Bukit Lawang... Left Me Speechless.

Hey All!

I am currently sitting in a small internet cafe in Melaka, Malaysia... that's right, this morning we boarded a small, high speed ferry from the port town of Dumai in Sumatra and arrived here two hours later. That means our first country and the first leg of our trip are finished. Sniff.

Before I start babbling on about how cool Malaysia is (ah, the comforts of a sorta kinda first world country!) I need t tell you everything about our time in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra. Unfortunately, the internet here won't allow me to upload pictures so they'll have to wait until tomorrow... but I promise: they're good.

I couldn't wait to leave the disgusting guesthouse where we were staying in Medan (especially coming home after dinner to what I suspected to be bedbugs crawling all over the bed... I made sure the light was on all night so the intruders would be scared off). In the morning we had a yummy breakfast and saw some more CNN World News (seriously, what's happening to me?) and, politely refusing all offers to give us a "good package deal" to Bukit Lawang (the village where one can go to the orangutan rehabilitation centre and go trekking in the jungle), we took a cab and boarded what looked like a hundred year old bus. It cost us about a buck to get to Bukit Lawang on this bus, which was about three hours away from Medan. I wasn't exactly happy to be on such an old, falling apart bus, but I took a deep breath (and some xanax) and suddenly, we were on our way (slowly, so as not to lose important bus parts).

Saying that there were some potholes on this road would be an understatement. Saying there were craters on this road would be a little more accurate (but only a little bit). We dipped and were thrown out of our seats, we had to hang on for dear life and I prayed silently the entire trip- especially after we passed a similar bus that had literally fallen off the narrow road and into the ditch (no casualties, we were assured, there just wasn't room on the road for two vehicles and, apparently, it was a busy day).

On the way there, a small, quiet man introduced himself as Sanur. We chatted for a bit before he revealed to us that he was, in fact, a guide for jungle trekking. We knew that once we arrived we would be bombarded with people wanting to be our guide, so we treated Sanur warily. We asked to see his guiding liscense; he complied. He had two of them- one from Medan and one from Bukit Lawang. He showed us his comment book from former trekkers- all gave excellent reports. He grew up in Bukit Lawang and knew the jungle like the back of his hand, and since the prices are all fixed on trekking anyway, we agreed to join his trek the next day.

Th nice part about meeting him on the bus was, once we arrived, no one bugged us because everyone knew Sanur. We got a motorbike ride into town and made the arrangements for our trek. I looked around and saw a familiar sight: a beautiful, rushing river surrounded on all sides by beautiful greenery. Was I home in July or something? One thing is for sure, I immediately felt at home.

We walked along the river until we found a decent guesthouse to stay for the night and keep our big packs while trekking. If you ever go to Bukit Lawang, you should stay at Nora's Homestay. The girls that run the place treat you like family and they are amazing chefs. Their veggie soup has more veggies than soup. Their Mie Kuah (noodles in broth with egg and veggies) was perfectly spiced with star anise and cloves. They freshly cut, flour and fry their french fries. Everything is cheap and plentiful- including the rooms at around 3 dollars a night.

We had a good overnight rest at Nora's and, in the morning, we enjoyed a quick banana pancake and some aromatic tea before heading out to meet Sanur at 8 AM. When we met up with him, he gave me a pair of hikling boots and a smaller bag to keep a change of clothes and my water bottle in. He took us across a rickety footbridge and soon enough, we were meeting our fellow trekkers. All guys. I felt a little apprehensive- not because I was the only girl (I'm fairly used to that), but because I'm a weakling and I don't exercise (unless you count yoga) and I thought I would be holding the guys back. Either way, I couldn't turn back now.

Sanur started leading us into the rainforest, pointing out different plants that grew wildly along the way- coffee berries, lemongrass, cloves, mangoes... Already we could tell that he knew his stuff about the jungle. Maybe about half an hour into the trek, we saw some "funky monkeys". Their real name escapes me, but they have mohawks and are the coolest looking monkeys I've ever seen. A half hour after this, we came across and entire family of Thomas Leaf Monkeys. They were quite curious about us and came really close, allowing us to get some great pictures. We were having a wonderful time, but still no orangutans!

The previous afternoon, Patrick and I had been to the rehab centre during feeding time. We saw several semi-wild orangutans and got pretty close to them (a young orangutan even held my hand until a "ranger" grabbed him and started hitting him with a stick- come on, I know I shouldn't have touched him but he SMILED at me, while reaching his hand out- no hint of malice; no need for stick abuse). Anyway, about two hours into the trek we saw our first wild orangutan. It was a large male (the dudes all have beards). Suddenly, it seemed the orangutans were everywhere we went! We got some great pictures and the younger ones were quite curious about us, too.

After having some lunch and seeing yet another, pregnant, wild orangutan, we made a steep descent down a hill and came to a clear stream. We heard something. Sanur knew the semi-wild orangutan before she even reached us, and broke out into a huge smile.

"It's Jackie! She's ok, she's ok", he pressed a banana into Patrick's hand and Jackie the orangutan arrived, she too wearing a broad smile. What an amazing animal. She went straight to Patrick and gently took the banana from his hand. Jackie had been successfully rehabilitated and released into the wild; however, she seems to have fond memories of humans and truly loves people, even now that she is living on her own (with a small baby firmly attached to her back). The Jackie Bliss would not last long, though. We heard another orangutan coming and Sanur's face darkened.

