When my middle sister NB, said she was coming to Singapore we decided it would be a great opportunity to go on a 'sister's' trip. She was keen to see Orang Utans in the wild and wanted to go somewhere I hadn't been so it would be new for us both. Orang Utans only live in the rain forests of Borneo and Sumatra and as I've been lucky enough to have previously visited Borneo, Sumatra was our chosen destination
We booked a weeks trip trekking and camping in the Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra and set off with our rucksacks complete with anti leech socks, water purification tablets and plenty of mozzie repellant.
We were met by our guide, Adi, at Medan airport and set off through the traffic choked streets for the 3-4 hour car journey to Bukit Lawang
Indonesian traffic is infamous for being appalling and Medan did not disappoint, although along the way we saw some interesting sights, like this motorbike driver with 4 sheep trussed up in a basket
Once out of the city (about 2 hours later!) the traffic jams reduced but so did the quality of the road, with large potholes and sometimes complete absence of any tarmac for a few miles so our progress continued to be slow. Passing through a huge palm oil plantation we stopped for a breather and looked at the bunches of palm fruits by the side of the road awaiting collection.
Five and a half hours later we finally arrived at out first nights destination, the village of Bukit Lawang which sits on one side of the Bahorok River with the national park on the other.
It was a fifteen minute walk from the end of the road to the village, through its narrow streets and to our guest house which was almost the last house of the village
Although we had to share our room with many ants and a few cockroaches (actually we killed the cockroaches as soon as we could) it was comfy and spacious and it had a fabulous balcony overlooking the river and the jungle beyond.
Here we could relax in the hammock whilst watching monkeys and birds and listen to the wonderful jungle noises
which sometimes included the whoops of joy as people floated down the river on inflated inner tubes, something we would be doing in a few days time-it looked huge fun
The following morning we were up bright and early eager to start our jungle trek with Adi. We had also hired a porter to carry our big rucksack so with Awi we were a party of 4
There was another group with their guide so we had to wait our turn in being pulled across the fast flowing river
Once safely across we soon came to the abandoned ranger station where the Bohorok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre used to be based. The Rehabilitation Centre has since moved to a new site deeper inside the Gunung Leuser National Park.
However the Orang Utans rehabilitated on this old site tend to stay in the area they know and to our delight only a few meters away we caught sight of our first wild Orang Utan
a beautiful female
and then her youngster joined her
although he seemed quite shy and tried to hide behind Mum. We left them in peace
and only a short distance away we saw another youngster but although we searched we couldn't see his mum, the jungle is so dense wildlife is easily concealed
I spotted a rather pretty caterpillar near my foot at one point, I suspect those hairs would cause nasty irritation if touched
We trekked on, it was quite tough as the path was often steep, muddy, slippery and at times blocked, frequently Adi had to use his machete to clear branches and leaves
We then had a fantastic sighting of a large male Orang dangling from a liana very close by
In fact he started getting so close we backed off! Adi told us that unlike Bornean Orang Utans the Sumatran Orangs rarely come to the ground due to the risk of being caught and eaten by tigers which live in the Sumatran but not the Borneo rainforest
Bored with us this wonderful creature swung back up into the high trees
and disappeared out of sight
Hearing a rustle in the trees a while later we eventually spotted a large black hornbill, Adi explained that as he was alone and no longer with his group this suggested he was sick or very old
Although shady in the jungle it was of course extremely humid, and we were very hot and sweaty and stopped for a mid morning break. Adi and Awi surprised us by producing beautiful local fruit to snack on, oranges, bananas and snake fruit
Almost as soon as we started eating a large pig-tailed macaque appeared and sat down rather too close by eyeing up our fruit. It did seem rather mean eating in front of him so we quickly finished up and moved on
We came across an ants nest and saw the largest ants I have ever seen!
Adi picked one up to show us, the ant was huge, Adi assured us that its bite was quite mild in comparison to the much smaller red ants that have a fiery bite. The jungle floor is absolutely teeming with insect life and millions of ants, I hoped to avoid being bitten or stung by any of them
We carried on following our guide and as you can see in the photo below it was quite tough going
It was fascinating seeing the different plant and tree species, some trees were enormous
Now quite deep inside the jungle we stopped in a more open area where a tree had recently fallen and ate our packed lunch, a delicious meal of Indonesian fried rice and more fruit
Nearby was a huge tree with a big scar, presumably caused by fire or lightening
Then off again. We were so incredibly lucky as we then had our 4th sighting of an Orang Utan, this chap seemed very shy and it was hard to get a photo
but finally he peeped out through the branches
Adi explained that because of the longer beard this Orang Utan was a fully mature older male
We carried on and were by now starting to feel quite tired, fortunately camp was not much further but the climb down to it was pretty strenuous
and then we were there, our home for the next two nights
It was quite basic but it was dry, had a lovely view and we had the river to bathe in right outside our door! The toilet facilities were pretty non existent, just walk away from camp a little bit and find a spot, the only problem being we seemed to get 'leeched' every time we went near any undergrowth. We tried hard not to 'go' too often!
