Punch held my hand in the pitch black of the night as I tried to control my breathing. Our dim flashlights were the only source of light, but they were enough to see that he didn’t take his eyes off of me for a moment. “It’s like normal breathing, we’re almost there,” he said in a soft, reassuring voice.
But it wasn’t …… us either ……
I ripped the gas mask from my face and took a deep breath of the fresh, toxic air filled with sulfur gas that tickled my throat and made me cough for a fraction of a second. The smell is pungent, but I want to absorb it. I needed to absorb it. I had to do at least that part exactly the way they did ……
I met Chong the day before when he and his driver, Adjani, picked me up from my homestay in Banyuwangi, which is near the ferry to Bali. We hit it off and the hour drive to their village passed quickly as we chatted and listened to Indonesian pop music. After a while, the road became steep and narrow, and from the moment we left the main road to continue on what you can barely call a road yet, I knew this was the beginning of a whole new adventure. A human being.
Say goodbye to the connected world and get ready for the emotional roller coaster that I believe this experience will bring. There were only 400 people in the village, and when I first saw it, my heart broke for each and every one of them …… Sometimes the small houses were built with nothing more than a few boards, freshly washed clothes dried immediately after to dusty unpaved roads, a few chickens hanging out in what was supposed to be the front yard, children wearing too big colorful clothes and flip-flops, an adult who could play with an old bike – that seemed to be all they had ……
This is one of those moments – if I had only one wish – I would take them all home and make a better life for them ……
Stayed at Chong’s owner and former miner Mr. Paing’s house, which has 3 rooms for guests. I was welcomed by his friendly wife who prepared lunch. It was simple but tasty, with more Chong stories to enjoy while eating. He is 27 years old and lives a little further away with his wife and 8-month-old twin boys. His father is a miner, and he himself works in the mines. He has never left the village, except to pick up tourists in Banyuwangi, and although he would love to go to Bali or even a foreign country one day, he has another dream he is trying to achieve. He is learning English and French and working as a tour guide to provide a better life for his family and to make sure his children never have to work in the mines. He talked about it with a big smile and with such determination and enthusiasm that I had no other choice but to admire him.
I realized once again how relative dreams are, and how we all strive to achieve ours in exactly the same way. Dreams don’t need to be as big as they can be, they need to be attainable, and I find it even more impressive to see someone without the world beneath their feet being thankful for what they have and having that smile on their face. I know that no matter how small someone’s world is compared to mine, I probably learned more from them than I could have taught them with all my Western “knowledge” ……
There are no such courses in universities, we have to go to small villages like this one to find them.
After lunch, we headed out to visit the town and its surrounding areas. We were treated to waterfalls, coffee plantations, rice fields and – the absolute highlight of the day – we were lucky enough to attend a local wedding. With only 400 people living here, this obviously doesn’t happen every day! The whole town gathers around where the bride and groom change their clothes. Flowers and decorations were brought in from all directions and the local band began setting up the instruments. There are no fancy dresses, color-coordinated bridesmaids or limos, but I haven’t felt a genuine smile or sense of community in a long time. I wondered if it still existed, in our big modern European cities, where people stare at me like I’m a crazy woman just because I said hello ……
After staying for a while, I returned to the inn, not sure if my tears were happy or sad …… but I knew that I would go home as a rich man
It started around 1am on day 2 when we entered the 4×4 and left the village and drove for about an hour to the base of the volcano. From here, a trail winds up around the rim for about 1 km on a moderate grade. I knew this wasn’t the toughest part of the hike and quickly realized I could have saved the weight of a winter jacket in my pack.
In the Footsteps of the Sulfur Miners – Visiting the Kawaizen Sulfur Mine in Java, Indonesia
Twenty minutes later, the real challenge began – or at least part 1 of the challenge. In a little over a kilometer, we climbed from 1900 meters to 2400 meters to the crater rim. That’s an average grade of nearly 50 degrees …… I had to stop every time for 100 50 – well, honestly – 25 meters that took my breath away and at times was so slow going I almost fell backwards. chong is clearly capable of going faster, but he never left my side and did his best to encourage me.
He obviously didn’t just come to guide me up the volcano and tell me some random facts about it. He came to share a part of his life, to make sure I had the best experience possible, and to hold my hand when the going got tough.
Today, he is my sports coach, my life coach and my friend.
On our way up the mountain, we talk more about life – well, basically he talks while I try to simply live ……Chong’s father was a miner for most of his life. He climbed this volcano every two weeks, sometimes every day, just to go to work …… He slept in the “camp” we just passed – the most rickety shack you’ve ever seen -or under the crater, “taking” care of the volcano’. I hadn’t even finished the hike yet, nor had I been to the crater to learn about the working conditions, but I knew I was slowly discovering what the worst job in the world was ……
I realized that for the first time I was seeing a life that no one deserves ……
By the end of this part, I had died at least 7 times. The miners offered to take me there in their “cab”, which was just a cart they used to transport things up and down the volcano, but I refused to give up – and refused to let them push me all the way up.
The first whiff of sulfur came from around the bend in the trail, and Chong told me to put on my gas mask, but I found I couldn’t breathe with it on. I ripped it off my face and took a deep breath of the fresh, toxic air filled with sulfur gas that tickled my throat and made me cough for a fraction of a second. The smell is pungent, but I want to absorb it. I needed to absorb it. I had to do at least that part exactly the way they do ……
The last kilometer is almost completely flat, but at the end of it waits the descent to the center of the crater. There was not even a trail, only rocks that randomly led us towards the first highlight of our visit: a blue flame caused by sulfur gas. It could only be seen before sunrise, and by the time we reached the crater rim it was 4 a.m., so we couldn’t waste any more time. I tried to grab the rock, but slipped several times and fell despite the fact that I was wearing very good hiking shoes. Near the end, another guide told us the flames were at their best and that the miners would probably put them out soon (they do this when the flames get too big-they don’t really go out, they soften, and it also produces a lot of smoke to make them less visible).
“Come on!!!” Chong grabbed my hand and started descending the rocks at an increased speed. Soon after, we were running towards the flames like two crazy people, grabbing each other (not always successfully) to try to avoid falling. We arrived 30 seconds before they put them out ……
This is the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen ……
Back at the hotel, I handed the gas mask over to Punch. I’m glad I didn’t have to use it (except to stand next to the flames, like a miner). I’m glad I had that big of a breath of fresh toxic air filled with sulfur gas that tickled my throat and made me cough for a fraction of a second. I’m glad I at least did that part the way they do.
I died about 14 times that day at Kawah Ijen, and again the next morning when I tried to get up. But climbing up that volcano was the easiest part of the experience.
Today, I got to see what hell looks like. Today, I found out about the worst job in the world.
And I’m pretty sure I’m not done crying over the fact that no one deserves this life ……
