The wonderful scenery inside the volcano crater.

At five o'clock in the morning, I rode my motorcycle from Banyuwangi for more than fifty kilometers to the foot of Mount Yizhen, and then hiked for three hours to climb up to the crater. Yizhen is a living volcano, with a bizarre and colorful bottom, but the top near the crater is barren. On the blue lake surface inside the volcano, yellow smoke is emitted. Without wearing a gas mask throughout the journey, there is a strong smell of sulfur in the air. Just hiking alone is already exhausting, and the Indonesian people living in Ijen have to carry sulfur blocks weighing up to 70-80 kilograms up and down the volcano every day. Their average life expectancy is only around 40 years old. After Merapi and Bromo, Mount Ijen in Banyuwangi is the third active volcano seen this week.