IndoStorySumatra

Orangutans - literally meaning people of the forest. These large human-like creatures were one of many reasons we were excited about our return to Indonesia.   Northern Sumatra has the largest orangutan re-hab center in the world. We had to go and check it out!!!

Our boat ride from Malaysia brought us into the bustling city of Medan, the capital of North Sumatra. This is another chaotic SE Asian city with the moto-bikes, horns, and pollution that seems to be required in such places.   We did the necessary shopping and email and after a few days we were ready to head north into the Gunung Leuser National Park.

Always watching our budget we opted for taking public transportation which, as you can imagine, is usually a much more rewarding, exciting, and cheaper option than the tourist buses. You have more Indonesians than there are seats, bags of rice and luggage in the aisles, the compulsory chickens in boxes at your feet, people eating red fruit with weird hairy stuff growing all over it, and many many eyes staring at you. Your eyes turn bloodshot before long with everyone chain smoking. As expected, the bus stops at every village along the way and the children outside begin jumping up and down and yelling "Hello Mister" when they see your white face.

After several hours of this we arrived in Bukit Lawang. It's a small community of guesthouses and restaurants that are spread up and down the Bohorok River. We decided to walk upstream so we could be removed from the central part of town. From fellow travelers we had heard that a certain guesthouse was known for seeing monkeys and orangutans at the river in the early morning. Although a bit shabby, the view from our balcony was breathtaking. The dense jungle was a stunning backdrop behind the flowing river.

There was a laid back mellow-ness that was easy to get sucked into.   After a few days of falling into this trap of waking up to birds chirping, jumping into the river (with the monkeys), sitting on our balcony enjoying the view and reading - we decided to set up a trek with a goal of seeing some wildlife...and that we did!

Luckily we didn't come across any Green Mambo snakes or nasty King Cobras but among the rubber trees were millipedes, prehistoric lizards and a variety of different monkeys. We also were fortunate to see the star of the show - a wild orangutan with her baby! She was perched high up in the tree but started to get brave and work her way down towards us - and quickly. Our guide was yelling "Go! Go! Move! Move!" as he prepared his sling shot (protection only). Of course we were trying to snap photos and were practically frozen in awe of the creature. She was beautiful and so graceful as she glided from branch to branch.

Fortunately we escaped with our belongings and unharmed. The Orangutans are known for grabbing people's packs, biting if necessary, and taking them to the tops of the trees before tearing them open to look for goodies. We continued hiking up and down through the valleys and set up camp many miles upstream. Jumping off rocks and swimming in the river was a refreshing break from the trek. We were reminded of the fact that we were in a jungle when Shawn ventured off to use the toilet and the guide yelled "don't go too far" in a very serious/scared voice. After a huge meal we all laid down to sleep under an open tarp and once again, we were reminded that we were in the jungle. In the middle of the night Summer woke up to a small creature climbing up her leg, she shook it off and hoped it was just a mouse that scurried off, but who knows. Morning came quickly and after playing around in the river some more we began preparing our raft. It was a simple device composed of rubber tubes that we tied together and floated downstream for a couple of hours.

We were so moved by the sighting of the orangutan that we decided to visit the re-hab center. It's for orangutans that have been captured and turned into pets that need to be trained on how to live in their natural habitat. Once they are ready and returned to the wild they will continue to come down to the center for feedings twice a day. They are fed only bananas and milk, the idea is that they will eventually get bored with this food and start taking the necessary steps to fend for themselves. We witnessed three mothers (babies hanging on to them) and one large male come down for food. What a magical experience to see these animals move so poetically from tree to tree.

Our next move was 1000 km south to the largest lake in S.E. Asia, Danau (Lake) Toba. The lake lies within a collapsed volcano that has an island in the middle almost the size of Singapore. We made the journey by day and enjoyed the spectacular sight! We stayed on the island swimming in the refreshing water, renting motobikes to explore all the different villages, drinking local Palm Tree Wine and taking in the stunning views. This place was another really cool super chill spot (The Indonesians just know how to relax) and our stay lasted longer than expected.

On the down side, about 5 days into our stay we got so sick that we convinced ourselves we had malaria. Within a matter of minutes, both of us were totally floored. Fever, chills, puking....thought we were literally dying. But, as it turns out it was most likely to be something we ate. The Indonesians are not necessarily known for their hygien...probably a matter better left out of this entry. But, with a quick visit to the clinic, the standard shot in the butt and a few days of antibiotics we were back on our feet. Must admit though, it was a tad bit scary thinking that one of those nasty mosquitoes finally got us.

