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Published: March 28th 2009
Day 267: Monday 23rd March - My spirits lifted by the forest people
I arrived in Medan last night at around 10pm. After 8 months in the southern hemisphere I’m back in the northern hemisphere. To pass time on my two hour flight from Jakarta I reflected back on my time in the southern hemisphere. I got two months in before we landed - so many happy times and lifelong memories to look back on. Much of the last week I’ve spent on my own and in this time my thoughts have often strayed home. Many travellers I’ve met who have been doing long trips have told me that there is often a time during your journey when you feel homesick. I think my time in Indonesia has coincided with this period for me. Whether it is a lasting feeling or more a temporary one I don’t know, how much longer I will travel for is equally uncertain but for the time being I continue my path through South East Asia.
When I arrived at my guesthouse last night I got half a story about how there were two Dutch girls going up to Bukit Lawang this morning with
a guide to do a two day trek. I’m happy to go up to Bukit Lawang with them but I’m unsure about doing a two day trek. I have only 6 full days left in Indonesia before my visa expires and I also want to see Lake Toba so spending 3 days up at Bukit Lawang would by the time you build in travel, give me no more than 48 hours at Lake Toba. There’s no need to make a decision now as that can wait until later in the day. I find Kinol, the guide and the two Dutch girls, Astrid and Linda and we leave together for Bukit Lawang. I share a motor becak ride with Kinol through Medan to get to the bus. It’s a pretty cool way to get through the busy city of Medan, Indonesia’s third largest, with a population of around 2 million. On the becak ride Kinol tells me about the trek in Gunung Leuser national park. Trekking through the jungle searching for Orang-Utans and other wildlife, camping overnight and then tubing back to Bukit Lawang sounds brilliant. The only thing that doesn’t is the pricetag - 700,000 Rupiah (£40). Not much by
western standards maybe, but it is a small fortune for Indonesia and especially what is involved. After our becak ride we climb into a bemo and then catch a bus to Bukit Lawang. The journey takes about 4 hours in total door to door, covering some of the worst pot-holed roads I’ve witnessed and passing palm tree plantations.
The bus drops us on the edge of Bukit Lawang, where we need to catch a further motor becak to our accommodation. The last part of the journey, walking over a rickety bridge that spans the river is the highlight. The bridge neither feels safe, looks well constructed nor it easy to cross with a backpack, but it’s Indonesia to a tee. Whilst I have the choice of accommodation I choose to stay with the girls and the guide, it’s good to have company at long last. Bukit Lawang is a place that is easy to like almost immediately. A jungle village put on the map by the Orang-Utan viewing centre on its outskirts, it has endured recent tragedy. In November 2003, a flash flood decimated the town and killed 280 people - about a tenth of the villagers. The people
have rebuilt this incredible river town, enclosed on all sides by jungle and again welcome tourists. However, with a recent natural disaster the majority of tourists stay away and it’s a tranquil place with great deals to be had. It’s nice to see a clean river in Indonesia....I’m searching my brain but I can’t recall seeing another. In comparison to other places I’ve visited in Indonesia Bukit Lawang also feels clean.
We arrive at 1:30pm and have just enough time for a quick lunch before myself and the two Dutch girls need to get our permit for the orang-utan viewing centre and then walk 20 minutes up the bank of the river, through the village to the Bohorok orang-utan viewing centre. Linda has a phobia of chickens and it’s hilarious seeing her negotiate her way through the village in utter fear. I know I shouldn’t laugh at another person’s fear but it’s hard not to. When we reach the end of the path along the east bank of the river we have to cross to the other bank by a boat, which two guys then pull to the opposite bank using ropes. We make it for the 3pm feeding
session just in time and join Janine and Patrick a Canadian/Irish couple for the short walk up into the jungle. The feeding session with the rangers is much better than I imagined. For a start there is only us 5 tourists along with a similar number of locals and then we get much closer than I imagined to the orang-utans. The rangers feed them milk and bananas and at times the four orang-utans I see are almost in touching distance. I also imagined something similar to a zoo, but these orang-utans are semi-wild. The orang-utans are also much larger than I expected - the fully grown adults are a similar size to a human. Their expressive faces and curiosity make them very entertaining creatures to watch as they swing through the canopy and down to get the food. This is definitely my favourite wildlife experience in Indonesia and up there with any other wildlife experience else on my travels. On our way back to the boat we spot a further handful of orang-utans, one of them is sat in the boat and sulks when he is removed and led away, and another swings on the ropes across the river.....class! The
orang-utans which is Malay for ‘person of the forest’ have lifted my spirits no-end.
