The Trek

We got a fairly early start for our trek into the jungle…we left at 8:00 and were thankful that it wasn’t any hotter than it was…not cool by any means, but tolerable…that changed quickly as we climbed the steep side of the mountain across the river. Certainly, no self respecting orangutan would be caught near the tourist area. In reality, this is what has happened to many of them close to civilization and so they have moved deeper into the rain forest. They have been captured for domestic zoos and for those rich enough to afford having their own private, exotic animal confinement. I was feeling a little wimpish since we had booked a three hour trek instead of the all day one that the French couple at the hotel had booked…They were younger, I told myself and we’d take our chances in seeing the orangs in the limited time…plenty of opportunities in other places along our way this trip. By the time we reached the crest of the mountain, I was awash in sweat and sweating like a hog, which actually doesn’t sweat. Caro had sweat dripping of her nose and running into her ears as well…made it difficult all the way around. The weather has been so hot that I’ve not eaten as much as normal and had lost a few more pounds than I started with and so my pants kept sliding down and I was continually pulling them up so that I didn’t “flash” the orangs. I must have been a comical sight with one hand on my pants to hold them up with the other firmly grasping my camera for the potential photo I wanted. Our guide came to me with a long, thin vine which he laced through the loops of the pants and that worked well. We passed rubber trees which they were tapping and the thick ooze from the tree. A leaf placed at the bottom of the diagonal cut directed the raw rubber where it dripped into a coconut shell at the base of the tree. It is similar to what we’ve seen done with maple trees for the syrup that we enjoy so much. We passed the ever present oil palm trees which are quickly devastating the Indonesian rain forest. Over 25% of the rain forest has been lost as they now have over 1,500,000 acres, twice the size of Belgium, in production. With 17,000 islands to the nation and 250,000,000 people, it is difficult to control ecological disasters. We’ve seen the same thing in Brazil as poor people are far more concerned about the immediacy of their lives than they are about the future of the planet. The effect upon wild life has been particularly painful as encroachment is a slow, but steady march into what was previously unattainable areas.

HUGE ants, termites, various interesting little creatures of the forest gave us an opportunity to stop and observe life in the jungle. What it actually did as much as anything was give us an opportunity to catch our breath an take a short break before climbing ever higher before we reached level ground where we could then just walk and not climb. Reaching the crest, one of our two guides returned to tell us that he had found some orangs and our spirits and energy levels were raised immediately. There climbing and swinging through the trees were a mom and baby. We watched in fascination and awe as she so easily glided amongst the trees with baby trailing behind. Precious moment of the experience was when baby stopped while mom seemed out of reach and she looked down upon it for a few moments sort of saying: “You can do it, “ and then reached out with her hand to which baby grasped firmly and mom pulled it up to her side. A gentle gesture and a learning experience for all primates involved.

Soon, other groups which had not gotten quite as early start as us began to arrive. The French couple and other nationalities oohed and aahed just as we had. There is something very special about these animals. They say that they are our closest relatives, and I wish we had the same gentleness that they displayed. They took notice of us but seemed unconcerned and just went among the trees, moving ever so slowly, but steadily as they munched on the food abundantly available to them. I could have sworn the mother looked at me and said: “Hello, cousin.” We could have gone further, but we were truly spent from the heat now really building and the climb that left our legs rubbery. We still had to descend the mountain which in some ways was more difficult. I was afraid that if I lost my footing I would bing, bang, boom my way down the mountainside like some out of control pachinko ball. We had seen what we had sought and didn’t need to keep looking for more at this point. Safely at the bottom it was time for what has become my favorite meal of the day, a chocolate milkshake. It’s made differently in every place we order it, sometimes with ice cream, sometimes with just ice, milk and chocolate syrup, but always cold and refreshing. Upon our return to the hotel we once again climbed the 115 deceptive steps to our room and wondered why we did this to ourselves. A “nap,” of sorts in the heat was little compensation, but lying flat was glorious. At dinner time, the French family was there and we asked them about their day. It turned out that after going an hour further, they too succumbed to the heat and I felt a little less wimpish. We opted for an easier day for our last in Bukit Lawang and had a guide with limited English but a sweet disposition to take us around by pedicab to see the surrounding territory. It was interesting to get off the main drag onto smaller roads. We passed little groups of smiling faces all headed to school .The girls in their red floor length skirts, white tops which came almost to their knees and the ever present white head scarves so that only their sweet little faces shone out to the world. The boys wore the same colored pants and white shirts and looked as impish as the girls did innocent….it made for some wonderful photos as they were all only too pleased to pose. In what was one of those: “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” moments our driver stopped for a cool drink of cane juice, freshly squeezed before us and poured into glasses. We sat in the shade and enjoyed our drinks while we could because later on we realized the folly of our actions. We both got ill. Each of us in our own way, but the toilet got a lot of usage in the next 24 hours. Carol surmised that the glasses were probably washed in unclean water and that was the culprit. You’d think that seasoned travelers would be more cautious than we were, but, it looked so refreshing our brains went on hold and we swigged it down.

Our time In the Sumatran rain forest ended and we headed to Borneo…A 4-5 hour ride to the airport, and then two flights would take us to Kuching, Borneo. Cat city in the Malaysian language. An easy ride in an air conditioned car would be a treat and relief from the stifling heat. Oh, if had only been so.