Bondowoso - i was Blown away!

Without rest after the highly anticipation of conquering that deadly acidic crater lake of Ijen, we head down to Bondowoso. Bondowoso, another regency of East java and also Ericka's hometown, which are filled with secret gem and mysterious charm. 
On the way down, we saw a mini waterfall and as I was looking at Ericka, she straight away knew that I would love to check out the place, so she did a short detour and stopped for us. :) thanks babe. It is the Kali Pahit Waterfall. The water is acidic and as you wash your face, you'll find it tingling like small pins and needles poking your face. 

as if there were rainbows shinning upon us

our shadows

the mini waterfall - Kali Pahit

 We stopped over at the nearest homestay for some fresh strawberries juice and Vincent was looking for coffee arabica which is cheaper here than in town. The strawberries juice was refreshing and they also offered also the macadamia nuts which was hand picked and packed nicely before being sold at re-sellers. 

you can also pluck your own strawberries here. nice weather.

the famous Kopi Luwak ..about 250 rupiah @ RM75

Tried this Makadamia nut and it was delicious that we bought few as snacks during the trip..really crunchy and nice i must add! only 4000 rupiah @ RM13

certainly look nicer compared to the night view when we passed by this road to Ijen the night before.

We continued our journey and finally reached Ericka's home. After a nice cold water bath, we went to Depot Jojo Restaurant for lunch. I chose Crispy Duck rice with Avocado juice + chocolate. Everyone look jaded as the look of Steve Tyler after a hard rocking concert but most importantly- Satisfied! 

Menu at Depot Jojo

nasi bebek with fried tofu and tempe..the sambal are delicious..bebek @duck are okay. could be better.

The rest of them will be heading to different path as Vincent is flying off to Singapore the next day while Iliena, Elsa and Petra is trying their luck to have a glimpse of Bromo. Ericka and I will continue our journey to Banyuwangi for another side of enchanting mother nature, we bid goodbye after dropping them off at Bondowoso bus terminal. As Ericka and I was just about to rest at home, she received a message from Vincent stating that there are no any bus heading to Probolingo /Surabaya. Ericka told me "let's go!, we will start our journey now as we need to fetch them all the way to Jember bus station which might have more available buses". So kind of her!

Off we straight head to the bus terminal, pick them up and head to Jember station which was about 30 minutes drive. I really admire the spirit of this superwoman, Ericka. She has been driving since yesterday morning without proper rest. After dropping them off with the bus to Probolinggo was just waiting for passengers, Ericka and I continued our journey to Pasir Putih. 

It was near to dusk and the mind blowing sight of Gunung Puteri simple seducing and I just cant take my eyes of her. 

magnificent view of Mount Puteri

We stopped the car as the wind was blowing strongly and I just requested Ericka to bear with my spontaneous idea of standing ON the car...as usual she was just laughing and said go ahead. 

i could literally hear the whispering music of 'Kuch Kuch Ho Ta Hai' was playing ..is it?

Bondowoso road are quite peaceful at this hour and it is also the route to Banyuwangi and further to Bali.

 We looked for a place to stay tonite as we will be leaving early in the morning the next day to another destination. We stopped at Pasir Putih and check-in. We chucked in our bags and decided to take out for dinner. Ericka suggested for us to eat grilled fish which I obliged. 

Hotel at Pasir Putih - a little expensive for the lack of facilities but as walk-in rate so didnt really bother as we just need to sleep for the night.

need some maintenance works here, toilet needs some improvement. but I had a good night sleep! thank god.. hehee

We left the motel and look out for some nice grilled fish. Found few stalls but we decided to enter this one. 

dont judge a book by its cover

 We ordered 3 different types of grilled fish as take-out coz we were not that hungry yet. Then we just hang out for sunset by the beach before feast that scrumptious meals at the motel.The sambal and sauce really added amazing flavors to that soft sweet white flesh. yummy. 

first time trying this colorful fish..

It was so cheap 3 grilled fish cost only 5,000 rupiah @ RM18. One thing i noticed that the meals around here in Surabaya are way cheaper than in Bali. 

the Pasir Putih beach

fisherman village

The port.

We are heading back and the sunset created amazing colors for us to admire.

the presentation might not looked appealing but mind you, it tasted so good!

 After early dinner at 6pm, Ericka went to sleep right away. I on the other hand watched tv for a bit before dozing at 8pm.. Hahaha..never will I do that in Malaysia. anyway, we planned to start our journey to another destination, another magical place of East Java.. well they call the Africa van java! wait for it. 

You may also check my amazing adventure of hiking the mystical Ijen Plateau and witnessing the Blue Fire HERE