The five of us stop at the guesthouse where Patrick and Janine are staying for some refreshment and after a couple of hours of non-stop talking we get dinner. It’s started to rain, there is very little artificial light in the village so we sit around by candle light. It is interesting listening to Patrick and Janine who are teaching English in Korea and also to the two Dutch girls, who are towards the end of their media studies. All of them have travelled quite extensively in South Asia and it is good listening to their stories. In the pitch black I make my way back along the river with Astrid and Linda. Our way is illuminated by little more than the light that my camera is emitting, but we manage to find our way back to the bridge and then safely across and back to our hotel. Sat in the restaurant area is Kinol and a few other locals. He asks me if I want to join the trek and I agree to. Whilst it isn’t cheap, the itinerary sounds interesting and the two
Dutch girls are nice people to spend a couple of days in the jungle with. After parting with 700,000 Rupiah, Kinol and a few of the locals entertain us on the guitar with some jungle songs.
Talking with a few of the friendly local guys I believe I’ve found the answer to why there are so few people travelling in Indonesia. Again, there appears to be no more than 20 tourists in Bukit Lawang, so why are tourists staying away from Indonesia? The answer for me is because the country’s recent history is littered with natural and man-made disasters and also it is a bit out of the way of the usual tourist circuit around South-East Asia where Bangkok or Singapore are the entry points. My experience is that the country is perfectly safe to travel in and okay it has it’s annoyances but these I’m sure are much the same in much of South-East Asia.
For the record the recent disasters:
- 2002 - First Bali Bombing kills 202.
- 2003 - Flash floods kill 280 in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra. Violence in the Aceh province in northern Sumatra.
- 2004 - Tsunami kills 200,000 people in
Northern Sumatra, Indonesia makes up half the final death toll.
- 2005 - Second Bali Bombing.
- 2006 - Yogyakarta & central Java suffers earthquake.
- 2007 - Transport disasters as ferries sink and planes fall from the sky. Floods in Jakarta kill 85. Earthquake in western Sumatra.
- Ongoing religious violence in Sulawesi & Maluku and numerous volcanic eruptions over the period.
Not many other countries I can think of have had such an unfortunate decade.
Day 268: Tuesday 24th March - Trekking (or should that be Orang Utan watching) in Gunung Leuser National Park
At 9am we must meet Kinol for the start of the trek. This is no hardship to get up and ready for this time as like most places in Indonesia there is a ready-made wake up call. This time in the absence of any nearby mosques it is the cockerels’ turn to do the honours. The three of us meet Kinol and then join with Roy and Kath, a Scottish couple, for our trek into Gunung Leuser national park. The park is home to some of the rarest and most endangered species on earth like the Sumatran Tiger, the Sumatran Rhinocerous,
the Orang-Utan and seven species of primates. We don’t have to walk for long before we see the Thomas leaf monkey, a small grey coloured primate with a punk hairstyle. They stay high in the canopy but the Orang-Utans are much more curious. Our first meeting with an Orang-Utan in the jungle is somewhat hairy as we have to make a speedy retreat when it starts to charge at us. It is a fully grown adult and with its forceful jaws and arms that are stronger than it’s legs it would be more than a match for a human. Kinol tells us that Orang-Utans can live 40 years and that their DNA is 97% the same as humans, making them the fourth most alike creature on earth to a human. We see some long-tailed Macaques later in the day near the camp but no Tiger or Rhino.
