JUNGLE TIME AT GUNUNG PALUNG

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The taxi driver picked me up at the Ateng house hotel, very nice guy though English is bad, before we arrived at the airport he asks if he could have my yellow LIVE STRONG arm band as a souvenir from the USA, I showed him it's almost gone, there's a big tear, after that he kept quiet. Check in is easy, we have to pay 30,000 rupiah domestic departure tax. The plane was late we have to wait for about half hour more, the other airline left before us, 2 flights to Ketapang in the morning and I booked the tardy Airline, Kal Star.

The flight was 45 minutes I think and uneventful. It's darn hot here in Ketapang. Outside the terminal a guy asked me if I need a taxi, he was wearing the porter uniform, he doubles as a taxi driver! Wasi is his name, very nice lad, tries his best to talk in English. He dropped me off at Losmen Patra. 85,000 rupiah, my room is big but smelly, like a musty smell but I just turned the fan on and opened the door and it was ok. I went for a walk into town, and I saw all these noisy birds swallows I presume and they build buildings here with tubes running through them for these creatures to live in, they harvest the nest and it costs a fortune! if you can tolerate the deafening noise then you make big bucks I guess. I saw the Chinese temple then that's it, nothing much to see in this town but it's not bad, they have good food at night just near where I stay at Diponegro street, there is a Catholic church near food stalls and a small veggie market. I had lunch at this food stall with crabs and huge prawns for $4, great treat!

I booked my trip to to Gunung Palung National Park the park headquarters office now refer you to this company, Nasalis tour and travel, they handle all bookings to the park, as I was alone i have to pay 1,400,000 rupiahs for 3 days 2 nights all inclusive, transport, food, guide, porter etc. It is a bit expensive but I just want to think the money goes to ecotourism and hopefully the people will realize they make a living from this and illegal logging will stop and preserve the forest, you know, doing my bit to save planet earth while enjoying a bit.

The next morning, woke up at 5:30am and Dodong the staff at Losmen Patra put my backpack away, I am only taking a day bag, Iloh picked me up before 6am and he dropped me off at the bus station to Sukadana. We waited for awhile then it's off hallf full but picked up passengers along the way, it's a small bus and quite bumpy especially am sat at the back. Along the way a motorbike behind us tried to overtake us from my side(left) and it got off balanced when we slowed down for a bump, 2 female passengers in the bike hit the side end of the bus and ricocheted off from there to the embankment, it's like watching a slow motion movie and I was in the front seat, I saw them get flung from their seats to the ground! There must be some injuries there! We did not stop to find out but they were able to stand up and good thing both were wearing helmets.

2 hours later I got dropped off at the park branch office in Sukadana, Mister this is your stop says the driver while the whole busload of people stare at me as I get off. I was met by friendly staff and the ones that can speak English talked to me about the park, then Gar drove me to the starting point of the trek about an hour away by motorbike, we stopped first to gather groceries for my 3 days 2 nights in the jungle, then to his house on the way and I met his cute kids. He also bought some cigarettes for the guide. Th scenery was quite nice, rice paddies, some Javanese temples, quaint villages. I met my guide at this small village near a dam, he is limping!Turns out he stopped by Gar's house last night and on the way back he had a motorbike accident! I asked Gar if he can still guide me, oh yes no problem! My guide hired a porter to bring our supplies ahead of us, I followed Pa Idris my guide, his English is minimal at best but very animated man, he talks in Bahasa then looks at me as if waiting for a reaction, I just smile. We walked slowly, it's humid inside the forest, we followed the stream up ocassionally stopping to catch our breaths, some part have ropes and I slipped one time and bruised my right knee. It took us about 2 hours to get to camp cause we were slow, Pa Idris is grimacing in pain almost every step but still manages a smile.

At the camp he wasted no time sweeping about and setting our beds and cooking, this despite the limp. The camp is literally inside the jungle with no clearing, we are surrounded by lush vegetation, on both sides of the house runs streams where we collect water and for bathing. I went for a bath while Pa cooks, the water is refreshingly cool. After our late lunch we chilled then he said to me we walk the forest later. We took a nap then had a snack of tea and crackers then he took me to the jungle walk. We did not see lots of animals, we just hear them, we saw lots of creepy crawlers, unusual looking bugs, giant ants etc. He showed me the orangutan nests but no one is home, we got back to camp and had an early dinner then off to bed at 6pm! Well there is nothing to do really. Before bed under a gas light we paged through the brochure from the hQ and he showed me the animals we might see tomorrow morning! Got me excited.

