Upon arriving at the local bus station, we needed to take a tuk-tuk into town. We met a guide back at the Hot Springs in Lake Toba and he happened to be on the same bus as us so he offered to help us find a guest house. We were spectacle of his willingness to help and told him many times that we would manage by ourselves. He insisted and it turns out that he never once asked us for a tip or gave us any grief about it; he was genuinely trying to help us.
The tuk-tuk only goes to one side of the river that runs through town. Then you have to walk over a suspended bamboo bridge to cross the water and proceed to the village. The river is slightly wider than the Guadalupe so you can imagine how long and rickety the bridge must have been. It was getting dark so we needed to find a place to drop our bags soon. We were exhausted after the long bus ride. I heard about the Jungle Inn so we were almost certain that we wanted to stay there but, like we always do, we stopped in several other places along the way to make sure that we were getting the best value. It just so happens that the Jungle Inn is the very last guesthouse so I got a good feel for all of the accommodations in the area! I was actually very glad to have help with my bag because there was just a narrow dirt path with lots of ups and downs for about a mile. We finally came to the end of the trail just as the sun set.
Our room was extraordinary, we had a huge private balcony with a hammock that looked out over two waterfalls and a rock wall.
Each room had it's own perks and was designed to incorporate the natural beauty of it's jungle surroundings. Everyone is friendly and greets us by saying "Welcome to the Jungle!" And we were in the jungle!! The river ran right outside our front door. We found a walking trail that lead us around some rocks alongside a cliff. Just as we came across the bend, we noticed that there were two Orangutans directly across the river from us! We hadn't even been there for five minutes!
One was a female named Sasha and the other was a young male about 2 years old who following shortly behind her. The baby's mother died when she fell from a tree so Sasha adopted him. We watched as they climbed the rocks and made their way to the shore for a refreshing drink. Just then we spotted a worker from our hotel. He had his back turned away from the Orangutans so we motioned for him to turn around. The Orangutans passed right by him with no interruption. We signed up for a Jungle Trek with a guide from our hotel. We choose to do a two day/one night trek in hopes to see lots of Orangutans in their natural environment. Anse offered to take the two of us alone with one other guide and a cook. We were thrilled about the idea of a private tour because it's much better to see the wildlife when you have a smaller group.
The next morning we woke up at 4 a.m. One thing that we didn't think about was that the electricity is turned off until about 6 in the evening so we were preparing the last minute items in complete darkness! We walked back up the dirt trail, into town and crossed over the river on the bridge. The very first thing that we saw was a giant shiny black scorpion that was about 5 inches long!!! AHHHHH!! We would soon be crawling on our hands and knees through the thick vegetation. We were in for a few surprises!
Next, we encountered a family of Thomas Monkeys; they're the ones with a white mohawk. We stood directly underneath them as they played and swung through the trees. It's so amazing to be that close to wild monkeys! At home we have squirrels in the trees but monkeys are so intelligent and human like.
We came across some massive trees that were hundreds of years old. It's crazy to think how much these trees have been through in their lifetime.
There they were standing tall and healthy in the jungle of Sumatra. We felt so insignificant standing next to them.Anse and his buddy have been jungle trekking since they were boys. They know these woods in their sleep. He decided to take us "off the path" to strengthen our chances of seeing more wild Orangutans. What he didn't tell us is that we would be doing vertical climbs through extremely thick jungle! Alex thinks that he lost 15 pounds on this trek alone. Luckily it was towards the end of our trip so we were in really good shape.
The first Orangutan that we came across was a male. His face was wide and he had fat cheek flaps which meant that he was pretty old.
