26th to 29th April
Men of the Forest
Orang-Utan
We crossed a strident river on a wobbly wooden suspension bridge to reach our lodging for the next two nights, the Eco Lodge at Bukit Lawang. The Lodge is situated on the border of the Gunung Leuser National Park, where five thousand orangutans have their habitat. Many of the endangered animals were kept cruelly as pets, before foreign and local NGOs convinced the government that they should be preserved and protected.
Over years, the captured animals were reintroduced to living in the wild, and we now have the second generation living independently in the jungle, in peace with the wild orangutans.
This was what we most looked forward to on our visit to Sumatra – the chance of seeing orangutans free, in the wild.
Our room did not have air conditioning – but a mosquito net over the bed and a fan on the ceiling. Despite the fan, it was too hot and humid to sleep well, and we were up early the next morning to start our jungle trek.
We had met our ranger the evening we arrived, who suggested we started early. So, we beat the kitchen staff to it, and waited impatiently for our breakfast. After breakfast, off we went, long sleeve shirts and long trousers against the mosquitos and (shudder) leeches. Plenty of drinking water.
Our ranger had got the measure of us and didn’t hesitate to take us on tricky paths, involving some scrambling up rocks and pushing through lianas and branches. He guessed we wanted to feel we earned our sightings.
Our six-hour trek was fantastic – we saw three orangutan females each with a baby, some Thomas Leaf monkeys, a gibbon, an aggressive baboon, a chameleon and a massive peacock, ignoring us while loudly calling for a female, any female, to join him. We spotted evidence of honey bears and wild pigs, but not the creatures themselves.
We stopped just before noon for a magnificent ‘jungle lunch’ – Nasi goreng (fried rice) with masses of trimmings, including a fried egg and a stunning choice of fresh fruit.
At the end we descended out of the jungle to the riverside, where our ride back to the Eco Lodge awaited….
We quickly changed, and put our backpacks and trekking clothes into a plastic bag, and the lot of us rode down the gushing river on four large blown up rubber tubes, strapped together. At times peaceful, at times in white water, soaking in the rapids. What a lovely way to cool down after six hours in the jungle!
We were surprised by how far up river we had trekked (Lynne wondered whether we had just been going round in circles) and the number of Indonesians bathing and playing along the river, en-route!
We decided to cool down in the river, before returning to the lodge, for a shower and freshen up, for a while until we were uncomfortably hot again. It was much hotter away from the shade of the rainforest canopy.
We decided to forego the opportunity for a three hour trek the following morning. Nothing could surpass the excitement and joy of the day’s trek.
Returning over the wooden suspension bridge, we embarked on our last day of travel across Sumatra. We stopped at a nearby village market, and experienced the trade of everything conceivable from vegetables, betel nuts, chickens, live fish, pots and pans, clothing, motorcycle parts, raw rubber and even moist tobacco to put under your top lip – also known as ‘snus’ in Sweden!
A motorised rickshaw took us for a ride through the village, experiencing rice paddies and their irrigation, the making of palm sugar, and an extensive tour of an Eco-farm, where Lynne was finally accosted by a cheeky leech – quickly squashed by Peter before any harm was done. We also saw a patch of snake fruit growing; wow – vicious stalks doesn’t describe half of it!
We stopped for a small lunch on the way back to Medan, where Peter FINALLY had a good chicken satay. It was worth the wait!
Lynne spent lunch time reading up about the problems of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in Sumatra. Only 7% of waste water is treated and access to clean water is really only through the purchase of flagons of treated water, which are widely available. While the houses in the village, have many pretty flowers out front, and water channels running beside them, pity those downstream, as the water upstream has been used for laundry, washing dishes, bathing, keeping fish, etc. first!
It was really nice to settle into our air-conditioned hotel, after the last three days. Time to catch up with a shower, email and news, before being picked up at 7pm by Lindung and Egi. First, we ventured out into the shopping mall connected to the hotel, which included a cinema and ice rink on the top floor! After buying a couple of sports tops for Lynne, to replace her sadly deteriorated Riga marathon shirt and a rather sorry-looking Helsinki half-marathon shirt, we enjoyed the best cup of coffee since O’ver Coffee in Bengaluru, together with an irresistible free doughnut in J.Co.
Instead of being treated to a tour of Chinese street food, we suggested an Indonesian restaurant instead. Mainly to avoid garlic due to Lynne’s allergy, but also, we had been warned by our lovely pharmacist in Hampstead, that street food can introduce new bacteria, and we may regret it the day after…
As it was, Lindung was delighted to introduce us to one of his favourites, Restaurant Tip Top! A previously huge favourite with the Dutch community, it was lovely and old fashioned, clearly not aimed for tourists. It proudly exhibited a photograph of a company of Australian soldiers marching past the restaurant in 1947, shortly after having been liberated from the Japanese. Taking advice from Lindung, we were blown away by the amazing Indonesian food. Tip Top!
Getting back to our very nice, four star hotel, too early to retire, we asked where the bar was. The reception ladies looked confused, and couldn’t answer. But we had seen a sign on the lift – bar on floor 26…! Up we went – empty. A few staff there knew nothing of a bar. We turned to go back, and a young man hurried after us – bar? Yes! Here….!
So, in we went – a large empty restaurant, with a lovely night view over Medan. We were the only ones there! A glass of cool white wine was appreciated, while discussing the day’s events and tomorrow’s challenges.
The morning found us preparing for out flight to Jakarta, with Peter updating his hotel bookings spreadsheet, and Lynne having an hour’s workout in the hotel gym. Breakfast took place where we had enjoyed a solitary drink the night before, but this time it was crowded, with masses of local and incomprehensible food.
We were picked up for our final journey in Medan, past the lovely Dutch colonial buildings, through the Royal Palace, and past the nearby mosque, before the one hour drive to Medan airport. We visited both the “old Post Office”, now an elegant shopping arcade, and the modern one, where we posted 2 postcards, Lindung insisting that the lady behind the counter provided us with glue to stick on the stamps!
Royal Palace Elegant Mosque
The airport, only 10 years old, was lovely, light, with masses of food outlets. We retired to the lounge, where the time passed quickly, before our flight to Jakarta. Apparently the island of Java is over 1000km away. The railway line goes no further than North Sumatra and that takes 6 hours. There are buses, which take 3 days and 2 nights followed by a ferry. So a two hour flight was really our only option to hop to the next island.
As for our visit to Sumatra, we were fortunate to have such an excellent and flexible guide, who adapted our programme to fit in with our interests, imparting huge amounts of knowledge, about the culture, history and agriculture, but at the same time, recognising that we didn’t need to be entertained all the time. We absolutely loved our jungle trek, but having arrived in Indonesia with no expectations, we were pleasantly surprised by the holiday. If we had to change one thing, it would be less time in the car.
I wonder how the satay compared to Peter’s!
Hand on heart, only one compared….😊