Selamat Siang! Horas!
(BE PREPARED, IT'S A DOOSIE!)
*at least it was for us.
After an intense 10 hour bus ride (from Singapore to northern Malaysia), followed by a 9 hour ferry ride we made it from the Malaysian port city of Penang to Medan (the provincial capital of Sumatra Indonesia). We were quickly swept off our feet and directed onto a bus to take us into the main part of town where we were to catch the next bus and bring us to our final destination. While waiting in the bus (which was already paid for) we met a man who was collecting a fee to use the bus (strange, but sometimes it's better to go along with it rather than starting a protest). We started talking to him and he directed us (and us alone, which was scary enough) off of that bus and into a small minibus. This bus, he claimed, would help us to get closer to our final destination (a village by the name of Bukit Lawang). Once we loaded all our bags into the minibus, we were informed that we would be switching to yet another minibus before leaving the parking lot. After driving with him for over an hour, he kindly informed us that the last bus from Medan had already left to go to Bukit Lawang, but he would drop us at another mini bus that would take us to the next town, and hopefully we would be able to catch another bus from there.
That's when we met Erwin.
We decided that since we had already been traveling for well beyond a reasonable amount of hours, what did a few more (along with a few more detours) really matter in the grand scheme of things. Erwin ended up being on his way to his hometown which was, none other than... Bukit Lawang. As such, he kindly agreed to help us reach our destination. After about an hour we made it to the bus stop in the next city. The GOOD news- the last bus for Bukit Lawang was just about to leave (we seem to always catch transportation, minutes before departure), the BAD news - there were no seats available in the car. However, the roof was available for riding, so the three of us with our bags, along with five other men and eight bags of rice, piled on top of the minivan and headed north, to Bukit Lawang.
The ride was about three hours, and it was wild! Sumatra has some of the worst “pot-hole filled” roads (maybe in the whole world) and our driver made sure we'd get the chance to bump up and down on every one of them (and I might also mention that the ride was accompanied by the soothing display of thunder & lightning from start to finish – luckily the rain stayed away). Despite nature's demonstrations, we eventually made it to the village of Bukit Lwang. We grabbed our packs and crossed the dimly lit 80 foot suspension bridge that welcomed us into the jungle. Afer making camp at the Eco Lodge, we thanked Erwin and set up the next part of our stay in Bukit Lawang- our 2 day Jungle trek.
We woke early the next day to meet Erwin and Bob, our guides for the trek. We were also joined by two other young Canadian travelers, Mel and Peter. Together we set out for the jungle.
It only took about half an hour of trekking before we encountered our first creatures of the wild, a troop of beautiful orangutans. Bukit Lawang is one of only 2 places in the world that are home to orangutans, so we felt very privileged to have the chance to see these beautiful primates in their natural habitat. We continued trekking and were lucky enough to see many more creatures, including a few funky monkeys (the official name escapes us), some long tailed macaws, a few black and white faced gibbons, a handful of water monitors, a couple of poisonous centipedes as well as poisonous caterpillars and of course, big-arse spiders. It was a great time in the jungle, and after about eight hours of sweaty trekking, we decided to set up camp for the night at the “jungle hotel”.
The jungle hotel was on the other side of the swiftly flowing river, so we crossed carefully by tube (with the help of 5 guides in total) and the jungle hotel was nothing less than perfect. Everything you could hope for in the jungle. We had our fire, our tarp, and our makeshift tent (sheets of plastic strung together). We were set. As our 5 guides (yes, 5 guides for 4 tourists) set up for dinner, we Canadians headed into the jungle to find a beautiful and secluded waterfall. We immediately jumped in and washed away the “week's worth” of sweat and body odor that we had produced during the day's journey. Upon returning to our camp, we were greeted with a delicious (and I mean DE-LISH-US!) dinner of chicken kari, rice, vegetable currie along with a couple other things which we can't quite recall. It was one of the best meals we'd had on the trip thus far. We spent the evening playing “thinking” and “laughing” games well into the night. Once the thunderstorm started and we noticed that the water-level had risen a few meters, everyone agreed that it was probably a good time to get some rest. We tried to sleep, however Jono was a bit freaked by the thought of snakes (i.e. Cobras, Black Mambas, Pythons, & Vipers – all of which are found in the jungle that we were in) getting into our make shift tent (not to mention that he slept closest to the tent's jungle opening). As a result, we just kind of... “rested”.