We sort of stumbled across him and didn't notice him until we were just a few feet away. He was very hanging very low in the tree and started coming down to the ground. We ran for a few meters until we were safe. Their movements are slow and calculated and they swing effortlessly through the vines. Next we came up to another mother and tiny baby. Our guide suddenly yelled "Aggressive Orangutan! Aggressive Orangutan!!!!" The other guide told us to follow him. We dashed; jumped over tree stumps and vines and sprinted up to an elevated spot were we could see them from behind. Anse pulled out a bunch of bananas from his back pack and hand fed the mother and baby. A good portion of the Orangutans in this park were rescued from people who kept them as pets. Unfortunately many were abused and are accustomed to being hand fed. This leads to hostility because any time they see a human they expect to be fed. They have been known to bite guides and park rangers but this time she was just appreciative of the fresh snack.
After several hours of trekking up and down vertical inclines, we stopped for a Mie Goreng lunch.
Sumatrans traditionally eat with their hands so this was our first real opportunity of adapting to their culture. One thing that I love is the fresh cucumber that comes with almost every meal. Yummy! Being left handed I didn't think about the social norms that go along with eating with your hands. I got some strange looks before I realized that I was eating with the wrong hand. Oopps! We continued on and couldn't help but think that even though it was hot, it wasn't nearly as bad as our Thailand trek. There was so much to see in every direction, including up! The jungle was lush and green. There were interesting plants everywhere and Anse knew the medicinal use for many of them. It's very interesting to learn about how these plants have been used by villagers for hundreds of years. Every few steps we heard a new jungle sound. Wildlife was around every turn. I read, however, that there may be leeches so I was on the look out for them. Once we stopped for a quick breather and I looked down at Alex's ankle and said "oh look, there's an inch worm!" Anse looked over and said "That's not an inch worm, it's a leech!" From then on I kept imagining them all over me but we only came upon that one. That was the worst thing that we physically encountered.
We were content to slide down hill on our hands and knees through the mud and cross the stream to get to our campsite. The cook, refereed to as "Chef," already had a fire going. The aroma smelt so good that it attracted a female Orangutan to the area. She was perched over the river on a long vine.
She hung there watching us as we drank hot tea and played games. Orangutans are very territorial so I suppose she was just making sure that we were being respectful of her terrain. She had the bet seat of the house, gazing out over her beautiful green jungle and winding river. Dinner was delicious! Chef was a pro. He is a true jungle man. He trekked through the dense jungle with all of the gear without any shoes on! WOW! We felt very comfortable in his company.
The meal consisted of several courses: mie goreng, chicken, rice, vegetables, fresh tea and homemade spices. We sat together on a plastic tarp watching the sunset over the jungle. Just after dinner we were all sitting around in the candlelight and all of the sudden we hear some rustling in the bushes just a few feet away from us. Out comes a 5 foot water monitor!! He was looking for scraps so we threw him our chicken bones and he scurried off. He looked pretty ferocious! After seeing the Komodo Dragons he appeared to be a very close relative. Good thing that he was only interesting in chicken bones and not us!
We stayed up into the wee hours and played card games with our guides under the stars.
They also showed us several "tricks" that they made up. They had us stumbled almost every time! We all laughed so much that our checks hurt. Once our candle ran out we had no light other than the moon. We slept in an open tent- it was more like a shelter with 3 sides and a roof. Chef poured salt around the shelter and comforted us by saying "It's to keep the water monitor and snakes out." We popped a sleeping pill and had a good night sleep listening to the sounds of the Sumatran jungle.The next morning we awoke to a family of 20 Long Tail Macaques in the trees directly above us. Our friend the Orangutan was also back in her perch over the river. We laid in bed and watched the social interaction of wildlife taking place overhead. The oldest male monkey decided to be brave so he came down to get some food from our camp. We gave him a few bananas to keep him happy. Tiny babies jumped from branch to branch and played with each other. Females groomed one another and the dominate male watched over us very closely. It was such an amazing experience!
After a breakfast of delicious banana pancakes and Sumatran coffee, Alex and I decided to go for a swim before we started trekking again. We passed under the Orangutan in the tree overhead and climbed down the waterfall to a nice swimming hole. She kept a close eye on us but remained nestled in the vine. We both took a quick dip in the fresh cold water. I decided to sit on the rocks and relax while Alex continued swimming. Just then there was rustling form the bushes about 10 feet away from us. It was another female Orangutan! She was a very unexpected visitor!
