Doing a volcano hike at night in the rainy season was a little challenging, doing it in shorts and a pair of converse was idiotic. I nearly died up there, and apparently turned blue at one point. All good fun though and I even managed the night out in Bukit Tinggi!

At about 10pm the whole thing started pretty serenely, even though it was pitch black. My two dollar torch from the corner shop was even giving me enough light to get by. It was t-shirt temperature and my shorts seamed like a pretty sweet idea. But after we had climbed a few hundred meters, we were surrounded by clouds. The temperature had dropped a lot, and it was soaking wet. The smart people with their water proofs on were obviously dry on the inside, but not me.

Around half 2 we reached a point where it wasn’t safe to go on while it was dark. It was about a 2 hour wait and it was either raining or blowing icy winds the whole time. I had my damp H&M hoody for warmth, as I was trying to sleep on my mac, and my t-shirt was too wet to wear. Everyone was freezing so the 14 of us huddled together to keep warm underneath a piece of tarp. This was the point where I apparently turned blue.

When the sun came up everything was sweet again, and after a little deliberation we headed to the top of the volcano. Not that we could see much, as the mist and clouds had us surrounded. Being up there was very cool though and it was probably the moment where I actually began to think the hike was a worth while pursuit. The trip down was thankfully a lot faster, but my legs have never been so tired, ever! All I could think about was booking into a hotel and getting some sleep.

Our wake up call was one of the best I’ve had in ages. At 5 o’clock we had a knock at the door and the waiter entered with a tray topped with two cold Bintang Beers. After we were showered and ready we hit Bukit Tinggi in style. The highlights were taking over the stage with Dust in the Wind at a posh hotel, and discovering the rare local liquor, Seahorse. We managed to keep the pace up till about three, but knackered bodies and recent inability to handle our alcohol meant that was it. Happy Birthday Bowlin!

The morning saw a couple of people not leave town because of a serious hangover, one person destined for Jakarta to fix a broken tooth and rest of us shopping or searching for some seahorse to take home. All in all a very sweet weekend away.