Now that we were up and running, we were ready for a change of scenery. Time to shake off the sickness for good. We headed south-west to the town of Bukittinggi. This is a really neat hill town that belongs to the Minangkabau people. These people are known as the gypsies of Indonesia and "Though Muslim, this society is still matriachal and matrilineal, one of the few, maybe the only, left in modern society. Therefore, according to customary law, men have NO rights over their wives other than expect them to be faithful. The eldest living female is the matriarch and holds the power in the household, which can be as many as 70 people descended from one ancestral mother, living under the same roof. She is deferred to in all matters of family politics. Even ancestral property, although worked collectively, is pased down the female's line rather than down the male line" (LP).

Anyway, after a day of cruising through the local markets (oh the things for sale would blow your mind...) we ventured out to a small village to watch a bullfight. It's not your Spanish style dual, there's no bloodshed. The two water buffaloes are bullied and roused up by many Indonesian men (usually by inserting a red hot chilli into the bulls rear end...seriously) and once untied, the idea is that they will lock horns in a trial of strength. The fight ends when one animal tires and runs off. The excitement level was high and people were placing bets all around us (this is a time for the men to do "guys stuff" since they have to shut up and behave at home), we were a handful of Westerners amongst hundreds of local men. After much debate we decided that we had found the perfect place to view the event. We had front row seats in the corner...why was no one else taking these prime spots?

Well, the fight starts as the few remaining people in the ring run off. Before the two bulls could lock horns one had decided he wasn't into it and started running out of the ring...DIRECTLY AT US!!!! We go scrambling back nocking some poor man off his motobike and falling down in a dusty crash. This was considered really really funny to the locals. Our prime spot, as it turns out, happens to be where the bull ALWAYS runs out of the ring, hence it was open for us to enjoy.

After the bull was finally caught he was brought back for a second go around which lasted a bit longer. This time they did lock heads and pushed each other back and forth for a spell until one ran out of the areana (as you might expect there were no dumb Westerners in his way this time). And that's that, we had a winner and everyone began leaving the area to go home. We needed to get a ride back into town so we jumped in the back of an old military truck. No one spoke any English but we were so curious to know if any of them made any money...our prize of the day was a few bumps, cuts, and bruises.

WOW! Time has moved quickly. We ended our time in Sumatra on Danau Maninjau, another crater lake. The road there from Bukittinggi was breathtaking. The final descent to the lake has 44 hair bending turns. It's kind of like Lombard Street in San Francisco but much longer and with stunning views of the lake. We stayed at a lake-front guesthouse a few kilometers outside of town and from the road you had to walk through rice paddies to reach it. This is easy enough during the day but what an adventure during the night...slow stepping, trying to stay on the ridge and not fall into the mucky water on either side (never ever think about the snakes around...you would go insane if you did). Much to our dismay, it rained for most of our stay but it was still really impressive. Living life at a snails pace...it doesn't get any more relaxed than this little spot. With some motivation and finally a break in the weather we decided to bike around the lake. We thought for certain that the rusty old clunkers we rented would be more than sufficient for the paved road. Well, come to find out, nearly 3/4 of it was unpaved and the road was full of huge potholes and rather big hills. Thankfully, a full day and 70km later we made it back home but our bodies had turned into rubbery shock absorbers.

Dragging our feet we knew it was time to venture on to Singapore. We had 24 hours of travel ahead of us. Our night mini-bus was the scariest of all. Summer woke up and saw the driver swerving because he was nodding off. Mind you, this is the scariest possible thing to happen and usually the reason for all the horrible accidents that you hear of on the road.   Summer busted out with a deafening loud yell which, amazingly barely brought the driver back around. With a " What are you doing, are you alright?" he seemed to come around but it was a little too close for comfort so we decided it was probably in our best interest to remain awake until we reached Dumai.

After a quick breakfast of Nasi Goreng (fried rice with scraps of veggies and a fried egg) we had to say good-bye to one of the most beautiful countries either of us had ever visited. It was a tough good-bye because Indonesia had been so great to us. The travel there not only taught us about the Indonesian culture, the Muslim religion, and the incredible natural beauty but also so much more about ourselves.

The people do make this country that much more beautiful!

Next Adventure: From Shopping To The Jungle Train in Singapore and Malaysia