I yelled at Alex to come quickly. Our guides were up at the campsite and were too far away to do anything to help us. There we were, standing in the middle of two wild Orangutans!! We yelled to our guides to come down and they said "Don't worry, she won't come any closer to the others territory." That's a good thing, I suppose. The visitor climbed up the waterfall where we were just at moments before. We made our way back to camp and tried to steer clear of the one in the tree. She started crossing the river to run the other one off. The Macaques were still playing above our tent. The second Orangutan ran up another tree in hopes to get away from the other one. Here we are with both of them:
Then the first one followed that one all the way up to the highest branch in the tallest tree. There was no were else for them to go. Orangutans are very territorial so when one enters another one's territory, they must either fight each other for dominance or one scares the other one off by asserting her superiority. We knew that we were in for a good show and couldn't believe what we were witnessing! Just when we thought that there was no where else for the Orangutans to go, one took a leap of about 10 feet to a neighboring tree! It was remarkable! They are large animals but have amazing dexterity and strength. She flew through the air right before our eyes and off she went. All animals have an instinctual "Fight or Flight" and it was amazing to watch the psychology of these great primates!
We couldn't believe the scene that was going on right above our heads. That was an excitement that I'll never forget!
From camp we trekked for several hours until we reached the main river again. Chef was there with our "Jungle Raft."
It was actually several tubes tied together with rope. We loved the ride back into town. The scenery was breathtaking. Large rock cliffs on all sides, trees rustling with Orangutans as they glide through the vines, water monitors sunning themselves, crystal clear water and massive rapids!! We couldn't stop smiling and thinking about toobing in Texas once we got home. We loved the Jungle Trek and I think it was one of our favorite parts of the trip. We're so fortunate to get close to these magnificent creatures.
We spent a few more days in Bukit Lawang. We rented tubes and did a 2 hour float on our own. We saw families bathing themselves in the river and children swimming.
Everyone we passed was very surprised to see us toobing and they stopped what they were doing to wave and say "Welcome." Not many tourists make the full trip down the river, but hey, we are pros! We were unsure where to get off so when we came across 3 teenage boys with a hippy van, we offered them 20,000 Ruphia (about $1) for a ride back to town. They thought they were so cool!We spent our evenings in the small quaint restaurants overlooking the jungle and river. The locals are extremely friendly and like to sit down with you and talk. A few local women offered to play Scrabble with us so they could practice their English. One afternoon Sasha and her baby came to the bank of the river to get a drink of water. I sat directly across from her on the bank of the other side of the river. She picked up large rocks and banged them together, had a stick that she splashed in the water, and cupped her hands to drink. I was snapping pictures and videos this entire time. She even stopped to smile for me!! We were communicating!
Later that afternoon we went to the park headquarters for Feeding Time. We walked up the hill with several guides and arrived at a platform where some of the Orangutans come for bananas and milk twice a day. We were able to get an arm's length away from a mother and her infant!!
When we were ready to go we asked our guide if he needed to come with us. He said to just go ahead and he would be right behind us. We also thought that there would be other guides back at head quarters.Alex and I made our way down the cliff and came to the flat area near the river. Just then we spotted Sasha and her baby. We stood behind a barbed wire fence and took pictures as they approached us. Then we realized that they can just climb straight through the barb wire! We backed away quickly. There were no guides in site and they were coming straight for us!
Before we knew it, Sasha grabbed Alex's arm. 
I managed to snap a picture just before she had one hand on my arm and one hand on my leg. I couldn't move! She had a tight grip on me. Then she bent down and went for my ankle. She bit my coconut anklet right off of my ankle!!! It all happened so quickly. Their arms are very long so they have an incredible reach of about 8 feet! Once she had my coconut anklet, she and the baby enjoyed eating it right before our eyes. I felt a connection with her because we had amused each other earlier that day so I didn't imagine that she would be aggressive or hostile. She just saw that I have a good taste in jewelry. Literally. 
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