Believe Me U: Three Days in Sumatra

by
Jules

It had been 3 months since I left home to travel around South East Asia. Sumatra was the one place I had wanted to visit more than anything and I was getting very excited as we waited at the ferry terminal in Penang. Two friends I met in Thailand decided to join me. It had been a close shave though as Tim had caught dengue fever. We had nursed him through it over the last few days. He made an amazing recovery on a diet of chocolate chip cookies and juice so we were soon back on course. One final check that it was still safe to go into the country and we were on our way.

Day 1

Jules demonstrates the emergency jungle birthing procedure! The ferry was due to leave at 12pm, no such luck! This is Asia after all. There were 2 boats scheduled for Sumatra, but one had been hired out privately for the day. The ferry company doubled booked the remaining boat to compensate. The waiting lounge was cramped and stank of urine and we had to wait there for 3 hours. When the gates finally opened, they let people through a few at a time and everyone pushed from behind. Before we knew it we were squashed together like sardines.

There wasn't enough room so we sat on the deck. The boat was rocking from side to side and as i walked over to my friends the ground disappeared from under me and I flew about 6 feet. I stayed put after that. It was mad. As we neared Sumatra we witnessed the most colourful sunset I have seen so far and my excitement returned once more.

Medan was our first stop, the biggest city in Sumatra and probably one of the ugliest. By now everyone was tired and grumpy and understandably so. We found a guesthouse a mile out of town and decided to walk there, back packs and all. Men and kids kept telling us that our guest house was full and that they would take us somewhere better. They were used to tourists. We found the guesthouse and once we had settled in, the owner pulled out his guitar and started to sing. I had heard that the Indonesian culture was very musical but I wasn't expecting him to start singing the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The four of us laughed and sang till the early hours, the stress of the day slowly drifted away. This was the perfect end to a mad day.

Day 2

We chartered a mini-bus to take us to Bukit Lawang. As we left smelly, polluted Medan behind us the scenery began to change. It was a welcomed break. There wasn't much natural vegetation, much to my disapproval, just plantation after plantation of rubber plants. All of this had been rainforest not so long ago but there was very little left now. Within a few hours we had a flat tyre! The rest didn't look as if they would last long either. I was extremely glad for the break as the bus was old, to say the least and had very little cushioning left on the seats. The roads were ridiculously bumpy and I soon developed the first of my many bruises.

A fine specimen of the rare giant broccoli We were heading northwest towards the protected rainforests. As we neared the national park the trees became taller and taller. Mist clung to their tops and you could feel the change in humidity. We signed in at the park checkpoint and soon reached the village. There were about 30 people waiting for us, all trying to get us to stay with them. As usual they were hard work and very persistent, they just wouldn't take no for an answer. I am sure that their accommodation would have been fine, but I had my heart set on a little place right next to the national park.

However, I had forgotten several details about my choice of residence. It was a 30-minute walk, up hill... I had a 20 kg backpack ... it was dark... we didn't have a torch to hand!!!!!!

The 'bungalow' was situated on the edge of the river, on the other side of which was the national park. I was exhausted from the walk but it was worth it. The "bathroom" was great, it had a virtual jungle in the middle of it and the shower head came out of a fern! Giant millipedes crawled round the walls and God only knows what else was lurking about. I didn't investigate too much! We each adopted a hammock and gazed at the jungle opposite. We watched excitedly as a grey macaque came down to the river to drink and I was overcome with emotion. I was so happy to be here. the current political climate had kept a lot of people away and we all thought we might not make it. As long as we avoided Aceh, about 60 kms north, we should be safe enough.

We soon found a guide to take us into the national park, (you couldn't go in without one), and arranged to leave the following morning. Then slept and slept and slept.

Day 3

6.45 am. Well this has to be a first. The alarm was set for 7.30; we were all wide-awake and sitting on our balcony. Someone grabbed my leg and whispered, "look, in the trees up there!"

Damn, where did I leave the car keys? There it was, high up in the trees on the other side of the river. An orang-utan! This is why I came here, I have a thing for orang-utans, I am not sure why. They just fascinate me. I don't think Clint Eastwood is responsible, it's more than likely the childish nicknames I was given at school. Several more arrived and played about, not energetically, more of an early morning stretch. Orang-utans do not normally come too close to humans; in fact they are naturally quite shy. This wasn't just luck. About 1/2 km away, at the entrance to the national park, was an orang-utan rehabilitation centre. Orphaned and rescued orang-utans came here and slowly they were introduced back into the rainforest. The ones we saw had been re-released into the park, but were not yet wild. They still relied on the centre to supplement their diet and what we saw was a pre-breakfast social gathering.