The next morning we had breakfast, played some more games, took another refreshing dip, then it was time to head home. We had agreed to raft down the jungle river to get back, but we started to regret our decision when we saw the kind of “raft” we had. Our “jungle limo” consisted of 5 large inner-tubes, tied together with some rope. There were no paddles, just two 10 foot sticks from the jungle. There were also no life jackets or helmets. We hoped into the raft with our hopes held high that we would make it down the river in one piece, but after only two minutes, our “raft” tipped over and we were both plunged into the rapids and sent floating down stream. After a lot of shouting, hard swimming, and a lull in the rapids, we were able to regroup and agree to give it another go. Noticing the cuts and bruises that we had collected by slamming into the rocks and other debris of the river, our guides apologized for the affair and assured us that it had only happened once before. We all climbed back into our “raft” and once again continued the journey... for about 90 seconds. The rapids soon took control of us again and before we knew it, we were underwater and struggling to swim through the muddy river toward our group. The river (which was much higher and faster than the day before) was just too strong and our raft was just too big. After a few tense moments of our guides feverishly yelling at one another in a language we did not understand (Indonesian Bhasa) we decided to give it one last try. We (as in Jono & Amanda) decided that if we tipped once more, we would do the 4 hour trek along the river by ourselves (narrowly missing huge rocks with your heads is alright the first two times, but we figured the 3 strikes rule should apply). Luckily, our guide, Olo, had the brilliant idea of making the raft smaller, and with that, (coupled with a lot of intense prayer) we made it back to Bukit Lawang without tipping.
We needed to relax after our trek so we spent what was left of our day checking out the bat cave and just hanging around the village. We went for pizza and then decided to catch a flick at a local cafe. Just at the end of the flick, a thunderstorm slid in the likes of which we've never seen and the intense jungle rain came right behind it. We decided to make a run for it before it got too bad, so we went out and crossed over the suspension bridge, only to find that this was not the normal (and for that matter, safest) route to our hotel. We thought we could hold it out under a patio, but after the power went out and the town went black, we became increasingly uneasy about being stuck outside. We decided since we were lost and their was no power, the only thing left to do was cross over the suspension bridge once again (which held a sign written: “MAX 4 PEOPLE”) and wait in the cafe. This may seem like an easy thing to do, but when its pouring buckets and the lightning cracks and thunder booms are only milliseconds apart, crossing a suspension bridge over a jungle river (that you've already fell out of a raft into) isn't something that you just jump at the chance to do. Amanda was scared out of her wits, but with a bit of coaxing, Jono was able to bring her back to her senses. Together we crossed, and made it to the cafe, where we played Jenga by candlelight with the owner for over two hours. The rain had settled a bit and we finally made it safely back to our place (even though we had to cross the suspension bridge once again).
The next morning we were adequately rested, and ready to say farewell to Bukit Lawang as we continued our Sumatran adventure toward beautiful Lake Toba. After a bumpy eight hour trip (thankfully not on the roof of the minibus this time) we arrived at Lake Toba and were quickly transferred by ferry over the the island of Samosir, where we stayed at the “town” (more like a grouping of guest-houses that made up) Tuk-Tuk. We were greeted by friendly Robi at Merlyn's Guesthouse (an aquaintance of our friend Erwin) and we dropped our packs and settled in for a few nights. With a much needed recovery, we spent our time at Lake Toba relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet. We did get a little wild (it's in our blood) and rented motorcycles for a day and traveled around the island. We had a lot of fun learning to ride (much different than scooters) and also seeing the sights (batak style houses, water buffalos, etc.) and we even made it to the area's sulfurous hot springs. With that much needed break, we were back on the dusty road to Medan, ready to catch our flight out of Sumatra and into the next Indonesian Island on our itinerary.
