indonesia!

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so just hours before my flight to jakarta was to leave, i was at an internet cafe in bangkok, researching this new country i was about to enter. to my general concern, i discovered there was a HIGH RISK terrorism warning in the central islands, and EXTREME RISK of terrorism in sumatra and west papua, on either end.

i arrived in jakarta about 9:30am with basically no information and no guide book and no plan. also with no money, since bangkok banks in the airport didnt have rupiah. then i found that i had to buy my visa on arrival and they didnt accept thai baht. the ATM and money exchange were juuust beyond the visa checkpoint, which i couldnt reach without a visa, which i needed to get the visa, ahhhh... fortunately, a woman who worked there said she'd help: just give her all my money and she'd bring back rupiah. given little other choice, i agreed. 5 minutes later i was regretting my readiness to trust a stranger, but then she came with a fist-ful of thousands. like so many other SE asian countries, the money is in such massive denominations. roughly 9000 to the dollar.

after finding a free map and again relying on the kindness of strangers, i decided to go to a street known for its cheap accomadation and popularity with foreigners. i figured i could talk with some people to get ideas for my trip. i caught a public bus and ellicited looks of shock from everyone in this packed little bus. perhaps foreigners tend to take taxis. perhaps other foreigners know better than to try and carry a backpack and a guitar on a bus.

i arrived on jalan jaksa, and was surprised. a far cry from foreigner-infested khao sahn road and other foreigner hangouts, i only saw about 6 other foreigners the whole time i was on the street. i picked a little guesthouse that had a tiny tiny room, complete with barbed wire across the little window. i made small talk with the owner. i asked if jakarta was safe. "no no not safe" he said. "why?" i asked. "many terrorists." as an american, i have a very distinct 9-11 idea of terrorism, so i decided to clarify: "what do they do?" the owner answered, "they do this (miming holding a gun) 'give me money, give me cell phone'" i said, "ok, so after you give money and cell phone, they do what?" he said, "oh nothing, give money and its ok." i guess they aren't very dedicated to their cause.

honestly, though, there were those bombings in bali just a few years ago, so it is something to be aware of, though i wouldn't want to let that prevent me from visiting this place.

so at dinner i met two guys, one australian and one french guy, who have been living in london. they had a plan to go to kalimantan, the bottom 2/3 of the island of borneo, to a national park which included a rehabilitation center for orangutans and gibbons. so i decided to go with them.

that night, i met a canadian guy and another french guy and ended up staying up half the night with them playing guitar and talking, as the friend of the owner filled up his cell phone with pictures he was taking with each of us.

we took a flight the next morning. in the airport, we met two guys from slovakia who were also going to the same national park. we decided the best way to see the park was to rent a klotok, which is a local boat. in order to rent a klotok, you must also rent the services of the captain, assistant, cook, and a park guide. you must also pay for fuel and food. so because of this, it was more economical to go in a group of 5. the boat can only hold 6. we ate and slept and bathed and lived on this boat for 4 days. we were not allowed to go into the water because of crocodiles. an english guy died just a few years ago. he jumped in and just never came out, and it took them several days to find any part of his body. however, we never saw any, except at night when we saw their eyes reflecting in the headlight of the boat.

camp leakey, the orangutan rehab, was amazing. they are rehabilitating orangutans who were taken from their mothers at birth and given to rich people or hotels to keep as pets. here they are fed once a day and visitors can come to watch, but they are encouraged to live with the other wild orangutans. the current dominant male, named tom, was born in the wild. his mother was brought here to rehabilitate. the most friendly female, princess, has two babies who are wild born, and though she still is very comfortable with humans, her babies are more wary. princess was taught some sign language a scientist, some 30 years ago. we happened to be there at the same time as this very same scientist, who was helping with a tv special they were doing about the rehabilitation. princess still uses the signs.

one day when we came back to camp leakey, princess was on the dock, climbing on to another klotok. we had to tie our klotok to the first one. she had her youngest baby (1 year old) on her back and was investigating some camera equiptment. they had to lure her away with food. she came back, went straight for the little bathroom in the back, and grabbed a bar of soap and left. then she spent an hour lathering up her right arm. at first, we thought, oh, she bathes herself! perhaps something she was taught when she was a captive (she was also taught to paddle a canoe) but then she just ate all the suds, and didnt wash anything but her arm. eventually we realized she was just using the coarse hair of her arm to make suds. the goal was to eat soap! we asked the scientist about it, and it seems that since she eats waxy leaves and such, she has the enzymes to digest soap. and it is a source of fat. he said to her it was like whipped cream.

princess was considered to be very clever. the rangers house is locked to keep the animals out, but since there is a kitchen in there and the apes often get a treat of milk in a bucket, they are always trying to break in. they say that princess is so clever that she has been known to steal the key, open the door, and put the key back where it was so no one knows she stole it.

less intellectual perhaps but just as charming was another female and mother, ahmet. she surprised me one day because i didnt see her, and suddenly she grabbed my wrist. she could easily crush my arm with that hand if she wanted to. but apparently she liked me. she kept grabbing my hand, and pressing it against her face. sometimes she'd press my fingers against her teeth, not biting, but just against the front of them. i just sat there trusting that she wouldnt hurt me unprovoked. they seem so human, even after spending just a few days with them. we could soon recognize who was who, even when they were in the trees.

there were also a few gibbons in rehab there, though they become wild again more quickly than orangutans. most comfortable with humans was bob, who was cheeky enough to try swinging into the ranger station. they are so funny when they run, as if they don't know what to do with their massively long arms, which seem to throw them off balance. but swinging from trees, they are incredibly elegant. bob also liked to tease the local camp cats, and he'd swat at their butts just to watch them trot out of the way. the cats were never bothered by the orangutans, even massive tom, who made every one else move clear out of his path. the young orangutans, of course, play with the cats and tease them.

we also visited a reforestation site, and we each planted a tree. i planted a sandalwood. all of these trees are naturally occurring here, and are part of an orangutan's environment. our guide showed us which plants had roots that prevent and treat malaria and hepatitis, so we pulled some up and made tea from it with lunch.

we visited a little village nearby as well. in thailand, villages mean that they are trying to sell you a ton of stuff, but here, it was just people living. no roads, just a single cobble stone path, a single tiny schoolhouse, a single tiny general store, and a dock on the river. it was beautiful.

flew back this morning to java, and we are in semarang now. the slovakian guys are splitting here, and i am going with the other two to surabaya and to mt. bromo, the biggest volcano. our train leaves in an hour, so we are off now!

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