Blogs from Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia - page 6

When you look one in the eyes for the first time, it happens. In the wild; in their home… It’s like looking into the eyes of a friend, or some long lost relative that is elated to make your acquaintance. A sense of connection bridges the gap of species difference, and millennia of evolution and biodiversity are summed up in one moment, by one feeling. And one look deep into a mother’s eyes tells you an instant story of hardship, happiness, and life. This mother’s name is Jackie. She is a person of the forest. “Orangutan” in Malay means “person of the forest.” However, to the local Sumatran people, they are known as “mawas,” meaning “free.” Sadly, this has become an outdated and thus ironic term. Orangutans once flourished throughout all of the Southeast Asian jungles. ... read more

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 ... read more

So we left Georgetown and made our way to the port to get our ferry over to Sumatra. The ferry crossing took us across the Mallaca Strait, the strip of sea which seperates Peninsular Malaysia from Sumatra. Historically this area was a prime hunting ground for pirates and it still has occasional problems today although incidents are becoming increasingly rare. However the pirates of today aren't swashbuckling Johnny Depp look-a-likes but instead they ride around on speed boats and carry machine guns, which doesn't seem quite as cool. We got across ok though and the sea was nice and calm. The ferry dropped us of in Sumatra in a place called Belawan and we then got shuttled to the city of Medan. Unfortunately we had to spend a night here as we were too late to ... read more

We left Medan in the morning for BL for some jungle action, we caught a local bus, this bus was funny, again it should of been scrap but it got us there, we even had chickens on the bus. The heavens opened when we arrived, walked to our guesthouse(bungalows) called Garden Inn, and it was lovely, bunaglows made of wood, quite open around the edges (always makes me nervous)massive rooms with our own balcony overlooking the river and lush jungle. In the morning we see our first Oran-utan, 2 of them walking along the river to the feeding platform, it was amasing, just a great feeling to see them in the wild when you only hear and see them on the TV, they are bigger than we expected but just as handsome and they look so ... read more

We arrived in Bukit Lawang in some heavy rain fall...but after our 54 hour trip to get here, we didn't care about having to walk another kilometer in the rain to our guest house! Our stop over in Cairo...where there was no European Cup final to see since they had not the right connection....Arriving late in Kuala Lumpur.....take a taxi to an hotel....which was fully booked....we were so happy we could finaly relax and sit down....an our guesthouse (Garden Inn) in Bukit Lawang was the best place for it. Close to the Bohorok river with steep mountains at each side with thick vegetation this was an absolutely great place. After a relaxed day we were ready to go on a 3 day trip in the jungle We started the trip with a group of five travelers ... read more