We spend about 6 hours walking through the jungle, covering some steep terrain. The descent down to camp is particularly treacherous and me and Astrid are falling over every few minutes between us. At one point I completely lose my footing, fall off a metre high ledge and with the prospect of
my momentum maybe carrying me over the cliff, I manage to grab a branch and swing like Tarzan and drop to safety. I must look a right picture because Astrid is rolling about laughing. I get my own back as she must fall on her backside about 10 times on the way down. When I say we trekked for 6 hours, maybe we trekked for half this time, the remainder of the time we spent Orang-Utan watching. Observing our distant cousins swinging through the canopy, curiously investigating our presence and sniffing out scraps of fruit from our lunch is incredible. Yesterday in the Bohorok viewing centre was excellent, today is simply amazing, a highlight of my time in Indonesia.
We get to camp in the mid afternoon. The camp is beside the river and is surrounded on all sides my steep jungle which rises quickly from the river. We’re all glad to jump in the fast flowing river and cool off. At one point I think it’s going to carry me down to Bukit Lawang, the flow is so strong. I’ve sweated a lot, particularly the last half hour when I was wearing a crown of leaves that our
other guide had made me. I’ve also not drank enough and am probably a bit dehydrated, even though it hasn’t been the hottest day. Our ‘tent’ for the night is basic, it is a piece of plastic covering a frame made out of branches. It keeps the rain off, but otherwise it is open to the elements. Once the sunlight goes I feel really tired but I make it through to 9pm, the entertainment being provided by card games, magic tricks and matchstick brain teasers.
Day 269: Wednesday 25th March - Tubing back to Bukit Lawang, then one cramped ride back to Medan
Our temporary shack may have provided shelter but I didn’t sleep well. I was cold in just my sleep sheet and the ground was rock hard so I couldn’t settle and kept waking up freezing cold. With a hearty breakfast which must run to four courses, a strong morning sun and the beauty of our location, my discomfort of last night is soon forgotten. The five of us unanimously vote to skip a walk in favour of tubing back to Bukit Lawang. Although it seemed that we walked further in the jungle yesterday we’re not
far at all from Bukit Lawang. It takes no more than half an hour (if that) to float down the fast flowing river and back into town. Five tubes are tied together, and then eight of us climb in including our gear which is wrapped in plastic bags to hopefully keep it dry. It’s a nice relaxing way to finish the trip, we get a great view of the jungle and the town without the need to exert any effort. I’ve had a great time over the last 24 hours or so, the group and the guides were first rate, the Orang-Utans were remarkable but I still think that it was on the pricey side.
Whilst we were getting ready to leave the camp this morning, our guide offered us the option of a share car direct to the hotel in Medan. The five of us on our trek, plus 3 Czech guys who were camping next to us last night are all going back to Medan today, so when we manage to bargain down to a price similar to the cost of public transport, we all agree to take a car. It will leave at 2pm, so we
have a few hours to get our bags sorted out, take a shower and then have a relaxing lunch by the river. When the time comes to take the car back to Medan, three of the guides also get in as well as the driver, so 12 of us are cramped in the vehicle. For me, after almost a month in Indonesia this is no great surprise, often what appears to be a good deal when you agree to it, turns out to be something quite different in reality. Thankfully it is only 3 hours back to Medan, but on the bumpy roads and in the absence of air-con and any personal space whatsoever it won’t rank as one of my favourite journeys. The driver gets stopped by the police on the way back and gets a small fine for overloading the front row of seats in the vehicle. At which point, our guide gets in the second row of seats where I’m sat, making five of us squashed in where there should ordinarily be three. I conclude that the guides pull this trick regularly to get a free ride back to Medan where they then go on the hunt
for the next group of tourists to take on a jungle trek. They’re finished trying to satisfy us as they’ve got their money.
