Somewhere in Sumatra... Indonesia

January 5 – 30, 2009

The ferry’s tarnished porthole windows cast a greasy yellow shadow across the weathered upholstery of the dingy lower deck. Stowaway beady-eyed insects darted curiously in an out of the cracks in the seats as the hypnotic diesel-engine-drone lulled us into a restless sleep. We were bound for Sumatra, an Indonesian island whose very name brought mysterious tribal images to my mind. I imagined Muslim/Christian conflicts stewing over top of old Batak cannibalistic traditions, where animal spirits ruled divine, and where ancient powerful ghosts roamed the jungles. But, perhaps the most scary thing we were about to encounter was… immigration. The customs form indicated the penalty of death for narcotics, and I was hoping I would not find out what the penalty was for the contraband Chinese medicines stowed in our bags.

Possibly the most popular place to observe the orangutans of Sumatra is the village of Bukit Lawang, located along a winding river nestled in the hilly jungles a few hours outside of Medan. Possessing DNA that is 98% similar to humans, these powerful creatures are very beautiful to watch as they gently muscle their way through the jungle, and stare back with inquisitive eyes while exhibiting humanlike mannerisms make Darwin’s theories seem obvious. We floated inner tubes for several hours with the gentle flow and sometimes treacherous rapids of the river that cut its way through the dense jungle. The tourist scene has been devastated over the recent years by a combination of earthquakes, tsunamis, and Christian/Muslim upheavals. The massive drop in tourism was also apparent around the town of Tuk-Tuk on Lake Toba, a massive fresh water lake surrounded by steep jungles, rising volcanoes, small artist villages, distinctive Batak houses, and tales of tribal ritual and cannibalism. For the equivalent of $5 per night, we rented a pleasant room overlooking the lake, and hung out with the locals who took us dancing, playing pool, swimming in the lake, tasting the local arak (palm alcohol), devouring sumptuous beef rendang curries, and even instructed for a private cooking course… vegetarian, not human!

We were attempting to visit the Mentawai islands off the west coast, where tribes covered themselves in tattoos and filed their teeth to sharp points, but we were constrained by the risk of overstaying our visa limits if the weather turned nasty. After a turbulent 17 hour bus ride, we careened down the 44 hairpin turns taking us to Lake Maninjau that was surrounded by rice paddies and threatening clouds that clung to the mountain walls of the steep thick jungle. We stayed at Lili’s guesthouse where an incredibly beautiful and vibrant older woman runs her little business and spends her days composing music on her Macintosh. As we biked around the lake, we stopped at a school to play takrow (a game similar to volleyball, but played only with the feet and a wicker ball), challenged some local guys to a match of ping pong on the side of the road, and watched a leashed monkey unloose coconuts from the treetops in exchange for food.

Our last stop in Sumatra was Bukittinggi, a reasonably large Muslim town surrounded by small market villages, silversmith shops, deep ravines, and forests filled with bats and magic mushrooms. Everyone was incredibly friendly and we were constantly being stopped for conversations, questions, and photo opportunities. On the downside, I can honestly say that the 3:30am cacophony of morning rhetoric and prayers blasted over loudspeakers is something I could NEVER come to enjoy. However, as we made our overnight bus journey to the east coast, I was thankful to be so exhausted that I entirely slept through the near-death experience being delivered by the aggressive bus driver jacked up on Red Bull.

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. Orang-utans in the jungle are incredibly human-like in their actions. Their DNA is 98% similar to humans… kinda makes Darwin seem obvious when you watch these guys. Now if only they were holding a remote control and a beer, we would be absolutely sure that we descended from them.

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. Orang-utan waiting for photos... or more food at the reserve.

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. Orang-utan and her baby!! Absolutely beautiful to watch.

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. These kids do this everyday on the way to school, speeding down the roads. It is probably survival of the fittest, cause the bad ones probably fall off the back!

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. If the kids can do it, so can we! Although, care had to be taken not to stare at the scenery too much and have your head taken off by overhanging branches and electrical wires.

Near Bukittingi, Sumatra, Indonesia. In a small village at the top of some road up the volcano were surprised and excited to see us up there on scooters.

Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia. Notice the last menu item. I was so shocked to see a country willing to put someone in life prison allow magic mushrooms to be legal. Perhaps it is not much different than our societies criticizing certain drug usage while promoting alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, sugar, and pharmaceuticals.

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. Hanging from the massive jungle foliage.

Bukittinggi, Sumatra, Indonesia. Chilis in the market making it HOT! Don't eat these straight off the plant if you don't have anything to drink afterwards!

Tuk-Tuk, Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia. This boy rides the beast through the paddies.

Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia. This traditional Batak-style house is the Carolina Hotel. You can even have your own min-sized version if you stay here.

Maninjau, Sumatra, Indonesia. This Batak house is somewhere in the middle of the 44 steep switchbacks that lead down to Lake Maninjau.

Tuk-Tuk, Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia. This blind woman feels her way around the house and finally manages to find the window.

Tuk-Tuk, Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia. These people work in the rice fields near the volcano and the temples.

Tuk-Tuk, Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia. The rice paddies on the edge of the mountain range.

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. This family comes back from working in the jungle.

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. This is the Friday market, where people sell their batches of rubber.

Bukittingi, Sumatra, Indonesia. These monkeys are hanging around some beautiful scenery!

Bukittingi, Sumatra, Indonesia. These monkeys are removing the fleas from each other. This would be embarrassing, no pun intended, under any other circumstance.