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Published: August 5th 2010
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The first thing they should tell you upon entering the jungle is that you will never stop sweating. So far this has been true for me, and it started when I took my seat on that bus, 4 stinky hours before I even arrived.
My first morning in Bukit, I awoke to a desperate Cucumber banging on my door, insisting I wake up that very second. I grumbled and fumbled my way out of my mosquito net, and opened the door to the tiny Indonesian man jumping up and down, pointing at the river. "Sasa! You so lucky! You see Sasa first morning!" And there, a short distance away from my balcony, sat Sasa, the sassy orangutan, enjoying some morning refreshment. Most travellers venture to Bukit Lawang for exactly this reason, to view these hairy friends in their natural habitat. But I thought you'd at least have to work for it a little with a strenuous jungle trek.
I grabbed my camera and ran to the river with a few others who had also spotted the orange monkey. We sat for a good half hour, watching her play and hunt for ticks and fan herself with a giant leaf.
It was so incredible to see her so close to us and as though she cared less whether or not she had an audience. 'Orangutan' is actually an Indonesian word, quite logical as they are native to this part of the world, which means 'human' (orang) 'in the jungle' (utan). And Sasa was exactly how I imagine I'd look after a few nights in the depths of the Sumatran bush.
The orangutan sightings here are so prevalent thanks to the Feeding Centre that the village was built around. The Gunung Leser National Park (or the jungle as I prefer to call it) is home to more than 5,000 of these endangered monkeys, and a number of them have been rehabilitated by the Feeding Centre after spending years unjustly caged as pets. Sasa is one of these semi-wild orangutans who has now, more or less, re-adapted to her native habitat thanks to the efforts of the Centre workers. The feeding centre still provides feedings to semi-dependent monkeys, most of whom are nursing mothers.
After Sasa had had her fill, she swung herself back into the trees, and I took that as my cue to go hunt down some breakfast
in the form of banana pancakes and fresh pineapple juice. The food here is nothing short of spectacular. I took the day to relax after such a grueling travel leg, reading in my hammock, rafting down the river in inner tubes with Cucumber, chatting with a few local guides about my upcoming jungle trek, and taking pictures of locals. It is incredible how much joy the kids here get out of seeing their faces on a digital screen.
Later I met new friends Sandra and Carina for dinner and songs at one of the other guesthouses. Some guides were providing the entertainment - a sort of karaoke-type situation where you could request songs out of a small book containing the lyrics, and whoever happened to have the guitar would try to come up with the right accompaniment. We whiled away the evening hours here, singing old favourites by Uncle Bob (Marley, that is) and new ones like "Jungle Trek":
(to the tune of Jingle Bells)
Jungle Trek! Jungle Trek!
In Bu-kit Lawang.
See the monkeys, see the birds,
See orang-u-tans!
X2
Walking in jun-gle,
See the an-i-mals.
Walking to-ge-ther,
In Bukit Lawang.
Singing to-ge-ther,
Rafting to-ge-ther,
Everything
toge-ther!
In Bukit Lawang!
Brilliant, no? I thought quite highly of it and continued to hum it to myself early the next morning as I ventured forth on my very own jungle trek. Guided by the knowledgeable and afro-puffed Baba, along with a Danish couple who were as sweet as pie, we entered the park and were immediately greeted by both black and white gibbons high in the canopy. Shortly after we spotted some Thomas Leaf monkeys, who are better known as punky monkeys thanks to their mini white mohawks, hanging low in some trees. We continued on to see 4 orangutans (two of them with little babies), hornbills and a giant lizard. Quite lucky!
Despite a punky monkey stealing some of our lunch and eating it up a tree directly in front of us, the day was relatively uneventful, at least in terms of having to battle those giant flying spiders I had prepared myself for. But my god, what a workout that was. Up and then down again, all day long, and these near cliffs were not for the faint-at-heart. LP described it as 'not a walk in the park' and man were they
not kidding.
To be honest, I think the description could use a little re-working. Something to the effect of 'a day spent in the sweaty, muddy, ant-infested, mountainous hills and deep dark pits of jungle bush that will seriously kick your ass and then some' would do it. I have never loved water more than when we finally dunked ourselves in the river at the bottom and rafted on home.
After a good shower and a failed attempt at washing my pants that are, let's face it, never going to come clean, I spent most of the evening detailing my day as Tarzan to anyone who'd listen.
Later, a local guide informed us of a wedding taking place in the village, so we hopped a ride down on a becak and were able to visit with the bride and groom, and some of the villagers. We had more fun taking pictures of some very rambunctious (in the best way) kids and learning more about Muslim wedding rituals in Sumatra. For better or for worse, karaoke plays a very big part. Then we shared some drinks at local bar and called it a night.
The next day I woke up
only to have to pack my bags and leave this lovely lazy jungle-side retreat, but not before a quick lunch in town with an English woman doing her PhD on orangutans. She was quite the interesting person to have a chat with, and helped pass the time during our 3 hour minibus ride back into Medan, where they managed to cram in 22 people where only 10 should have sat (not to mention a couple riders sitting rooftop).
Onwards now to play with fishies and sea turtles on the island paradise of Pulau Weh!
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sharie stewart
non-member comment
excellent nickie
blog great, sound's like you are so enjoying it, happy for you love grandma