Jungle Trekking, Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia

July 13-15, 2023

(Sung to the tune of Jingle Bells)

Jungle trek, jungle trek

From Bukit Lawang

See the monkeys

See the birds

And orangutans!

Since we were in Sumatra, I really wanted to see the Orangutans in the wild. Two-night/ three- day treks with transportation from Medan and river rafting can run just under $100/pp to over $500/pp. With excellent reviews, we went with “Monkey Business” for $335 for both of us for a private trek with transportation and all meals for 2 days and 3^rd day breakfast.

We had a good start – the driver showed up at our hotel as instructed at 5:00 AM. It was hard to nap on the 3-hour drive to Bukit Lawang (I have learned to really appreciate US highways and well maintained roads), the village at the start of the Gunning Leuser National Park. When we arrived, there was some confusion. We had a list of items to bring – which did not include bathing suit or towel – and the driver was telling us we needed to carry those things with us (along with bug spray and a bottle of water each – which had been on the “included on the trip” items). The driver spoke some English, and we asked about our travel bags (the big bags were stored at the Karibia in Medan) and the driver kept saying “in the locker”, so WE thought it meant that they would be in a locker when we reached that night’s campsite, so packed some bug spray, water, snacks, a small gym-type towel, toilet paper and a few other “essentials”.

We were taken to a lovely café by the river for breakfast – so good start on meals, where our main guide met us a few minutes before 9AM. We set off, and immediately saw a large family of long tailed macaques on the roof of a guest house off a large and comfortable trail.

As we entered the national park, several Thomas’s Langurs came close to the trail, one even perching for a perfect portrait.

As we entered Gunnung Leuser National Park, the paved trail ended and the regular forest trail started winding up the side of the mountain. About an hour in, thirty people were stopped on a hill – for an orangutan mother and baby up in the trees. We stopped for about fifteen minutes, getting photos, then continued on. 

We heard a very loud bird call, down a side track was a Sumatran peacock (unfortunately, tail feathers curled in).

After many photos, another call beckoned us into the jungle – white handed gibbons. Nongnong, our main guide, said they were often heard but rarely seen. But as we topped mountain #1, groups had stopped and a family of Gibbons swung through the trees below.

Shortly afterwards, we stopped for a smorgasbord of fruit for a snack. Continuing down then up some steep trails, we came across another orangutan and baby. Lunch was a banana leaf and paper bowl filled with delicious spiced rice with some fried chicken. As we hiked, the trails became progressively steeper, and I needed some assistance with the slick, muddy path, sometimes choosing to slide down on my bottom. In the final stretch – going through some paths partially blocked by fallen trees creating tunnels, we saw an interesting little plant Nongnong said was only found around the river in the park.

We arrived at our campsite – definitely primitive.

A slightly raised concrete slab with tin roof and tarp walls, with a 1” thick mat for sleeping (there were 4 mats in our shelter for just the two of us – so we were able to double up the first night). The toilet was behind a similar screen up a steep muddy little hill behind the campsite. We stripped off our muddy clothes and I discovered I am not just a favorite snack for mosquitoes – but leeches like me, too! I had picked up one when looking at the first pair of Orangutans – which got pulled off a few minutes after latching on (and that one stung when it latched on just above my sock). The second one of the day had made it over my shoe and sock, up my jeans pants leg and latched halfway up my calf. And it was chubby. After John pulled it off, the area bled and oozed for close to an hour. I pointed it out to Nongnong, who then did “jungle medicine” – he opened one of his cigarettes and put tobacco on the area which stopped the bleeding almost immediately. Oh – and no -our stuff was not at the site “in a locker” – we had misunderstood – the locker would be at the end of the last day. They called and someone arrived about an hour later with our bags. We reorganized – each with a backpack and the clothes for the next couple of days.