Sure thing, Pa rose early and made hot tea then we walked the forest again, lots of sounds, monkeys hollering, hornbills and other birds and insects, as if to say good morning to us as we get deeper in the jungle. it seems to me we got off the trail as we follow some movement up the canopy and moments later we saw a group of red, leaf eating monkeys! There were several of them and they quickly passed by in a hurry. Then we sat down to observe the canopy top and Pa started making this hoot sound and the gibbons responded! so we moved on and followed the sounds, through a thick bamboo forest on a steep slope! Pa keeps calling them and we realized their anwers are getting closer and just before a ravine we caught a glimpse of them playing, swaying in this big tree, we watched them for a good 15 minutes before they decided to move on nd their hollers surround the forest as they go. meanwhile the woodpeckers are at it as well then suddenly hornbills on top of us! We watched a pair hop from tree to tree and settled in one then they flew away,I looked up again as I stand up from the forest floor and I saw another hornbill on the canopy quietly sitting on a tree branch. When we got tired of this we headed on again. We walked for about 3 hours almost and on the way back Pa cut some dried wood from the forest to use as firewood.

A hefty lunch of dried fish and some veggies, quite delicious but moments later I had a tummy ache and had to go to the bathroom. The toilet is squat and is clean and not smelly, they made a septic tank for it. You flush it with water from the stream, you fill up a bucket before you go. Nap time again after the meal then on to another walk. Pa brought me to the lookout point at Batu Bulan cliff(Moon stone). I can hear karaoke going in late afternoon it wreaks havoc in the valleys below! so loud and annoying, we are atopt the cliff with fabulous views of the Palung and Panti mountains, the valley is spectacular and we saw the road we started from, but the noise of the karaoke drove me nuts and I told Pa am ready to go.
We went inside the forest again and took a different path past big boulders and then we spotted more red monkeys and one time we saw and heard fruits dropping from the top of trees, Pa said hornbills so we sat on the forest floor and observed them as they have their afternoon feed, 2 huge birds, we watched them for more than 10 minutes then we walked again, we saw another hornbill, this time a mom feeding it's young but I can't see the baby, I can hear the noise but only the mom is visible, bobbing up and down in the feeding motion. Then back to camp after a fruitfull day. I went to bathe in the stream again as Pa cooks dinner. Early to sleep again, I struggle to fall asleep it's 6pm! Pa was chattering in his cell phone, yes there is signal here! There was threat fo rain, thunder and lightning for half hour then stopped, no rain, I saw a firefly come in to the house and watched it as I try to sleep. It gets cold early morning so I took my sleep liner and hid under it tucking myself in snugly. The sound of bugs in the night and birds and monkeys in the morning, to me is lovely, not noise but a therapy,like a forest tape sounds.

Day 3, Pa Idris woke up early as usual and make breakfast, I packed my stuff slowly in readiness,today we go back to town, the end of my jungle adventures. As we have breakfast we listen to a concert of bird calls and hollers from gibbons, and accompanied by the usual insect noises. Pa was sweeping the floors on the 2nd level of the house, I got bored so I swept the ground floor, he was pleased that I helped out. Come 8am we started to head back, I say goodbye to my forest home. We walked slowly, taking our time especially Pa's leg injury from the motorbike accident seems to be getting worse, hats off to him though he still took me on jungle walks 2 times a day! We occasionally stop to listen for canopy movement, Pa has a keen hearing and sees monkeys and birds quite quickly, a group of red leaf monkeys followed us for a bit as we descend down the trail path alongside the stream. We took a rest at this huge tree and there is a fantastic swimming hole where the waterfall is, there is a path to get there and Pa told me to take a swim it's still early anyway, so I did, I went down the slippy trail and took all my clothes off and jumped in the water, how refreshing it is! Pa came down and took some fotos of me, I told him from the waist up only, he laughed. After my swim we lingered for a bit more watching tiny squirrels scamper about around huge boulders and trees.