We crossed the river by canoe and entered the centre; a few people had come to watch the orphans being fed. We didn't hang around as we had a lot of ground to cover by nightfall. As we left the centre behind we met some of the centres' volunteers who were feeding a couple of young orang-utans. They hadn't been released yet but were just having a 'play in the park'.

About 20 minutes into the trek the leaves started rustling, about 20 or so long tailed macaques had become interested in us. Young and old. Again this was unusual in the wild but was probably because other trekkers had fed them in the past. They were quite intimidating, screeching and running around us. They came far too close for my liking and their teeth seemed too sharp for vegetarians. Once they realised we had nothing for them, they climbed the trees and went off to do their thing, still screeching and chattering to each other.

It was a while before we stopped. Tim took his sock off and found a leech, a big bugger too! Heaven only knows how it managed to get down there. It had fed so well that it just dropped off!

If any one asks, you haven't seen me We ascended along the ridge of a hill, it was steep and narrow, the valley was far below us. I went to grab a tree for support and the guide shouted "Stop, don't move!" I froze. He told me to walk towards him quietly. I turned round and looked. There on the tree I was about to grab, was the most amazingly bright green lizard. It must have been about 2ft long and still as the tree it rested on. I have never seen anything like it in my life. We had both been lucky, if I had grabbed that tree we both would have had the fright of our lives.

We stopped at a stream to swim. It was so clean. lunch was served, an Indonesian rice dish wrapped in a palm leaf. This beats tupperware any day! It was still warm from this morning and tasting great.

In true backpacker style, Jules didn't shave for 3 months! Our camp was still another four hours away, so we didn't hang around. The trees above us began to shake and sway. A huge orang-utan came down from the greenery. My heart was pounding and I couldn't move. We were far enough away from the rehabilitation centre for it not to be tame but it was obviously not scared of us. We stood for a while and watched. His arms were so long and it looked so uncannily human. This was a large, strong male and he could have ripped an arm off. As one of the guys walked past, the ape swung for him, missing by inches. This was definitely a semi-wild orang-utan that remembered that bags contain food! At this point we left! I can't believe he came so close.

You could just see the sky through the canopy, which echoed with an amazing sound. We spotted a rare hornbill up above, calling to a mate. The reply came back from the jungle and he flew to greet her. I just caught a glimpse of his magnificently coloured tail as he left.

The jungle was an amazing place; trees with bright blue berries stood out like a beacon. This strange vibrant colour also warned that they were highly poisonous. Tribesmen used the berries on the tips of their arrows to kill monkeys. Quinine trees were abundant and although it tasted disgusting, it helped the locals avoid malaria. The mosquitoes love it here.

The climb back down the ridge was steep and it had started to rain, well this was a rainforest after all. My boots held out as best they could in these severe conditions, but my legs were tired and wobbly. My friends had already landed on their backsides several times, much to my amusement. I slipped too. I grabbed the first thing I could which was a vine and swung out over the valley! My two travelling companions and our guide thought it was great and cheers of "Jane" and "Ape Woman" echoed around me! I was having a ball even if I was covered in mud, bumps and scrapes.

Camp was reached by about 5pm. Our hut was a bamboo frame, with a plastic sheet for the roof and floor. Our guide started on dinner straight away and gave us Indonesian cigarettes to keep us occupied. It was great; we had a lovely wholesome meal and crashed early. As I lay there, trying to sleep on the hard ground, I could hear all the sounds of the jungle. Monkeys chattered in the trees, strange screeching noises echoed around us from no particular direction and the cicadas clicked rhythmically. The jungle seemed even more magical and mysterious at night. My imagination was running wild. Sumatran tigers can be found deep in this jungle, but we weren't far enough in to be close to them. I put socks over my hands and feet and tucked my shirt and trousers into them, hoping to keep the 'creepy crawlies' out. I eventually fell into a deep slumber.

I awoke with a start, something had jumped on my foot. It was dark and I couldn't see. I tucked my self into a ball and one of my friends woke up too. Whatever it was had also jumped on him and he was as freaked out as I was. We both scrambled for a torch. I couldn't believe what I saw, a giant grasshopper! About 8 inches long, it looked enormous. We both laughed and tried to explain to the others why we had woken them up, but by then it had long gone.

Day 4

Well sleep must have occurred at some point although it didn't feel like it. I woke up suddenly to a cicada that was beeping like an alarm clock. I rummaged around in my bag for ages before eventually realising what it was. You can take the girl out of the city but you can't take the city out of the girl.