Over the next couple of hours, I had to make a decision. My right knee was starting to get very tight feeling – which is a precursor to pain if I kept stressing it. Nongnong had already warned us the next day would be even more challenging. I talked to Nongnong, and decided I would spend the next day with our cook, Josep, while John continued to trek and meet up at the second night’s shelter. Overnight it poured. Our cabin stayed dry, our neighbors weren’t so lucky as the roof patch on their side did not hold. In addition, around 3 AM, we woke with a very loud “crack” as a large branch from a nearby tree broke off and landed about 4 feet from the cabin. At 5am, I really needed to pee – and the slippery slope behind the cabin was bad in the light before the pouring rain – so I stood and urinated in the edge of the river. 

In the morning we had a good breakfast of “jaffle” – basically an egg and tomato sandwich. Josep thought we must really like bread – the sandwich had 4 slices. When we were all packed up, John headed off with Nongnong and Dedi, and I walked with Josep for about 20 minutes from the camp to the edge of town where we could get a motorbike. It never ceases to amaze me about how much one can pile onto a motorbike. All the cooking gear had been bundled into a giant burlap sack, which he wedged in front of him, then I got on the back and off we went – up and down slick, gravely and muddy roads. Only at one spot was it so steep I had to get off and walk. Josep drove about 40 minutes into town, and I spent a couple of hours at his lovely and immaculate home. I was able to meet his two adorable sons and wife. I do have some great photos of them (with their cat), but I don’t post photos of children on an open website. 

I did get to witness the inner workings and organization that goes on behind the treks. Josep unpacked his sack, took everything out. His wife re-washed all the cookware, and set it out to dry. They repacked some fresh vegetables and fruits into different bags and containers, rolled things up and stacked and fit it all back into the burlap sack. I also had time to appreciate what people did during the pandemic. Josep was essentially unemployed for over 2 years, he could not afford to send his older son to school. He learned to make some interesting furniture (similar to pieces I had seen at garden shows in the US). Then it was time to go. Back onto the bike, and another fifteen-minute ride to a spot where Josep organized the rental of the large river tubes that are tied together to create our raft for the next day. Then off on foot for an hour’s hike. We reached the ford of the river, and Josep said “It’s very high, wait here”. He crossed in thigh deep water with a heavy current carrying the burlap sack. When he reached the other side, he dropped the pack, went up a little hill, then back down with a tube which he brought back across. I got into the tube and he towed my fat butt across the river. On the other side it was an easy ten-minute walk to our next campsite. 

Lodgings were similar to the previous night (but with only one extra mat), and the toilet area was flat. I enjoyed some time by the stream, watching the family of long tailed macaques going between the stream and the trees, and sneaking up to the camp to steal any bit of fruit left unattended.

The stream was also home to a large monitor lizard. I sat for a couple of hours before John and company arrived, sweaty and tired. He’d seen another orangutan and a hornbill (unfortunately could not get a photo as it was flying). John confirmed that indeed, the trails were even more treacherous and even he (a human mountain goat) slipped on one of the downhills. 

Dinner was another night with pleasant stir fry veggies and chicken with fruit and cookies (which Josep had picked up in town) for dessert. No rain, and the monkeys kept their distance. John had an upset stomach so didn’t sleep well, but felt a lot better by morning. We had a nice lazy morning, since very little hiking planned– we would be rafting back to town! Josep tied one very large and 2 smaller tubes together. Our bags went into doubled layer plastic bags we watched Josep confirm were airtight before using, then tie down the top in an amazing knot – our stuff would be fine. In the big tube I sat to the front with John behind with his legs around me, Nongnong in the front, Josep in the back one steering and Dedi sitting on the side of the tube. With the river being high (though down a little from the day before) – the trip would only take 30 minutes instead of the normal of over an hour. We shot down through a series of rapids (likely be classified as Class II-III due to a number of obstacles in some of the stretches) professionally negotiated by our guides and over too soon. We emerged in town dripping and happy. We walked up the hill to meet our driver. He took us to the Monkey Business headquarters to settle up the bill (we’d been walking around with over 3 million rupiah – $250 + tips), got changed and headed back to Medan before heading on to Kuala Lumpur.

Next stop – back to Kuala Lumpur and how to get a US passport quickly.