Following the confusion of checking back into the Angel guesthouse, the five of us enjoy a drink with our guide and then myself, Roy and Kath go for a wander to get some food. Medan’s not a pleasing city on the eye, other than the mosque next to our hotel, and we quickly discover that the best eateries are next to our guesthouse as well. When we get back to the hotel, I have a few drinks with the Dutch girls, who cannot leave to Bali tomorrow as Bali airport is closed due to a religious festival. They now have the less than enticing prospect of spending an extra day in Medan. Me? Well, I’ll be off as soon as I can tomorrow morning for Lake Toba. Roy and Kath are also heading in the same direction so we agree to travel down there together, which I’m pleased with. After spending most of Java on my own it will be good to have company for a couple more days. However, I hope I don’t bump into
a Bristol guy who rudely interrupts my conversation with Astrid and Linda without asking if he can join us and then proceeds to talk about himself when the three of us would rather hear something else. I think I manage to spoil his night by telling him that there are virtually no travellers in Indonesia.
Day 270: Thursday 26th March - To Tuk Tuk but not by a Tuk Tuk
In nine months of travelling I’ve had no instances to date of bed bugs. Well, make that one, now. My limbs currently resemble a dot to dot puzzle, my right arm is covered in bed bug bites (presumably from last night) and my legs from the knee down are showing the effects of a lost battle against mosquitoes in the jungle of Sumatra.
Myself, Roy and Kath shun the more comfortable option of a tourist bus for the local bus to Lake Toba from Medan. Contrary to what the owner of the hotel told us yesterday there is a bus that’s going to Lake Toba before 10am and it’s not full despite it being a public holiday. I’m not at all surprised at this - I could
smell a rat last night when she gave us that information as she was angling for us to book a tourist bus with her travel agency. A month in Indonesia has taught me - somewhat unfortunately if you ask me - that a significant number of Indonesian’s are full of crap and looking to make money out of tourists at any opportunity. We have to wait almost an hour in the bus station until the bus fills up before we depart for Lake Toba. The journey takes 5 hours and is hot and cramped but at least it only cost a quarter of what the tourist bus would have.
The three of us arrive in Parapat on Lake Toba at lunchtime. Lake Toba is South-East Asia’s largest lake, measuring approximately 60km long by 30km wide. It also happens to be the collapsed caldera of a supervolcano which has witnessed the largest ever recorded volcanic eruption, dwarfing the famous eruptions of the last century. This however was 70,000 years ago, and today it represents a peaceful getaway from the bedlam of Indonesia. In the middle of Lake Toba is Samosir Island which is the same size as Singapore and also
where most people choose to stay. The next ferry across to Samosir isn’t for another hour so we get lunch in Parapat while we wait. Lunch takes so long that we miss the next ferry and it is 4pm before we complete the half hour journey across to the island. We’ve been tapped up by a guesthouse tout while we waited in Parapat, but the accommodation that he takes us to is good and cheap. I choose to stay in a traditional Batak (the people of Lake Toba) style house. It comes without shower and the toilet is a squat and drop but what’s lacking in the bathroom department is made up for in the bedroom. My bed sits on the floor of a high roofed wooden room which has a mezzanine floor. It’s externally that the room really exudes its charm with Batak style decoration and the door which is the size of a window and designed for dwarves (or Batak people?) not a medium height adult male. It also has a veranda to relax on. I am convinced I will add some bruises on my head, back and shoulders over the course of the next couple of days
trying to get in and out of my room, to go with my numerous insect bites. What is particularly pleasing over the acquisition of my new accommodation is that I manage to bargain my host down to a level where he has to call the owner to get permission to agree the deal. Having attained this level of bargaining skill I now need to ensure I apply it consistently and don’t fall so easily into the trap of accepting prices so readily and consequently being ripped off!!