"It's Mina. We need to get out of here".

Mina, it seemed, had the opposite disposition to Jackie, who, we noticed, also ran away as soon as she saw Mina coming. Sanur lead us in the opposite direction of Mina while his assistant stayed down there to prevent her from following us. We watched him as, first, he tried to make her happy with fruit. She would have none of it, and you could tell she was angry. Finally, Sanur's assistant splashed her with water and she back off a bit (orangutans hate getting wet). We made our way up the hill when we heard the assistant yell something to Sanur.

"Run! Quickly!" Sanur said to us.

He didn't need to tell me twice! I don't think I've even run up a mountain so fast. Seeing the look on my face when it was finally ok to stop, Sanur had a big laugh and patted me on the head. I was quite frightened!

Not five minutes later, we came across a family of Black Gibbons. Forget the macaques from my last monkey experience, the gibbons are the cutest monkeys in the world. Seriously. However, one bit Sanur a few years back and he was traumatized by it, so we all kept our distance and he wouldn't let us open our bags (they would pounce at the sound of a zipper, thinking we carried food). We got some cute pictures, though!

After an even steeper descent (it took about an hour from the top to the bottom) down our final hill before setting up camp, we arrived at the banks of the river. Covered in dirt and sweat (and in Pat's case, a leech sucking blood from his foot), the river was a beautiful sight. We crossed over to our campsite and had a beautiful, refreshing swim before Sanur and his assistant made us a huge dinner of veggie curry, spicy fried tempeh (tofu that hasn't been completely fermented), sweet and sour chicken and mounds of fresh rice and tea. We spent the evening talking and Sanur's assistant kept us entertained with card tricks and riddles.

I woke up in the morning to more monkeys. The damn macaques. The same ones from Bali. They kept a close eye on our tent, and an even closer eye on our breakfast that Sanur's assistant was cooking (this time, yummy egg and veggie fry up with toast and fresh tomatoes). We were entertained by them all morning as we fed them bits and pieces of our breakfast.

The plan for the morning was a two hour hike followed by tubing down the rapids, back to the town. Our trek was almost finished, and I was sad because I had wanted to spend more time with Jackie, the nice orangutan before angry Mina showed up. We crossed the river and began the climb upward. This may have been the hardest climb of my life. Luckily, there were plenty of branches and roots to help me climb. Unluckily, we came across a very poisonous centipede and I was scared to touch the ground after that (time for one more xanax...). After an hour, we finally made it to the top and I was utterly, completely spent. Exhausted. We rested for about two minutes, eating some oranges that Sanur had brought for a snack, when we heard an orangutan coming through the trees. It was JACKIE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was beyond happiness.

I had my orange in my hand when she slowly, gracefully approached me. I held the orange out for her and she took it from my hand with her mouth, very gently, with no teeth.

"It's ok to touch her; she loves people", Sanur told me.

I sat on my hunches and she slowly put her arms around me. Her baby was still on her back, and Sanur gave me some bananas to feed her. Jackies hugged me and hugged me, and when it was time to let another trekmate have a turn, she kept one foot and one hand on my arm and still held on to me. What an amazing animal- so close to a human! So beautiful and smart!

Suddenly, we heard another orangutan coming. Fearing Mina, I started walking down the path, but Sanur called after me- "It's ok, it's only Sandra!"

We had seen Sandra and her baby at the feeding centre. While she wasn't as placid as Jackie, she had a kind, intelligent face- perfect for photgraphing. She protectively kept her baby on her back while she accepted bananas from us. Her baby poked his little head, staring at us with huge, wide eyes. The perfect end to a strenuous uphill hike. Totally worth it.

We finally made one more steep descent and arrived upstream from where we had camped. Sanur's assistant was there already, and he had tied five inner tubes together (we would be tubing as a group and Sanur's assistant would be steering us away from rocks). We climbed in and made our way back to Bukit Lawang, after a perfect two day hike, after seeing and experiencing more than I had ever expected. I was exhausted but so, so happy!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing at Nora's, talking to the girls about recipes and the school that their children attend. Bukit Lawang is a great community with strng roots. They work together to create better educations for their kids. They recycle (the first place in Indonesia that we saw). They educate tourists about the delicate ecosystems and abhor illegal logging and slash and burn forestry.

I should mention that, only a few years ago, the entire village was decimated by a flash flood. Over 250 people were killed, and in this small community, that meant that everyone lost several people that they loved. They still mourn their loss, but they have rebuilt and are resiliant. Sanur said he and his family went uphill when he noticed the river was getting too high. His neighbour laughed at him, saying nothing would happen, and his neighbour's entire family was killed. They have since rebuilt on higher ground and take more care during rainy season, but I won't say I wasn't nervous during the daily torrential downpours and scary thunder storms.

We left, sadly saying goodbye to the staff at Nora's, and took another rickety bus back to Medan. We took an overnight bus to Dumai, and then the ferry to Malaysia. We are happy to be here, but we know that Bukit Lawang will probably be our most precious memory of our entire trip.