Frog in my throat (Feb. 28/09 - Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia)

Bukit Lawang is a quiet little town in the jungle that is situated on a normally calm, shallow river. But in 2003, a flash flood ripped through, demolishing everything in its path and killing hundreds of people. Signs of the disaster are evident in the new bamboo shops constructed well above the river, new government-built suspension footbridge spanning the river from a safe height, and the occasional ruined building or abandoned foundation near the water. The town has suffered a decline in tourism since the flood, and we certainly haven't seen too many foreigners in town. The people are certainly friendly though, probably quite happy for the business our visits bring.


Gunung Leuser National Park comprises over a million acres of pristine rainforest, which is one of the last ecosystems of untouched equatorial forest in the world. In addition to the resident tiger, elephant, sun bear, and Sumatran rhinocerous populations, perhaps the most famous is the orangutans. There are approximately 200 of them living wild in the park, and the Bohorok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre works to nurse injured, sick, and orphaned orangutans back to health before returning them to the wild. They also have a fixed spot in the forest where park staff offer them milk and bananas twice a day to give them a better chance of survival on their own, but still encouraging them to forage naturally for more interesting food. Visitors can watch the feedings for a small fee, which helps to keep the center operational. Of course, we were game to check it out, so we met the park staff down on the river bank, where they pulled us across in a canoe to the center. Butterflies and long-tailed macaques (those cheeky grey monkeys we saw in Borneo and Africa) were all over the place, and giant beetles buzzed through the air. Then, a bamboo tree shook and a little orangutan plopped down ontot he path in front of us! He must've known dinner was about to be served, as he lumbered over to an open empty cage and climbed in to receive his bananas without the pesky macaques trying to steal them away. We followed a ranger up a steep path into the rainforest, where a small elevated platform suddenly appeared, with makeshift benches cut into the adjacent slope for observers. The rangers pulled out bunches of bananas and buckets of milk, then scanned the towering treetops for signs of company. As if on cue, some trees nearby shook and then out came another small orangutan, swinging from tree to tree, then landing gracefully on the platform. He sat down and took a bottle of milk, looking around at us as he drank and put a cupped hand under his chin to catch the drips. Then he moved on to the bananas, whipping each one out of its skin with ease, at one point shoving two in his mouth at once before leaping up into a tree. Up he went, nibbling leaves and scratching himself, climbing from tree to tree and eventually sitting down in a treetop before breading all the branches around him to make his nightly nest (they stay somewhere different each night, kind of like us!). When he was pretty much out of sight, another visitor popped by - an adorable Thomas Leaf Monkey, small with a grey and white coat, spiky mohawk, inquisitive eyes, and a very long tail. He sat in a tree within reach of us and almost seemed to enjoy the paparazzi! With the feeding over, we hiked back down and took the boat back to the other side. Just as we were walking away, two orangutans appeared on the opposite riverbank we had just come from! The larger one walked first along the water, stopping to bend down to drink, to pick up leaves to taste, and to investigate a big piece of paper (maybe a map?) that had washed up on shore. He even sat down on a rock and spread the paper out infront of him as if he were reading a newspaper! Satisfied that it wasn't that interesting afterall, he got up and walked over to the guy in the canoe that was waiting to take people across. Unbelievably, the boat guy motioned to the orangutan and he seriously just sauntered over and climbed in! He sat there as if he had done it a thousand times, holding onto the rope as he was taken on aride across the river and back. It was priceless! To top it off, we turned around to see where the smaller one was and she had plunked herself down beside the water and thrown the paper over her head - she just sat there fully underneath it! Hilarious! The folks coming down the steps to the boat lucked out when the two orangutans simply walked up the stairs beside them as if it were no big deal. A while later, we were sitting in a riverside cafe having a drink and looked over to see the same little guy rolling down the grassy hill like a four year old kid. They were so entertaining to watch, and intriguing too, as they supposedly share over 96% of our genes!


There were some nice looking hotels up at the end of the trail near the park entrance, so we decided to stay up there for the night to get a feel for that part of town. A narrow, worse for wear cobblestone/mud/concrete/2x4 trail follows the river north from town, lined with small shops, restaurants, and guesthouses. The Jungle Inn proved to be the winner, as we scored an awesome, unique room for about $10 that was built right into the cliff face (one wall of the room was a rock face!) and with a small stream and waterfall right out the back. Hot and tired, we climbed over the balcony railing and cooled off in the pools between wateraflls that cascaded over smooth rock. It was such a serene little spot - and we had it all to ourselves!


Shortly after 5pm, ladies scurried around collecting drying laundry just as the torrential downpour arrived in an instant, soaking everything and turning the river into a raging torrent within minutes. It didn't occur to us until we went back to our room, but our serene little creek had transformed into a gushing brown torrent that pounded into the rocks so hard that it was nearly deafening inside the room. Never before have we had a rock face in our room that develops its own water feature when seepage drips down from it after the rains have started! The rain didn't ease up for over two hours, which made for a very soggy walk back to town for dinner!

Before dinner, though, we met up with Tambrin, a local guide who takes people out on hiking trips into the jungle. We actually had met him on the bus from Medan yesterday, where he rides the bus back and forth to find customers. We read his binder of testamonials and were instantly committed! So we will hike into the jungle for two days, learning about the flora and fauna, and of course keeping our eyes peeled for wild orangutans, which are commonly seen.

We sat down for dinner at a restaurant in town, where all the lights were off and the staff in a store across the way had to take our orders! As we were waiting for our food to arrive, something small and black landed on Ken's leg. The light was low, so I leaned in to see what sort of beetle it was, when suddenly it leaped up, coming straight for me and landing on my lip! It was a tiny tree frog, and I very nearly had a literal frog in my throat!