The homestay we’re staying at is in Tuk-Tuk, the island’s resort town, and where the ferries drop you off at. A walk around the town just before dusk reveals empty hotels, empty restaurants, friendly locals and a few bookshops. There seems to be as many hotels as there are tourists staying here, I reckon you could easily have a hotel to yourself. It takes me an hour and a half to walk around the sprawling town via a few conversations with friendly locals and tourists. With night falling and the light fading, a local kindly gives me a lift back to Liberta homestay. Whilst I was walking around Tuk Tuk I was
debating what to do tomorrow. My options are to hire a motorbike and ride around the island, hire a bike and explore the nearby Batak villages on the eastern side of Samosir or to kick back and relax reading a book. When I arrived a few hours ago, I favoured one of the first two, but now having walked around, settled in and soaked up the atmosphere I’m looking forward to doing very little. Tuk Tuk is just the place. I have dinner with Roy and Kath back in the homestay, before having an early night to catch up on the effects of two nights of broken sleep and the after effects of an arduous journey today.
Day 271: Friday 27th March - Relaxing beside Lake Toba
Even after a good night’s sleep I feel more lethargic if anything than the past couple of days. That’s my mind made up. For me, it is going to be nothing more than a day relaxing around the friendly surroundings of my homestay near the lake. Four weeks of travelling fairly quickly through Indonesia have taken its toll and my mind and body are crying out for a rest. You don’t
realise how tired you are until you stop. Tuk Tuk is the perfect place to unwind and with a week of cities (Singapore & Kuala Lumpur) ahead of me, relaxing in the peaceful surroundings is just the medicine. Part of me would love to get a motorbike and explore the island, particularly after hearing two guys from North Yorkshire talk so enthusiastically about it on the ferry across, but not today. With only the morning tomorrow the motorbike tour idea will have to be shelved.
My only venture out from Liberta homestay all day is to get lunch overlooking the lake and to catch up on emails from friends and family just down the road. I manage to watch a film - 88 minutes - before a power cut caused by lightning, strikes. On that note with no light I decide it is time to call it a night and make my way back to my Batak house, crawl through the door without banging my head and then fumble around in the dark, unsuccessfully, for my torch. Just as I find it with the help of a flashlight from the restaurant the electricity comes back on albeit briefly and
just long enough to allow me to find my way to bed.
Day 272: Saturday 28th March - A reluctant return to Medan
I spend another lazy morning and would be more than happy to spend a few more days in the cooler climate of Lake Toba amongst some extremely friendly people. Mr Moon and the crew of Liberta have been my most friendly hosts in Indonesia and I could happily extend my stay. Alas, my visa runs out tomorrow, so I must return to Medan by tonight. I bid a farewell to Roy and Kath who have been good company for the last few days. They have a great trip ahead of them - they are planning to travel overland from Malaysia all the way back to Europe, on the back of a year’s stay in New Zealand - I hope they make it. I catch the ferry back to Parapat, where the market is in full swing and then get a bemo to the bus station where I have a short wait for the bus back to Medan. The journey back isn’t as bad as the one getting to Lake Toba. It is cooler for a
start and I have more room but after 5 hours I still have a numb buttock at the end! One thing I won’t miss about Indonesia are the journeys between places. However, the effects of my relaxing couple of days in Lake Toba haven’t been totally negated.
When I arrive back in Medan, I am surrounded by people offering me all sorts of options to get to my hotel. I want the cheapest option - a bemo - but that doesn’t seem to be one of the alternatives. Then, a friendly local guy whose name I now forget, shows me the way to catch the right bemo. He leads me right through a swarm of traffic on one of the main roads through Medan, as the president is here campaigning ahead of next month’s election. This is yet another example of the kindness and friendly welcome the Sumatrans give you. For me, clearly the friendliest island in the archipelago. I grab dinner at the hotel and pick the brains of a Dutch guy, Peter, who has just been in Malaysian Borneo, where I will be heading in a week or so.
