It is only 8 pm and I am already in bed. I'm very restless though; I roll from side to side, keep looking at my phone, and cannot for the life of me calm my mind. For a strange reason, my brain decided that the best time to think about my blog, classes, or next travels is now when I have less than 6 hours of sleep and a four-hour-long night hike ahead of me. I am just too excited.

*

As I'm putting my clothes on in the middle of the night, I hear monotonous quiet hissing in my garden. My half-sleeping brain cannot connect the sound to the driver calling me discretely without waking up everyone in the homestay. Realizing this only after the tenth or so creepy hiss, I was already in mild horror. 

*

I signed up for the trek myself, but I am joined by a girl from Australia and a loud group of Dutch girls, who get into the car from the same hotel in Ubud. The driver brings us to a café near Batur, where we have our breakfast.

Mount Batur (1,717 m) is one of the three volcanoes in Bali and is the most popular site for trekking among tourists. The reason is simple - while the hike itself is rather short and easy, the view from the top of the mountain is spectacular. And even though I knew it was a mainstream place, the number of tourists there still surprised.

Even though I slept for only 3 hours, I am more than ready for my hike. With enthusiasm, I step forward into the darkness. As we climb up, the only thing I see is a couple of volcanic rocks visible under the beam of the flashlight. 

We get to the middle point - a temple with a big concrete square, where the hikers rest. While the other girls are gasping already, I cannot wait to resume hiking. After the really easy first part, I look up towards the peak - and see a rather steep slope. Finally.

As expected, the second half is more difficult. (Occasionally, I need to use my hands to grab on to the rocks.) I pause for a second and turn around. Feeble shades of pink, red, and orange peak from the thin cloudy horizon. The sun will rise soon. 

"Oh! Already there?" I scream enthusiastically as I see the top of the mountain. "That was quick!"
"Yes!" the Dutch girls cheer in relief.

"This is only the first viewpoint," our guide Surry explains, and as she finishes the sentence, the real top of the volcano unravels before us. We are on a little plain with a hut and some benches and are surrounded by hundreds of tourists drinking a cup of tea ad enjoying their breakfast. The real top is still some half an hour away. 

"The view is the same," Surry says and I realize that this is the deciding factor in our group. The Dutch girls were so tired that they chose not to go all the way to the top, and the Australian one had such bad shoes that she decided to stay as well. 

But I could not stay. After finally breaking the language barrier and explaining to the guide that I will hike to the top alone, she puts me in her friend's group so that I do not get lost. Not even a minute into the hike we lost a Korean guy and the whole group had to wait. But I didn't have so much time and thus I leave them all behind and start hiking on my own. I cannot get lost though; I just follow the trail of little lights slowly climbing to the top.

Having promised my group to be down soon, I go full speed. It is getting a lot more difficult though; the rocks are replaced by volcanic sand, making you slide with each step. I still climb twice as fast as all the tourists around me—not being slowed down by anyone—and for the first time, I'm breathing heavily and feel the redness in my cheeks. 

As I get down to my group, we eat a banana toast and order hot chocolate. Surry also takes us to see hot steam and hardened lava crater from the last eruption. The way down is easy, as we take a different, concrete route. Once the road is not covered by sand, Surry tells us to turn around and walk down backward—it's better for knees. So we all try, and for a good while, the whole group walks backward, like funny idiots.

We get to the parking lot around 9 am and say goodbye to our guide. On the way to our hotel, we stop at a coffee plantation for free banana fritters and coffee & tea tasting, and to the Tegallalang rice fields. I don't feel so tired when we are in the car, but I see the heads of the girls sitting in front of me constantly dropping down and back up as they fall asleep for a second and wake up again. I guess I was just full of adrenaline from the night hike.