Knapsack Treks
  • Detian Waterfall Then & Now
  • Good Vices
  • NDP – National Day Pendaki
  • Trip Reports
    • Australia
      • Aussie Odyssey Part 1, Uluru, Kata Tjuta
      • Aussie Odyssey Part 2 Kings Canyon
      • Aussie Odyssey Part 3 Kangaroo Island
      • Dunes Downunder Part 1
      • Dunes Downunder Part 2
      • Dunes Downunder Part 3
    • Climbing Tianyou Peak 天游峰 @ Wuyi Shan 武夷山
    • Europe
      • My Greek Odyssey (Athens & Acropolis)
      • My Greek Odyssey (Delphi)
      • My Greek Odyssey (Meteora)
      • My Greek Odyssey (Mt Olympus)
      • My Greek Odyssey (Pella – birthplace of Alexander the Great)
      • My Greek Odyssey (Thessaloniki)
    • India
      • A Tale of Two Jahans
      • Akbar The Great
      • Dungeshwari – where mistakes are made and corrected
      • Horriday In India – Trains
      • Sarnath – first lesson
      • Shimla – legacy of British India
      • Taj Mahal
      • The Mahabodi Temple, Bodhgaya
      • Varanasi, a city as old as time
    • Indonesia
      • Beautiful Bali 2019
        • Batur Mountain & Lake
        • Kuta Sunset
        • Marvellous Munduk
        • Nusa Penida 1
        • Nusa Penida 2
        • Tirta Gangga
      • Dieng Antiquities
      • Gedung Songo
      • Gunung Lawu 2019
      • Sex & Temples
        • Candi Kethek & Ceto
        • Candi Sukuh
      • Back In Mt Bromo With A Kid In Tow 1
      • Back In Mt Bromo With A Kid In Tow 2
    • Magical Myanmar 2019
      • Hsipaw Trek
      • Paya Ko Thaung
      • Pining For Pyin Oo Lwin
      • Sunset In Sittwe
      • The Goteik Viaduct
      • Yangon Memories
    • Nepal
      • Tilicho Lake
      • Annapurna On Wheels With Two Kids In Tow
      • Gosainkund Winter Trek
      • Lost In Lumbini
    • The Water Curtain Cave
    • Kunming, Dali With A Kid In Tow
  • Wacky Workouts
    • Climb Stairs
    • Great Body Weight Exercise
    • Metabolic Principle – Fat Burn
    • Metabolic Principles – Muscles
    • Pull Ups Step By Step
    • Push Up Variations
    • Pushup Variations
    • Working With Elastics
  • About The Author
  • Knapsack Books
  • Fighting Fit
    • 1000 Squats
    • Alternatives For Prevention of AMS?
    • Buffering Your Blood
    • Carbo-loading: The Real Thing
    • Cold Dips
    • Fluid Replacement
    • Food For Hikes – Sweet Potatoes
    • Healthy Coffee?
    • High Altitude Diarrhoea
    • Jumpstart Cream
    • L-Carnitine
    • Low Carb Myths & Risks
    • MacRitchie To Bukit Timah Hike
    • Preventing Blisters
    • Sandfly Bites
    • Cheating AMS
  • Gear & Stuff
    • Choosing Footwear
    • Cooking Set
    • Cushion Gloves
    • Dressing Right For The Himalayas
    • Gelert Boots
    • High Fashion (Frogg Toggs)
    • Hiking Footwear Cheap & Good
    • How To Clean Mouldy Slides
    • My Neat Knapsack
    • The Humble SAF Combat Boot
  • The Aging Adventurer
    • Bye Bye Bunions
      • 6 Weeks Post-op
      • Day 1
      • Day 2
      • Day 7
      • One Month Post-op
      • Trying On My Boots & Thongs
      • Week 3
    • Clogged Arteries: everyone has them!
    • Don’t Lose That Muscle
    • Foot On Ice
    • How Exercise Affects Blood Pressure
    • Keeping Fit Past 70
    • Secret To Burning Fat
    • Stairs Workout
    • Strength Training
    • The Best Doctors In The World
    • Toes & Poles
    • Too Old To Run?
    • Training For Seniors
  • Legends
    • Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922)
      • The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
    • Gigi The Bikini Hiker
    • Khoo Swee Chiow – K2, the ultimate peak
    • Xiao Peng 小鹏
    • Yu Chun Shun 余纯顺
    • Lei Dian Sheng 雷殿生
      • Horsehair & Blisters
      • Trust & Kindness
  • Other Sites by Chan Joon Yee
    • Chan Joon Yee On Homecooking
    • Chan Joon Yee On Social Issues

Login

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Categories

Uncategorized

Success On NDP 2019

by admin August 18, 2019 No Comments

The NDP – National Day Pendaki has succeeded in reaching the summit of Gunung Lawu, a 3265m extinct volcano on 9th August 2019. This was my first climb after my bunion surgery in January.

Below is an embedded Facebook post of my first day. I flew to Jakarta, then took a domestic flight to Solo (Surakarta). From Solo, I took a taxi to Tawangmangu for the night. Tawangmangu is the gateway to Gunung Lawu. There are hardly any foreign tourists here. The air is refreshingly cool and the prices are very reasonable.

I chartered a minibus to take me to Candi Sukuh and then to Cemoro Lawang base camp. The damage – inclusive of the wait at Candi Sukuh, was only about $20. Photo below was taken inside a warung at Cemoro Kandang base camp. I just told the ibu at the warung that I was looking for a guide to take me up the mountain. She picked up her mobile phone, made a few calls and my guide showed up in half an hour. Another hour or so for him to get ready and we’re off.

It was a hot and sweaty climb, but seeing that I was so gungho, my guide decided to take me off the beaten track for some vertical “short cuts”. There were 5 pos on this trail. My guide suggested resting at Pos 4 and then head direct to the summit at dawn the next day. It was an excellent suggestion. The views from Pos 4 are better than those from Pos 5 and it’s not that much further from the summit.

Below are pictures taken from the summit with me wishing everyone happy National Day. That’s what my NDP (National Day Pendaki) is all about. Every National Day, I’d make it a point to climb a peak in Indonesia.

From the summit, I made my way down to Pos 5 where Warung Mbok Yem is located. It’s a very rustic stall in a most unlikely spot of over 3,000m above sea level.

Below is a video of the entire crossover climb from Cemoro Kandang to Candi Cetho. Photos of Candi Cetho are shown in the embedded Facebook post below.

With sore feet and rubbery legs, I visited Candi Cetho on the other side of the mountain. Heavily restored, filling in the gaps with more imagination than historical facts which are quite lacking, it’s like a visit to an adulterated Balinese temple. Still, it is worth the trip here even if you’re not climbing the mountain. Climbing up from this direction is considerably tougher.


Check Out Knapsack Books by Chan Joon Yee

  • Previous Getting Back In Shape1 year ago
  • Next Paradise Lost1 year ago

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Knapsack Books

2021 Knapsack Treks. Donna Theme powered by WordPress