Pa told me there are tourists on their way now to camp and we will meet them along the way, I will go with their guide and Pa will go with the new group back up to camp for another day. I thought maybe it's best for him to get down the mountain and have his injury seen by a doctor, but this fellow is tough he seems unperturbed by all this, he needs to make a living for sure but when I see him grimacing in pain when he lift his left leg as we walk the forest, I wonder is it really worth it?

Past another swimming hole and before crossing the stream we spotted the tourists, they are all American NGOs 2 women doctors and an architect dude. The architect explained to me what they do here, that work as volunteers in a hospital giving out free health care for locals in exchange for forest preservations, meaning no illegal logging, poaching and other bad things. I forgot the name of the NGO it starts with an A and sounds Swedish. Anyway I moved on with Sawal, my new guide, a young fella he does not wait for me, I have trouble keeping up with him especially crossing streams where the rocks are slippy, he stopped one time to show me a big squirrel up a tree with gray tail but other than that it's all trying to get back to town, no wild life sightseeing.

Arriving at the starting point he got changed and I wait while he does that watching the local kids have a swim at this canal fed by a dam, they wave at me shyly, I did not take fotos as some of them are naked, I felt it is inappropriate. They bid me goodbye, one girl approached me to say goodbye I hopped on Sawal's motorbike and it's a 45 minute ride back to Sukadana town proper, past rice fields, Javanese temples, local villages, i was told there are lots of Javanese immigrants here and so explains their temples. Sawal stopped at this junction but I could not understand what he was saying to me, he is trying to explain bus comes here but the time he can't say in English, frustrated at being dropped off somewhere I asked him to take me to the Park office and he obliged. We got there and the HQ is closed! I have no choice but to stay outside near a shaded tree and wait for the bus, Sawal sat with me, and waited with me for 2 damn hours! The last bus is 12pm supposedly but it could be late, I saw 3 buses going the other way and I could not understand why the buses going back to Ketapang is so infrequent.

Later a truck came along full of military people, they parked their truck within the HQ and turns out they are park rangers coming back from patrolling the forest, they are friendly and took time to chat with me, one guy Harry is the research camp manager, he said there are scientists inside the forest doing work, about 20ish people, he said they wanted the government to open it up for tourists but it seems the research people did not want that so it's closed to the public.

Harry explained to me they catch illegal loggers every now and then in their patrolling, he said these are independent loggers, 4 persons usually, bringing food with them and chainsaws, they cut this most precious tree in the forest whose wood last a long long time, very durable for furniture making etc. he said they now seldom catch them as locals in the villages probably warn them the military is coming, what with the advent of mobile phones, all they find now is abandoned chainsaws. It killed time while waiting for the bus so i enjoyed chatting with him but he excused himself to take a shower. Sawal and I waited again. The finally at 1230pm the bus showed up, but stopped in the corner of the roundabout to pick up a big family with loads of cargoes mostly rice. When it got to me the bus aisle is loaded with stuff I could barely get through, It's a/c bus and there is a strong smell inside,mix of body odors and whatever nots, I wished they open the windows.I have to lift my leg up as there were boxes and sacks of rice on the floor, very uncomfortable 2 hour ride, a woman got on minutes later and she dabbed some eucalyptus oil in her nose and in her body, it smelled wonderful and for awhile a welcome reprieve from the funny smell inside the bus. Locals asking for plastic bags, they are about to throw up, one already did on the floor! Just 2 hour trip it seemed a lifetime!