Tomorrow I leave for Singapore. A number
of travellers I’ve met the past few weeks have commented how they didn’t like Singapore. After a month in Indonesia, having stayed in only one place with a hot shower and only a few with what I would call a proper Western toilet (one that flushes not one where you have to use a bucket and a Mandi to flush), a civilised Singapore is just what I need. I’m also excited about the food in the hawker stalls. Indonesian food isn’t one of the world’s great cuisines, functional rather than really tasty. It’s only decent dish is satay but I always thought that belonged to the Chinese?
In 30 days I’ve set foot on 12 of the 17000+ islands that make up the world’s largest archipelago. My favourite has to be Gili Trawangan, a beach resort to compare with any other I’ve been to on my travels. The islands are all different in their character, from the wild beauty of Flores (probably the most beautiful island), to the touristy, over-developed and over-hyped Bali, the idyllic getaway of the Gili Islands, the frantic Java with its interesting cultures and then the superb wildlife and warm welcome of lush Sumatra. Apart
from Gili T, my highlights and what I would say are the essential experiences in Indonesia are the moonscapes of Mount Bromo, the temples of Yogyakarta and the Orang-Utans on Sumatra. Quite how the world’s fourth most populated country and third largest democracy manages to stay as one with such different islands, cultures and lifestyles I don’t know, but the Indonesian’s certainly embrace the different peoples and religions that make up their country.
Despite having some great times and seeing some wonderful places, Indonesia wouldn’t rank that highly in the countries I’ve visited so far on this journey. When I search for the reason I come up with several answers. First, the combination of few tourists and no hostels in Indonesia has meant that for about half my time in the country I have spent it alone. It is always more enjoyable to share your experiences with others and in their absence I have found it less enjoyable. As a consequence, I have also found my thoughts turning to home and for the first time since central America I’ve felt some homesickness. Second, it has taken me time to adjust to Asia. In a large number of my experiences
with the locals I have found that they will try and rip you off at every opportunity and will be less than truthful with information they give you if they can make money out of it. Indonesia is a poor country and of course there are reasons for their behaviour, you just have to be on your guard. My experiences of the locals haven’t all been negative. The people in Yogyakarta and Sumatra have been very friendly and enhanced my experience of these places.
The question I always find myself asking after I leave a country is; ‘Would I go back?’ In the case of Indonesia I honestly don’t know. I can’t imagine coming back to the bottom string of islands I’ve visited as although I’ve only had a month to cover a vast distance I believe I have seen most of the highlights. On the other hand, there are the top string of islands - Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Malaku and Papua - which have probably the most interesting cultures of the archipelago and some of the most interesting and strange cultures left in the world today. When I’ve talked with fellow travellers who have travelled extensively in Indonesia, Sulawesi
has cropped up as being their most popular place. There is a trip there to do one day, but you never know. It would certainly need time as a month in Indonesia is nowhere near enough and whilst travel is difficult in the islands I’ve visited I believe it’s even harder in the other major islands. That is for the future and for the present I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Indonesia as a destination as long as you know what you’re letting yourself into. English is widely spoken and I’ve managed to get by with only one word of Bahasa Indonesian. To the friendly and helpful Indonesian’s I’ve met along the way I extend a heartfelt Terima Kasih (thank-you). Indonesia doesn’t deserve to stay off the tourist radar and there is so much more to Indonesia than Bali.
Some final thoughts; Why does just about every Indonesian man smoke at every opportunity but not women? And, how with all that traffic following a non-existent highway code (other than avoid what’s in front of you and use your horn frequently) are there no accidents? Lastly, no matter where you are why does a mosque or rooster always wake you up
at 5am?!
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Jean-OurExplorer Tour Guide
non-member comment
Great Share
Great photos and nice to hear your stories in the jungle. I think it good to have a expert local guide's accompany for trekking, as they are farmiliar with the area and conditions. But it would be greater when they ensure me a happy tour till the end of it. http://www.OurExplorer.com local guides, local wisdom