The river was very inviting but a little bit cold. We all bathed in it whilst trying not to be swept off with the current! The massive heights of the surrounding jungle looked even more magnificent in the daylight and I sat and gazed in awe while I devoured a fried egg sandwich.

Jungle maypole We set off after breakfast in the direction of our next camp and at the start it was a lovely day. A few hours and a few leeches later we reached a river! Two more guides waited on the other side. Our guide put our daypacks and dry clothes into a waterproof bag and carried them across. The river was flowing too fast for me to go on my own, my travelling companions were both having trouble and they were twice my size, the water reached up to their chests. The guide held my arm and we waded together, I wished I wasn't so small and short! The rocks were slippery and I struggled to get a firm footing. my legs were swept sideways by the current and I lost my footing completely. However, our guide was as strong as an ox and pulled me back in. My legs were flailing behind me and I was expecting to be dragged off down river. We made it to the other side and I have never felt so relieved to see hard ground. The guides had gone on with our bags so I had to walk wearing only trekking boots and a bikini. It had starting raining by now and so the leeches were everywhere! I was well aware of their ability to get into crevices and was feeling very vulnerable.

We got back to camp and dried off. Kyle suddenly turned very pale and ran off behind a bush, I asked him if he was okay but he didn't answer. A leech had made its way, right up the inside of his leg and had got where it shouldn't have! We got the germoline out for that one!

It was really raining hard now. One of the plastic covers, which made up the roof, had disappeared so we were all huddled into a small circle in the middle of the hut. The rain was torrential. The camp was by a river, which started flowing faster and faster. It was getting higher and muddier. We all watched anxiously as it started creeping up the bank. An otter sailed by and desperately grabbed at branches before managing to get a hold. It scrambled up the bank and sat for a second trying to catch its breath. Then it was gone. Trees that had been uprooted began to float past! It was dark now and getting late, the conversation was mainly about whether we should move to higher ground and if so where? The rain was hard and it was getting very cold, so nobody wanted to get any wetter. We ended up falling asleep hoping that we would still be there in the morning.

Day 5

The rains had passed and the river had lowered considerably. Our guides decided that it was safe enough to raft back to the village. Well it wasn't exactly rafting! The "raft" consisted of 4 inflated tyre inner tubes, which were held together by string. The hole in the centre had string mesh to stop you falling through! We packed every thing up into waterproof plastic bags again, cameras and all, strapping them precariously to the tyres. One guide went in front with a long pole he had found and I went behind, my arms wrapped around one of the bags. Our main guide sat at the back and looked so comfortable that he could have been in an armchair. Then we were off.

Busting for a pee! It was great! To begin with everything was calm. Just floating along, listening to the animals and staring up at the amazingly dense and towering rainforest which I had grown to love. This place was truly beautiful. We came to a few large rocks and our guide pushed us away with his pole. Then things changed. We hit a small waterfall, and splashed onto the next level. Everyone giggled and cheered until we saw the next one! This drop was steeper. As we fell into the water, I flew into the air, clinging to the bag in front of me I managed to stay on. Then we went over a rock. The front tyre lifted out of the water and I followed. As I came back down I crashed into the lap of the poor guy behind me and he screamed out in pain! I had managed to crush his bits! He didn't have long to think about it as we started to get thrown from side to side. The river had narrowed because of boulders in the stream. The guide at the front was pushing us off rocks on both sides and the guide at the back was less relaxed now. There were times when I really did wonder if this was such a good idea. I could hardly see what was coming, in between being thrown about and showered with water. Every one still laughed and cheered. As one of us fell out we all grabbed for him. He floated along with the raft until we managed to pull him back on. It's not easy trying to jump back onto a wet tyre.

The river became shallower and we were hitting the rocks underneath us. Our bums were bashed continuously against them and boy did it hurt. More bruises. After this bone shattering experience I was ready for anything but that was it! We sailed calmly for the last 10 minutes and then we reached the rehabilitation centre. We managed to dodge the canoe of visitors and continued. Then we were home. We beached up right outside our bungalow and just sat. Wet, pumping with adrenaline and very, very tired. It was over and all too soon.

It has been a very basic trek in the sumatran jungle, but the three of us had an excellent time. We saw rare wildlife, huge trees and generally had lots of fun. It wasn't the most daring rafting trip but the sheer ingenuity of our guides made it great fun. BelieveMeU, it just wouldn't have been the same in a bright yellow rubber dinghy. tiger

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