Following our trek we were pretty hot and sweaty so a cool off in the river was very welcome, then change into some clean, dry clothes.
Inside the 'tent' there was a raised platform, a mosquito net had been hung for NB and I to sleep in. Our guides, the camp cook and his helper slept on the platform next to us. They did'nt have the benefit of a mozzie net and only had thin rubber mats. It was quite cosy when we were all inside at night!
A few feet from the sleeping quarters was the kitchen where the camp cook was already hard at work, his kitchen was simple but he produced some wonderful food for us. His helper seemed to be in charge of collecting fire wood and boiling water for drinking, after boiling the water was kept in large plastic bags which were then placed in the river to cool.
The kitchen as aways was the place to gather and chat
Adi pointed out that we had more company...the prettiest monkey I think I've ever seen
not only was he pretty but Thomas Leaf Monkey's are known for not being aggressive unlike their commoner cousins the macaques, I liked him even more!
We spent the remainder of the afternoon sitting by the river relaxing and looking out for wildlife
Supper was served and we were amazed at the number of different dishes, all delicious. Soon after this photo was taken the heavens opened and we had to grab everything and finish eating by candle light inside the sleep tent
Awi entertained us with lots of match stick puzzles. With the one below- which two sticks need to be moved to allow the pig to escape being shot by the man? Easy when you know how!
It would be fair to say I didn't sleep very well that night. The inflatable mattress deflated fairly quickly, it was very hot inside our 'tent' and the snoring noises from my tent mates was not very conducive to a quiet night. However it was lovely to lay there and listen to the noises from the river and the jungle.
In the morning we got up and washed in our river
breakfasted by the river. A monitor lizard appeared and was obviously searching for his food
Whilst we had coffee, fruit and a triple decker sandwich with layers of tomato, cheese, lettuce and a fried egg, perfect for the forthcoming exertion
Then it was time to set off for the days trek
Almost immediately the fairly indistinct path went straight up a steep hill. In places we had to pull up on tree roots and branches, it was hard work and again the leeches were keen to attach themselves to us at every opportunity, at least their bites don't hurt and they don't spread disease but they do cause you to bleed at lot which is annoying.
It was hot sweaty walking for over an hour before we reached a narrow ridge
We were about to rest but heard a loud 'whoop' which Adi said was from a White Handed Gibbon, we scrambled through the trees and undergrowth trying to find it. Several times we caught glimpses of him as he swung effortlessly from tree to tree. At one point we had a really good view of him for a minute or so but unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to take a photo.
Occasionally there were gaps in the trees and we had wonderful views of miles of dense jungle and some hills in the distance
I decided that the jungle environment is a tricky one for spotting wildlife, the cover is so thick that many animals and birds could be very close by but still almost impossible to see. When we stopped for a break I headed off to find a spot as a jungle loo and had this feeling something was watching me! I remembered reading that tigers live in this reserve but reassured myself that they are so shy they are rarely seen, but it was unnerving to think they might be only feet away
Adi told me in the 5 years he has been guiding he has 3 times seen tigers-lucky man, I would love to see one-from a safe distance of course.
We stopped for lunch and Adi to my surprise produced a primus stove and proceeded to peel an onion, chop up garlic and veg and make us a noodle soup. I hadn't expected cooked lunch in the wild
Once again a lone Pig tailed Macaque suddenly appeared, this one made a charge for the food, Adi and I both had sticks and fended him off. We ate up quickly and moved on.
We started back and had to descend a long, steep, slippery slope. At one point we became aware there was a large group of macaques very close to us, Adi seemed worried and said that a large group like this can be dangerous, I presumed he meant to us, he picked up some large fallen branches and threw them into the trees, this made lots of noise and thankfully the monkeys moved off
We arrived back in camp tired, muddy, sweaty but very happy after an interesting day. It started to rain soon after we had cleaned up and it rained and rained. The river rose at an alarming rate and we watched anxiously as it came closer to the floor level of our 'tent' but whoever built this shelter knew what they were doing and the 'tent' remained above the river
Again we were served with a delicious candle lit supper including cassava chips, fish curry, sambal, potato cakes, veg curry and more
and entertained with yet more match stick games!
