Sumatra - Trekking, Taxis and Lake Toba
“Should we fly to Medan instead of spending 12 days in Thailand...? It’s only 48$AUD.”
“Yeh alright then.”
And with that we decided to visit Sumatra. Our only knowledge of the island being it was in Indonesia with a few added orang-utans, we spent our time in Thailand on the beach with several take-away cocktails feeling safe in the understanding that it ‘would all work out’. As our flight approached we realised that perhaps we were woefully unprepared for our 4-day sojourn in Sumatra. A quick Google search told us that our destination of Medan was the ‘fourth largest city in Indonesia’, ‘heavily industrialised’, and ‘not geared towards tourism’. Mildly panicked we sat at the boarding gate desperately trying to piece together a plan. A minor miracle occurred when we came across Bukit Lawang Travel, a small travel company based in the jungle. A handful of Whatsapp messages later and Sophian, our guardian angel of Indonesia, had conjured up a 3-hour taxi to Bukit Lawang with a 1-day jungle trek. We boarded our flight 30 seconds later breathing a sigh of relief.
We arrived at Kuala Numa airport reassured but still uncertain of what was to come. We ordered a Grab, Asia’s answer to Uber, and waited to be whisked away. After 30 minutes of stilted conversation from our absent driver and hard stares from airport staff we sensed that something was amiss. When we finally found our guy he ordered us to ‘close application, very danger’ as two guards ambled over one leaning menacingly against the bonnet. A tense conversation ended with our driver visibly shaken asking for 20,000 rupiah to pay an obvious bribe, we handed over 50,000 never seeing the change. Feeling guilty and slightly strange we gathered that Grab was not allowed within the airport. A heart stopping hour long introduction to Medan traffic which can only be described as a series of potential car crashes we arrived at our hotel where, in true Asian style, our driver unabashedly asked for a tip, what about that 30,000 mate? Inside the hotel we found that it was half built, boasting an open shaft as an elevator. Bewildered after the ease of Thailand we left again to hunt down some food.
Here is where there was a change in the tide. As we roamed the bustling streets the people of Medan shouted greetings from their cars, from the streets, and near enough from the roof tops. We arrived at Tip Top restaurant uplifted, a restaurant where the staff have found the perfect balance between attentiveness and harassment. Never has a tip seemed more worthwhile. More joy was found in the shopping centre where Tom discovered an ‘absolute bobby’ - a cheap but functional shirt, never has a man been happier.
The next day we rose early and made the journey to Bukit Lawang. We were greeted by Sophian who took us to our guesthouse and set us up with welcome drinks as we took in our lush surroundings. The epitome of host with the most, Sophian outlined the activities we could partake in as chatted for over an hour. We headed out for lunch at the Ecolodge, an impressive structure made entirely of bamboo, where we encountered our first inhabitants of the jungle; a group of mischievous long-tailed macaques. Lunch was served on more bamboo and washed down with a local ‘es buah’.
As we ate we watched other diners have their food pillaged by the brazen monkeys much to our amusement. Later we experienced some karma as one lunged at us teeth bared, sending me running for the hills.
Afterwards we visited the bat cave whose entrance was supposedly guarded by rangers which actually turned out to look a lot like a bunch of teens taking entrance fees for spare cash and offering guided tours. In true Whitlam character declaring the tour guide as an unnecessary expense of £1.50, Tom lead us onwards through a series of connected caves as the guide followed unconvincingly trying to sell us a tour for a rapidly decreasing price which fell on deaf ears. No one changes a Whitlam’s mind about money. I was then subjected to be the lighting lady for a photo-shoot as I was dive-bombed by increasingly larger bats, promised more than a few times that it would only take another 15 second exposure.
On our way back we took a dip in the river with a few locals where a few overzealous children began to climb, ride, and beat Kenny in hysterics as they went. Later that night we thought back to what the little boys would tell to their mothers.
From a shaky start we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves, this feeling only heightened at the prospect of seeing some real life orang-utans. Met by our guide Leelay the next day we embarked on our adventure into Gunung Leuser national park fit out with some snazzy local trekking shoes –football boots but made entirely out of rubber.
The jungle quickly came alive as a Thomas Leaf monkey, an indigenous species of Sumatra, crashed through the foliage.
Anticipating a long trek before spotting an orang-utan, or forest person in Indonesian, we were thrilled when one appeared in the tree tops. We were informed that Gunung Leuser was home to some 7,000 orang-utans spread across 3 species, including a newly discovered, genetically distinct ape known as the Tapanuli orang-utan. Feeling smug and exhilarated at seeing something we’d only ever seen on TV we carried on. Along the way we got a lesson in jungle medicine including a leaf that could mend broken bones and another that kept away the mosquitos. We saw another 2 orang-utans, an adorable baby hanging out with his mum.
The day was rounded off with a leisurely float down the river as Leelay belted out his ‘work song’, a catchy little tune about Bukit Lawang to the tune of jingle bells.
In a world where you get nothing unless you pay for it first perhaps the most unusual part of this experience was that we had yet to pay for any of it. Sophian told us to pay him whenever we wanted which turned out to be at the infamous jungle party, half drunk on a few Bintangs, a matter of hours before we left. We danced the night away to some classics which gave way to some Indonesian tunes, that were clearly bangers as the dance floor flooded as they started. In true Indonesian hospitality that we had quickly become accustomed to, Sophian and Leelay attempted to take us back to our guesthouse, drunkenly declaring us the best guests ever. We left our hosts as they had, probably luckily, forgotten the keys to the motorbike. Eager to cram as much as we could into 4 days we jumped in a taxi to Lake Toba – a Volcanic lake south of Medan.
After 7 hours overnight in a taxi and a few nudges in the ribs for our drowsy driver we arrived and boarded a ferry to Samosir island and the village of Tuk Tuk. Exhausted after a night of fitful sleep we were pounced upon by a group of Indonesian school girls wielding their smart phones. Well versed in strangers wanting selfies form our time in India we happily obliged as an orderly queue started to form. The teacher invited us to stay at his house whilst the girls giggled during the impromptu photo-shoot, one even eliciting a high pitched scream as Tom put his arm around her.
In Asia it is true that having blonde hair and blue eyes is both a blessing and a curse. Later we came across our new found school pals again in a restaurant where we were subjected to another round of selfies and English practise.
For our 2 days we hired bikes to explore the island and the culture of the Batak people, a group exclusive to Lake Toba. There are 707 languages and dialects spoken in Indonesia, and this is evident in this area as the hellos were replaced with greetings of ‘horas’. The Batak people are unique in the fact that they are strongly Christian in a Muslim country, the foods they eat rely heavily on pork, and the traditional houses are elaborate pointed structures. Interestingly, Batak people are finding it increasingly hard to find non-halal products so changing a diet that has existed for centuries.
Another 4-hour taxi journey later and we returned to Medan and a questionable superior suite at the Permata Inn complete with it’s own ‘wildlife’. We ended our trip tired after many hours travelling but wholly satisfied at having been able to see so much in a short amount of time. Never have I felt so welcome in a country, this combined with the tiny price tag makes the island a welcome change from the tourist traps of Thailand and Bali and a place that we will surely return to.
