195 km³ and the ice is up to 580 m thick. So spectacular, it almost made me cry. Everyone were asked to park their snowmobile in a row and given plenty time for taking pictures. It would have been perfect during winter with some snow to play a snowball fight though.

complete gear including winter overall, balaclava, helmet, boots and gloves

some helpful crews starting the engine

heading back to the base camp

snowmobile in Langjokull glacier

Obviously time flies when you're having fun. I was feeling gutted when the crew told me it was already time to drive back to the base camp. I had a tremendous time and I would not mind to spend another € 200 in order to experience this again. While it may sound expensive, I still think it's worth every single penny. To me an unforgettable experience is priceless thus I think it's okay to splurge once in a while. I don't want to travel half the globe and regret it later for not doing anything I would love to :)


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Closing date: 22 August 2014 (closed)
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