Wild Orangutans!

We saw orangutans in the wild! Let me explain: We flew from Yogyakarta to Jakarta, then to Medan (in northern Sumatra), from where we took a bus to Bukit Lewang, a small mountain town on the edge of a national park. On the bus, we met a friendly guide named Eddie, who told us about trekking options in Bukit Lewang. Since Eddie was surprisingly unsketchy and unpushy, we decided to go on a two day, one night trek into the jungle, in hopes of seeing some orangutans.

Bukit Lewang had been a thriving tourist town on the edge of a lovely river, surrounded by jungles where wild orangutans and other amazing animals roam. In November, 2003, a huge flood basically wiped out the town, killing a third of its residents and closing many hotels, restuarants, etc. Since then, its been slowly rebuilding, at about a quarter of its original capacity now 5 years later. However, its an exceedingly charming town, with thin suspension bridges spanning the river and connecting the two halves of the town. Small shops line the now-reinforced banks, looking down on the clear water running below. It was the perfect place to land in after a long day of travel and a long week of Javan cities.

We set off early the next morning for the national park, with our two guides and two german girls rounding out the trekking group. After about an hour of trekking, we saw our first orangutan, munching leaves in a tree about 20 feet over our heads. Unlike their monkey cousins, orangutans (who are apes, not monkeys - we're learning so much!) live and travel alone, only getting together to mate. This orangutan was a huge adult male, probably about 25 years old, and as we watched he looked down on us with strangely human eyes. He swung around, crossing to different trees, hanging from one foot, entertaining us for the better part of an hour. We hiked on and came across 7 more orangutans that afternoon, including 2 pairs of mothers and babies. Orangutan moms care for their children for 5 years, until they are ready to venture out on their own, and much of this time the little apes cling on to their mothers as they swing through the trees. It was incredible. We also saw gibons, macacks, and a giant monitor lizard (which was about 4 1/2 feet long and looked totally prehistoric). Eddie teased us by offering us "jungle ice cream" - which turned out to be terrible tasting bark from the quinine tree. I'll take malaria over that disgusting bark any day.

We got into camp in the late afternoon, and after the hot and humid jungle, were rewarded with a swim in the river. The porters had set up camp for us and had tea ready (which really is a nice way to camp!) and we spent the evening listening to the guides tell jokes and do card tricks. The porter/chef made a delicious dinner of chicken and curry (and not so delicious fishy tempe), which we happily ate before retiring to the tent. In the morning, we all awoke to a troop of monkeys drinking in the river, numbering about 15 in total. Kate went down to the river to brush her teeth, thinking the monkeys would run away, but one bared its teeth and growled at her instead, which was hilarious to everyone except Kate. We hung around and had a lazy breakfast before hiking down to the bigger river for a swim. Finally, we loaded onto an innertube raft type thing with all our gear and rafted back to town through the rapids. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the Sumatrans playing in the river, since it was Saturday and everyone was enjoying the day. Astonishingly, our two days in the jungle in the middle of the rainy season was rain free and full of sunshine!

This morning we got up and took a hot little bus to Medan, where we're spending the night before heading to Lake Toba in the morning. From the balcony of our hostel, you can see the city's beautiful central masque and the mall across the street with its giant MacDonald's golden arches. That and the becak drivers (motorcycle with sidecar used like a taxi - the Sumatran tuktuk) constantly asking if you want a ride pretty much sum up Medan.