The following morning after washing and breakfast we packed up ready to leave, I felt quite sad to be leaving our jungle camp and lovely river now calm and back to a low level again
The kitchen was also packed away, almost everything was being taken out with us including all rubbish, as anything left would be destroyed or stolen by the macaques when they came to investigate, it would also discourage animals from scavenging from humans
We set off down river, paddling through the lovely cool water, this way we also avoided being leeched
When we stopped for a break Awi demonstrated his best Tarzan skills, swinging from a strong liana, all our guides seemed to love being in the jungle as did we
After a while we left the river and the deep jungle and entered a shady rubber tree plantation
It was fascinating to see how the trees are cut, called tapping, to allow the latex to flow into the coconut husk cup below. I had seen this before but somehow hadn't noticed the horrible acrid smell that rubber stinks of, Adi said this smell permeates the skin of anyone who works in 'rubber' and the whole family and their home will stink.
Once out of the plantation we crossed the river using a small, suspension bridge.
It was Ascension Day and there were lots of family groups picnicking on the river bank. Lots of people were playing in the river and several young boys were having fun leaping from the bridge
We were also about to have lots of river fun. Our form of transport down the river was a bunch of huge tyre inner tubes, tied together.
We lay across the tubes, NB and I shared one, Adi relaxed in the tube behind us and our camp cook became captain in the front tube and Awi had the rear tube, both used wooden poles to steer the raft.
It was a pretty comfy ride and at times very relaxing as we floated passed jungle and plantations. We were cooled from water splashes below. Sometimes it became very exciting as we crashed through rapids, bounced off rocks and got tossed about.
There was no shade from the unrelenting sun whilst on the tube so fun though it was we were actually fairly thankful when we reached the end point a couple of hours later. The raft was strapped to the roof of a truck and we were invited up to join Awi and our cook on the journey back to the village, we couldn't refuse one more adventure
It was quite an exhilarating ride speeding through villages, every now and again we had to duck down to avoid overhead branches and we laughed when Awi encouraged us to wave at 'the tourists' as we passed a tour group, he said we were now like locals as not many tourists will travel on the roof of a truck
Back in Bukit Lawang we spent a last night in the same guesthouse as before, the ants had moved back in, in great numbers but fortunately not the cockroaches.
We were presented with a huge and beautifully presented platter of fruit, we tried our best but we just couldn't finish it all so saved some for breakfast the following day
After our fruity breakfast we set off on the journey back to Medan. We soon stopped at the next door village to Bukit Lawang to see the rubber market in action. Once a week the local rubber plantation owners bring their smelly bales of rubber and buyers gather to buy them. The whole area surrounding the rubber market stunk.
A distance away the mainly sweeter smelling market was in full swing with meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, clothes and much more being sold. This young lady was selling spices, herbs and lots of different types of ginger
Below are many different types of dried fish
NB bought some flip flops and then to the amusement of our guides was thrilled to find a stall that sold all sorts of knives and machetes where she bought a sort of short handled hoe to use in her garden, we were a little bit worried if we could get it through customs but thought it worth a go
A few hours later we had made the slow, tortuous journey back into traffic choked Medan and as we had a few hours before our flight we went to see the sights. Medan has a population of over 2 million people and is the largest Indonesian city outside of Java. It has a bad reputation and is often cited by many tourists as the worst place they visited in S.E Asia!
We first visited the impressive Grand Mosque, Mesjid Raya
We had to be properly attired to enter the grounds so were lent headscarves, we tried but I think failed miserably, not to look like old ladies
We walked from there to the Istana Maimun, unfortunately it was closed to the public that day so we were unable to see the inside which is supposedly unique as it combines Malay, Indian, Dutch, Spanish and Italian influences
In a small building near the palace there was "The Legend of The Split Up Cannon". The cannon according to legend was the personification of a crown prince who during a war turned himself into a cannon which fired continuously until the cannon broke in two. For some reason (which we failed to understand why) we were told to put our ear to one of the holes in the cannon, so we did, nothing happened.
After lunch at the Tip Top Restaurant, (open since the 1930's and designed to evoke the old colonial days and where I'm pretty sure NB and I caught a tummy bug that appeared the day after we arrived back in Singapore) it was time to go to the airport for our flight back to Singapore. We really had had quite an adventure, we had laughed constantly and enjoyed the whole trip (although maybe not the leeches and cockroaches).
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There was however one sad casualty on our trip- my faithful walking sandals. I have had them for over 15 years, they've walked in the British countryside and the alps, I had worn them on parts of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kinabalu, they've been on sailing holidays and trekked through the jungle in Borneo but sadly they met their end in Sumatra, the sole came off and was lost in the river. I decided it was fitting to leave them behind in the guest house in Bukit Lawang, maybe one of the rubber workers will find them and craft a new sole for them and they will live on!
