Swinging in Sumatra!!!

The ape kind that is! We flew in to Sumatra from Penang for a very short trip in which our only aim was to come into contact with the wild orangutans, something I've always wanted to do. The capital city, Medan, is definitely only a gateway and you would not go there for any other reason. It felt like India again, dirty, polluted and not a place to walk around as pavements were totally inaccessible. We did manage to get out for a Chinese dim sum meal though during our stopover there which was hilarious. Once again, the only Western faces in the restaurant with a menu written only in Chinese and Indonesian, with very little English spoken by the waiters and waitresses. They brought trays of dim sum to the table but couldn't explain to us what they were so choosing was pot luck. Luckily we chose well (apart from John's chicken or duck intenstines stuffed with some kind of fish - he still ate it all!) and felt very full after a few plates of these ... delicious.
Bukit Lawang was our destination for viewing orangutans as they have a rehabilitation centre at the entrance to the jungle. Our driver, Bibit, arrived 1 and a quarter hours early to collect us so it was all a bit of a rush getting out of our hotel room. The journey through many small villages in the countryside took just under 3 hours. Bukit Lawang is a very small village which was virtually swept away by heavy flooding in November 2003, approximately 250 locals and tourists died. A very sad time for the locals but means that almost all the village has been rebuilt in the past few years. A path leads up to the jungle entrance and orangutan rehab centre and this is where the tourist accommodation was situated, next to the fast flowing river. Fortunately for us it was the low season as the monsoon had started so there were very few tourists although this did reduce the chance of seeing the Orangs as they stay in their nests sheltering when it rains. We stayed at a gorgeous place, Jungle Inn, that was the closest to the entrance of the jungle and had views of it across the river from your room. The rooms were stunning, only 9 of them, but ours was huge with a four poster bed, mosquito net, balcony with hammock and downstairs Jungle (outdoor) bathroom, which the monkeys sometimes visit! You had to keep your windows and doors locked at all times in case of these unwanted visitors! The staff were lovely and so friendly.

Our jungle bathroom

The view from the jungle bathroom, sometimes the monkeys visit here!

The view across the river from the balcony.

The first day we decided to go tubing on the river, a favourite pastime of the locals. Our guide, Rahman, said we had two choices, we could go tubing with him and one other on some tubes that they would tie together with him at the front paddling and the other guide at the back. Alternatively we could go it alone and rent individual tubes but we had to make sure we got out before the dam drop off. We saw some tourists on the first option and it looked a bit tame to us so guess which option we went for...yes, you've guessed it we decided to go it alone! We checked out the fast flowing river and our exit point, rented our tubes and launched. Being slightly lighter than John I took off at some speed down the river straight towards the rapids, at some points I couldn't even see him. We got swirled around, dunked and drenched in the rapids and standing waves and when it was make or break to get out I was moving quicker than I would have liked so has to throw myself out as elegantly as I could and make for the river bank! The locals seemed amazed to see us on our own and waved, shouted and took pictures of us. Local celebrities once again!!!

Some of the locals tubing..just before we did the same minutes later.

A calm moment!

We woke up to rain the following morning for our Orangutan feeding platform visit and subsequent 3 hour trek further into the jungle with our guide. We were convinced we would see nothing as the Orangs don't come out in the rain. Luckily it cleared by the time we got moving but the river was quite fast flowing and the only way to get across was by a death trap boat attached to a cable above so you didn't completely get swept downstream... not sure what would have happened if we had capsized though, which seemed very likely at the time!

This poor waoman looked as shocked as me when she boated over a few minutes after us!

Obviously we made it across in one piece and made it up to the feeding platform just inside the jungle where the two rangers position themselves with milk and bananas and bang their pots and sticks to let the Orangs know it's time for breakfast. As it was the low season there were only 8 tourists, another bonus, and we stood about 5 metres away. We waited for about 20 mins and nothing happened so we were convinced that they weren't coming. Then, much to our delight, we saw trees swaying in the distance and they came swinging through the trees. There were two mothers with their babies and one male that came in all that morning. An amazing sight!

This naughty baby had just tried to steal the ranger's cap!

A male enjoying his milk.

There are two types of Orangutan in the jungle, semi-wild like these ones that have been saved by the centre, brought up and released. These are the ones that still come back to the feeding platform soemtimes twice a day but hopefully more and more they will go and find their own food. The other type is the completely wild and not so friendly Orangutan that lives in the jungle and finds its own food. We started our 3 hour trek further into the jungle to see if we could spot any of these next. Our guide advised us to tuck our trousers into our long socks to prevent leeches and as I saw some of these during the trek I was glad I had, no matter how unfashionable I looked!

Rahman was very informative, pointing out wildlife and the various plants along the way. We saw armies of ants (some of the ants were the biggest I have everseen!), hanging termite nests, a long legged spider and then  we saw another mother and baby Orangutan in their nest. There are plenty of other monkeys in the jungle too, macaques and gibbons and we saw some macaques close up who came down to eat some of the bananas we had. John fed one of them who became very indignant that he would not let go of the banana, see the video below, very funny!

The time flew by and before we knew it we were on the edge of the jungle, emerging into the adjacent rubber plantation when our guide spotted a completely wild Orangutan above us. This one appeared none too happy as we watched her wing through the trees. They are solitary creatures and move nests on a daily basis so we were extremely lucky to have spooted this one, unusually so close to the edge of the jungle.. and there was us thinking we had used all our luck up on our tiger spotting.!
We then headed off to the local Friday market to browse their produce before heading back to the Jungle Inn whilst also getting soaked to the skin in another monsoon downpour and having to shelter in a local shop.

The local market

Bukit lawang was an amazing place that is extremely relaxing, with the sound of the jungle and flowing river constantly surrounding you. The locals are very laid back and some of the most freindly people we have come across so far. I would recommend it to anyone as you could definitely get lost here for a while. Unfortunately for us we had a flight to catch the nexy morning, back to Kuala Lumpur. We both absolutely loved the experience and it is one that will stay with us for a long time. This is what I said I wanted to do for my birthday so definintely the best present I could have had!