I arrived in the searing heat of the bus station in Ketapang and already motorbike drivers are on me, I told them someone is going to pick me up, he is from the Gunung Palung Park HQ, well that is what I understood from Iloh, he dropped me off here at the onset and promised to pick me up when I come back but no show so far. While waiting for him I was entertained by the local motorbike drivers who sat with me chatting at the waiting shed. None spoke English, it's all sign language, occasionally I hear Obama's name being thrown in in the conversation, he lived here when he was a kid. One dude offered me alcohol, in a plastic bag which he mixes with coke, he told me it's 100% proof! I doubt it.Word got out that there is a foreigner in town and before you know it all English speakers wannabees surround me, they argue amongst each other what's the correct English word to use, quite funny and because of that I forgot the time, been waiting half an hour now and the Park dude is not here yet, I am very annoyed, I paid a package where everything is included I asked the guys there how much to hire them, 25,000 rupiahs(roughly $3) but it's the principle damn it, they promised. I am famished by now and surrendered to taking my own transport back to town, The people at Losmen Patra were so happy to see me again, Dodong the guy I left my backpack with ran and took my pack from the storage room, I asked to be put in another room on the 2nd floor if possible, my intent is to open the veranda door for fresh air and also so I can dry my clothes which am about to wash and not be in danger of getting nicked. 75,000 rupiahs, 5,000 cheaper than the 1st floor room I had before, and it's perfectly the same, well ok it's a wall fan this time but other than that..

All my clothes were filthy, I washed my pair of shorts I used in the jungle and when I rinsed it the water was filthy black! So much filth! I washed all that I wore and dried them outside in the porch, shoes included. Then had a good shower and looked for a travel agent to book my flight out. One of the staff called someone, he came on a motorbike and took me to a travel agency, 800,000 rupiahs for a flight to Banjarmasin! Only Kal Star flies there from here so no choice really, I decided to skip Pangkalan Bun as I have done my forest trekking already, the park near there Tanjung Puti is also good and you go in the river with a klotok( a local boat that is also your home for the duration of the trip there). I figured I already have seen what I need to see in the Kalimantan jungle and to save money I would just have to skip it, travelling alone here does not give you a lot of bargaining power, discounts starts with 2 persons. I have to go to an ATM machine to pay for the fare, took forever but managed to get some cash. All sorted out I went back to the hotel and chatted with the staff then walked to get lunch at 5pm! I found this newly opened Chinese restaurant on Diponegro, the same street where my hotel is, I told the guy cooking outside to just give me a sampling of everything in the counter, he agreed and told me to sit down. The food took awhile but when it came I was astounded, A goo serving of rice in a collander(I don't know why!), a plate full of battered and deep fired shrimps, and a mix seafood veggie dish! OMG I thought to myself I will pay a fortune for this but didn't care as I was famished. I cleaned the plate! I got ready to make an excuse for not having enough money and maybe I leave my camera and get back to my hotel to get some money. The bill came up to be 53,000 rupiahs(roughly $6)only! Phew I was relieved I paid in a hurry and left. I went to the internet cafe, it's quite unique as you sit on the floor! But they have cool apple computers and quick connection but the system was down! I waited 1/2 hour for it to come on but no luck!

The next morning I checked out and had them call the taxi guy I used before, but while waiting for him I took photos of the staff, the people here are so friendly even if their English is nonexistent. The ride to the airport was 60,000 rupiahs. My cab driver who is also a porter there took care of my check in, this time I have to pay for extra weight on my backpack! 10 kgs maximum, I have 5 kgs extra 48,000 rupiahs! I asked for a discount, they took 8,000 off. meanwhile one of the staff at the check in counter called his friend in Banjarmasin to inquire about hotels to stay in. I told them I already have one in mind. The plane was on time, we stopped at Pangkalan Bun 1st, looks like a nice town I see the river tributaries from the plane, we have to refuel here so we all got off the plane and reboarded half hour later. Next stop is Sampit, most of the time I was asleep, we did not stop that long in this town and off to Banjarmasin, on the way there we encountered some turbulence, very bumpy flight but we made it there safe.

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Photos

Lubuk Baji camp site
butterfly liking my stinky shoes

Ketapang
cute tortoise at the park HQ

Ketapang
chinese temple

Ketapang
St Gemma church

Ketapang
local veggie market

Ketapang
Iloh posing next to the bus for Sukadana

Sukadana
park HQ

Sukadana
tamarind fruits

Sukadana
Gar shopping for supplies for the trek

Sukadana
papaya tree on Gar's backyard

Comments

[WAWAN ANGGRIYANDI]

lubuk baji yeeesssssssss
i like lubuk baji.. camp yang indah serta puncak yang menantang nyali..... tapi itu belum seberapa. kalaw bisa lebih menantang lagi seperti naik tebing............