Get Danger for Photos on Social Media

It was the end of 2017. This was the time when Bali tourism was down because there was too many news about the eruption of the only volcano in Bali, Mount Agung. Starting from television, social media like facebook and a lot of pictures on Instagram, almost every day contains news about the eruption of Mount Agung. Even on Instagram, there are a lot of tourists who deliberately pose very close to Mount Agung, which is puffing thick smoke high into the sky. Their photos were also made phenomenal with various strange poses.

This turned out to make my clients curious and want to pose the same as other tourists. Of course I didn't advise them to approach Mount Agung. The eruption could occur suddenly without anyone knowing when this mountain will really seriously erupt. But my passengers still persuaded me to take them at least to the city of Karangasem. Even though the distance is not too close from Mount Agung, at least they can see the volcano with puffing up thick smoke.  This photo is for memories, they said. Finally, I was able to take them on one day tour for next day. On the condition there was no visit to Mount Agung.

The following morning I kept my appointment to pick them up at the hotel. At 8 am I arrived at their hotel in Double Six area Seminyak. It turned out that my clients were ready to leave. They seemed very enthusiastic about this trip. While driving, I asked them where the trip was going today. They completely submitted itinerary to me. The most important thing for them is to be able to see Mount Agung which is puffing up its smoke. Hearing their answers made me  confused. I have to quickly made an impromptu itinerary. I arranged a plan with the first stop of Kertagosa in Klungkung, after that to Tirta Gangga and then to Taman Ujung. They just nodded in agreement with the itinerary I arranged.

After an hour's journey we arrived at Kerthagosa. I escorted them to buy an entrance ticket but I waited outside for resting. After 30 minutes they finished and came over to me. Finally, the journey continues towards to Tirta Gangga.

From Tirta Gangga, if the weather is sunny, we actually can see Mount Agung even though the distance is quite far. While they entered to Tirta Gangga I waited them in the car.  Eating and drinking to recharge my energy. But not long they were out of Tirta Gangga. My three clients from Slovakia said that they actually wanted outdoor activity. And now they wanted to see Mount Agung up close.

Between annoyance and pity, made me confused, reject or grant their request. Finally, the inner war on my mind occurred. And I decided to grant their request, to go to Mount Agung. Before leaving that place, I gave several conditions for them including: If a guard refuses us to enter Mount Agung area, we must not force it and must go home immediately. If in the middle of the road the weather gets worse or the view gets blurry, the trip is stopped and we have to reverse direction. All of my passengers agreed and gave happy expressions. I could saw from their faces.

In order to shorten the time we finally decided to follow google map direction. We take a shortcut passed through the Sibetan area. This is the first time I have passed that road. It turned out that the road we were on was quite small with a route through mountains and hills. I was horrified enough. Even though it's narrow, we still faced with trucks. Sometimes on the right and left of the road we passed a gaping chasm. The ravine is ready to accommodate the less fortunate peoples on the road. The road was winding up and down. I was scared of going through steep inclines on narrow roads. I am afraid of being hit by another truck or car. Even I did not care about the beautiful green rice fields on my left and right I only focus on driving so that I can immediately find big roads in the Besakih area. The game of guts on the steep uphill road using a 1000 cc capacity car lasts about thirty minutes.

We were lucky enough that the streets were relatively quiet. Not many vehicles pass through the area. This happened because many local people had fled away from the slopes and foothills of Mount Agung. Many of them fled to Denpasar, Badung and Singaraja. The closer to the slopes of the mountain the atmosphere is getting more quiet. Along the way, there were piles of ash covering the trees that we passed. The leaves are no longer green but have turned gray. The residual floods due to heavy rain and a mixture of magma and volcanic materials were still visible when we crossed the river from the bridge.

Entering the Besakih area, we were stopped by several officers on guard. They asked where will we go. Of course I said that we wanted to go to Besakih Temple. They forbid us to continue entered the area because the temple is currently closed. A disappointment I knew from the faces of my passengers. The officers gave an alternative. There is one place we can go to, namely the Mount Agung monitoring post. Finally, we headed to the direction indicated by the officer.

Not long after driving, we finally arrived at the Mount Agung monitoring post. At the post, it turned out that there were also visitors and some tourists who were looking at the mountain that was puffing up. The distance is quite close but the place is relatively safe for visitors. My clients from Slovakia posed enthusiastically in the backdrop of Mount Agung with its smoke rising into the sky. They kept on posing and taking pictures. Sometimes they took turns taking pictures of each other by moving locations and changing their styles. I was also happy and occasionally took photos for them.