Waking up at 5.30, we packed our muesli bars and our Aqua bottles and set off in the car for a one and a half hour journey to Sentul. There we met our guides whose Jeeps we followed to reach the starting point of our three and a half hour trek around the hills.
It started off quite uneven and steep in places, and despite my athleticism, found myself clutching onto the out-held arm of the guide in front of me. In total there were 12 of us, plus 5 guides, making a grand total of 17. To my dismay I discovered that one of the guides was in Year 11 (me being in Year 10). So my plan next year is to retire to the mountains of Java and take on the role I believe I was always destined to play.
We hiked on for about one and a half hours before stopping at a little clearing where the guides conjured seats out of thin air and asked us whether we would like tea or coffee. So that was quite relaxing.
Then we set off walking again, through the muddy paddy fields and up jagged foothills. Near the end of our journey we came across a small hut where they 'proses' tapioca, which was laid out on trays in the sun. The smell was pretty bad but nothing compared to the buffalo stables we had passed earlier.
Finally, after enduring long hours of excruciating pain and torture, battling the treacherous hills of Indonesia, we sat down in JPEC for a well-deserved lunch.
if you're ever in or around Jakarta, be sure to go on a trek: http://www.idguides.org/