Selamat Siang! Horas!
(BE PREPARED, IT'S A DOOSIE!)
*at least it was for us.
After an intense 10 hour bus ride (from Singapore to northern Malaysia), followed by a 9 hour ferry ride we made it from the Malaysian port city of Penang to Medan (the provincial capital of Sumatra Indonesia). We were quickly swept off our feet and directed onto a bus to take us into the main part of town where we were to catch the next bus and bring us to our final destination. While waiting in the bus (which was already paid for) we met a man who was collecting a fee to use the bus (strange, but sometimes it's better to go along with it rather than starting a protest). We started talking to him and he directed us (and us alone, which was scary enough) off of that bus and into a small minibus. This bus, he claimed, would help us to get closer to our final destination (a village by the name of Bukit Lawang). Once we loaded all our bags into the minibus, we were informed that we would be switching to yet another minibus before leaving the parking lot. After driving with him for over an hour, he kindly informed us that the last bus from Medan had already left to go to Bukit Lawang, but he would drop us at another mini bus that would take us to the next town, and hopefully we would be able to catch another bus from there.
That's when we met Erwin.
We decided that since we had already been traveling for well beyond a reasonable amount of hours, what did a few more (along with a few more detours) really matter in the grand scheme of things. Erwin ended up being on his way to his hometown which was, none other than... Bukit Lawang. As such, he kindly agreed to help us reach our destination. After about an hour we made it to the bus stop in the next city. The GOOD news- the last bus for Bukit Lawang was just about to leave (we seem to always catch transportation, minutes before departure), the BAD news - there were no seats available in the car. However, the roof was available for riding, so the three of us with our bags, along with five other men and eight bags of rice, piled on top of the minivan and headed north, to Bukit Lawang.
The ride was about three hours, and it was wild! Sumatra has some of the worst “pot-hole filled” roads (maybe in the whole world) and our driver made sure we'd get the chance to bump up and down on every one of them (and I might also mention that the ride was accompanied by the soothing display of thunder & lightning from start to finish – luckily the rain stayed away). Despite nature's demonstrations, we eventually made it to the village of Bukit Lwang. We grabbed our packs and crossed the dimly lit 80 foot suspension bridge that welcomed us into the jungle. Afer making camp at the Eco Lodge, we thanked Erwin and set up the next part of our stay in Bukit Lawang- our 2 day Jungle trek.
We woke early the next day to meet Erwin and Bob, our guides for the trek. We were also joined by two other young Canadian travelers, Mel and Peter. Together we set out for the jungle.
It only took about half an hour of trekking before we encountered our first creatures of the wild, a troop of beautiful orangutans. Bukit Lawang is one of only 2 places in the world that are home to orangutans, so we felt very privileged to have the chance to see these beautiful primates in their natural habitat. We continued trekking and were lucky enough to see many more creatures, including a few funky monkeys (the official name escapes us), some long tailed macaws, a few black and white faced gibbons, a handful of water monitors, a couple of poisonous centipedes as well as poisonous caterpillars and of course, big-arse spiders. It was a great time in the jungle, and after about eight hours of sweaty trekking, we decided to set up camp for the night at the “jungle hotel”.
The jungle hotel was on the other side of the swiftly flowing river, so we crossed carefully by tube (with the help of 5 guides in total) and the jungle hotel was nothing less than perfect. Everything you could hope for in the jungle. We had our fire, our tarp, and our makeshift tent (sheets of plastic strung together). We were set. As our 5 guides (yes, 5 guides for 4 tourists) set up for dinner, we Canadians headed into the jungle to find a beautiful and secluded waterfall. We immediately jumped in and washed away the “week's worth” of sweat and body odor that we had produced during the day's journey. Upon returning to our camp, we were greeted with a delicious (and I mean DE-LISH-US!) dinner of chicken kari, rice, vegetable currie along with a couple other things which we can't quite recall. It was one of the best meals we'd had on the trip thus far. We spent the evening playing “thinking” and “laughing” games well into the night. Once the thunderstorm started and we noticed that the water-level had risen a few meters, everyone agreed that it was probably a good time to get some rest. We tried to sleep, however Jono was a bit freaked by the thought of snakes (i.e. Cobras, Black Mambas, Pythons, & Vipers – all of which are found in the jungle that we were in) getting into our make shift tent (not to mention that he slept closest to the tent's jungle opening). As a result, we just kind of... “rested”.
