Keep Bromo clean

Twenty years ago I visited Bromo, East Java, and it was a serene, clean and quiet place. Nature is still beautiful there but the place has become awful: noise, stink and dirt -- all that one wants to escape in city. On my way up from the caldera to Braga Permai I counted 10 motorcycles alone, pervading the area with an unbearable stench.

Paper and plastic are scattered all over. I do not mind the horse droppings there, at least it is natural, but the horse guides should be made responsible to keep the place somewhat clean. It is no use just putting signs up. The foreign tourists mostly do not litter, it is the local ones that often do. What are the rangers for if they cannot keep things in order, especially on Sundays?

There should be strictly no motor vehicles in the caldera (except those belonging to rangers). Litterers should be fined. One does not have to go the Singapore extreme, but if someone leaves their campsite like a dump site they should be reprimanded or fined. If those in charge really cared, it would not be too difficult to do. If nothing is done, foreign tourists may no longer care about Bromo (or other sites) if they are left so messy.

DIETRICH LERCHE

Surabaya, East Java