In search of orangutans in Sumatra

Our next adventure was to Sumatra. We flew to Medan in Northern
Sumatra and were picked up by our guide. We drove a couple of hours
through the busy streets of Medan and then out into the countryside
finally arriving at Bukit Lawang. The car couldn't drive us directly to
our bungalow so we got out on the main road and walk the rest of the
way down a muddy pathway along the river. I had a wheelie bag and
the guide kindly offered to carry it for me. After about 20 minutes of
walking past cafes, backpacker lodges, restaurants and shops we
arrived at our hotel. We checked in at the main reception and then
were led back down the pathway to our bungalow. Our bungalow was
one of the better accommodation options at Bukit Lawang but was
still pretty basic. That said, we had a comfortable bed, private bathroom and balcony overlooking the river so we were happy. The river was wide with water reaching the top of the banks and you could
hear people screaming as they whizzed past our window riding the
rapids in rubber rings. That evening we made our way back up the
pathway to the main hotel bar and ate an authentic local meal overlooking the river.
The next day, after eating a delicious banana pancake at the main hotel bar, we were collected by our guide and taken to the crossing
point over the river. There was no bridge but instead a rubber dingy
with a rope tied to each end. There were two local men, one at either
side of the river bank, who held on to the rope and pulled the boat
across the river. This might seem easy enough, except for the huge

rapids that tossed the boat around from one side to another. After a
bumpy crossing we made our way up the hill and into the jungle. The
jungle was a protected national park and home to hundreds of orangutans. We walked away from the crowds along narrow pathways and up steep hills. The mosquitoes were viscous and after my twentieth bite I started to second guess myself about my choice in not taking malaria pills. After about an hour we found our first orangutan. I had seen orangutans in the zoo but nothing could prepare me for the sheer size of them, they were huge. We saw four
orangutans throughout the day, some carrying babies, and others
swinging freely through the jungle. We also saw some smaller monkeys called Thomas Langur and fed them bananas. At the end of the day we made our way to the viewing platform where orangutans
were meant to be enticed to the platform by a guy banging a wooden
baton. No orangutans came to the viewing platform but that didn't
matter as we had already seen plenty for the day.
The following morning we left for our next destination, the elephant
reserve at Tangkahan in Gunung Leuser National Park. The journey
was long and bumpy. There was no direct road so we had to drive in a
huge circle past acres and acres of palm trees. Eventually we arrived
and walked across an old rickety suspension bridge to get to our
bungalow - Another adventure for the wheelie bag. Our bungalow
was one of six and was positioned on top of a hill with a steep ravine
leading down to the river. We dumped our bags and made our way
back through the vegetable garden and across the suspension bridge
to meet our guide. We walked back along the long driveway and into
what looked like a farm house. We were joined by a number of other
backpackers and walked down a pathway towards the river where the
elephants were waiting for us. We spent the next hour washing and
scrubbing the elephants in the river which they seemed to enjoy. They
even let us have our pictures with them as they lifted their legs in
unison. After the elephants were thoroughly washed they had a caged
saddle attached to their backs and we climbed on top. Rich and I sat
in our caged saddle on top of our elephant with a guide sat around the
neck of the elephant. We walked along the river, crossing the river a
number of times before arriving back at our bungalow. Rich even had a go at sitting on the elephants neck. After our elephant trek we
swam in the river along with a number of locals. The trip was finished off with a authentic local meal overlooking the ravine. The jungle was quiet except for the sound of crickets and insects and it felt like we had finally escaped away from the bustling crowds of modern life.