The next morning we had breakfast, played some more games, took another refreshing dip, then it was time to head home. We had agreed to raft down the jungle river to get back, but we started to regret our decision when we saw the kind of “raft” we had. Our “jungle limo” consisted of 5 large inner-tubes, tied together with some rope. There were no paddles, just two 10 foot sticks from the jungle. There were also no life jackets or helmets. We hoped into the raft with our hopes held high that we would make it down the river in one piece, but after only two minutes, our “raft” tipped over and we were both plunged into the rapids and sent floating down stream. After a lot of shouting, hard swimming, and a lull in the rapids, we were able to regroup and agree to give it another go. Noticing the cuts and bruises that we had collected by slamming into the rocks and other debris of the river, our guides apologized for the affair and assured us that it had only happened once before. We all climbed back into our “raft” and once again continued the journey... for about 90 seconds. The rapids soon took control of us again and before we knew it, we were underwater and struggling to swim through the muddy river toward our group. The river (which was much higher and faster than the day before) was just too strong and our raft was just too big. After a few tense moments of our guides feverishly yelling at one another in a language we did not understand (Indonesian Bhasa) we decided to give it one last try. We (as in Jono & Amanda) decided that if we tipped once more, we would do the 4 hour trek along the river by ourselves (narrowly missing huge rocks with your heads is alright the first two times, but we figured the 3 strikes rule should apply). Luckily, our guide, Olo, had the brilliant idea of making the raft smaller, and with that, (coupled with a lot of intense prayer) we made it back to Bukit Lawang without tipping.
We needed to relax after our trek so we spent what was left of our day checking out the bat cave and just hanging around the village. We went for pizza and then decided to catch a flick at a local cafe. Just at the end of the flick, a thunderstorm slid in the likes of which we've never seen and the intense jungle rain came right behind it. We decided to make a run for it before it got too bad, so we went out and crossed over the suspension bridge, only to find that this was not the normal (and for that matter, safest) route to our hotel. We thought we could hold it out under a patio, but after the power went out and the town went black, we became increasingly uneasy about being stuck outside. We decided since we were lost and their was no power, the only thing left to do was cross over the suspension bridge once again (which held a sign written: “MAX 4 PEOPLE”) and wait in the cafe. This may seem like an easy thing to do, but when its pouring buckets and the lightning cracks and thunder booms are only milliseconds apart, crossing a suspension bridge over a jungle river (that you've already fell out of a raft into) isn't something that you just jump at the chance to do. Amanda was scared out of her wits, but with a bit of coaxing, Jono was able to bring her back to her senses. Together we crossed, and made it to the cafe, where we played Jenga by candlelight with the owner for over two hours. The rain had settled a bit and we finally made it safely back to our place (even though we had to cross the suspension bridge once again).
The next morning we were adequately rested, and ready to say farewell to Bukit Lawang as we continued our Sumatran adventure toward beautiful Lake Toba. After a bumpy eight hour trip (thankfully not on the roof of the minibus this time) we arrived at Lake Toba and were quickly transferred by ferry over the the island of Samosir, where we stayed at the “town” (more like a grouping of guest-houses that made up) Tuk-Tuk. We were greeted by friendly Robi at Merlyn's Guesthouse (an aquaintance of our friend Erwin) and we dropped our packs and settled in for a few nights. With a much needed recovery, we spent our time at Lake Toba relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet. We did get a little wild (it's in our blood) and rented motorcycles for a day and traveled around the island. We had a lot of fun learning to ride (much different than scooters) and also seeing the sights (batak style houses, water buffalos, etc.) and we even made it to the area's sulfurous hot springs. With that much needed break, we were back on the dusty road to Medan, ready to catch our flight out of Sumatra and into the next Indonesian Island on our itinerary.
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