 |
| View from the Hotel |
 |
| Katie Jackson |
After a night in Kuala Lumpur, we boarded a plane to Yogyakarta, Indonesia. As we were in flight, Tim leaned over to show me an article about Mount Merapi, a volcano within 30 kilometers of where we were staying that had just been declared on red alert. Honestly, I didn't think much of it as it was early and not enough caffeine had quite entered my body yet. We landed down in Yogyakarta and were greeted by a team from our hotel ready for us and all of our bags. En route to the Amanjiwo Hotel, we passed not only the volcano but the famous Borobudur Monument, a large reason for this visit. After a quick dip in the crystal clear pool, we all got changed for dinner. I decided to stay in for the night, as I had a phenomenal book I just couldn't put down. A little after six that night, I heard a bit of a rumble and didn't think much of it. I opened the doors to head out and saw the ash raining down to cover everything and anything in sight with a blanket of ash! We were about 25 kilometers away from the volatile volcano, within 15 kilometers of the volcano had already been evacuated. Within seconds the housekeeping staff tracked everyone in the hotel down to provide a complimentary pair of safety goggles and surgery mask to avoid intake of the ash. The following morning I ventured down to the pool to go for an early morning dip and the water was completely black due to the abundance of ash! We tried laying out on our patio but the wind continued to blow ash everywhere. Even dining proved difficult--as the hotel staff would not let us eat in the semi open restaurant, instead they escorted us to the protected library to dine. I must say, I did become a fan of all the volcano gear. As did Sam, as he continues to wear the goggles!
No comments:
Post a Comment