5 nights in Medan and Bukit Lawang on the Sumatra island of Indonesia. Including a 2 day / 1 night trek to the Sumatran Orangutans
26 November 2019
Today, I flew from Yogyakarta to Medan. When I arrived at the hostel, a guy helped me with my onward plans which was really nice. Unfortunately, it did not work out the way he thought it would – which was not his fault of course but annoying anyways.
27 November 2019
I first got a train from Medan to Binjai, which took about 30 minutes. There, I had to wait for a mini bus that would take me to Bukit Lawang – in front of a shopping mall “Binjai Super Mall”. I waited in front of the mall and was really nervous to find the correct mini bus. I was told it would be red… I waited really long. But finally the bus arrived, my large backpack was put on the rooftop and we started our ride to Bukit Lawang. The bus ride then was extemely bumpy, the passengers were smoking, it was really crammed and the driver drove as fast as at in the Formula one.
At shortly before 3 p.m., I arrived in Bukit Lawang. I got picked up at the “bus station” by a moto taxi and brought to my accomodation.
I checked-in and took a stroll through the village. My accomodation is really good with a good restaurant.
28 November 2019
Today at 9 a.m. we left to a little “different” Orangutan tour (spoiler: I did not enjoy it as much as my tour in Borneo). I was in a group with a couple from switzerland and we had two guys. Two days and one night in the jungle. The worst part of it was that I did not know what would lay in front of me. I only brought my long pants (with no stretch – a sports pants would have been much better but my leggings were too tight to keep mosquitoes away) and my sport shoes that had no thorough sole any more.
We started our hike and went up and down steep and slippery hills. There were wet roots, fallen leaves and mud to cross. Especially when going downhill, I slipped so often – it was so annoying!! We saw a couple of Orangutans before reaching our camp. The guides gave them food which I did not really appreciate.
We had a morning snack with great fruits at around 11:30 a.m. and later a wonderful lunch. I really enjoyed the food.
We slept on a thin plastic mattress with plastic pillows and equpiped with a mosquito net. I washed my body at the small river using a metal bowl. We got some tea and cookies.
In the evening, we sat around a fire pit and one of the guy at the camp carved some Orangutan necklaces for us. We had great food and had a good chat. I really enjoyed it.
29 November 2019
I had a really bad night – everything was disgustingly humid. In the morning, we got freshly prepared pancakes from one of the guys in the camp.
On our hike back, we encountered a dominant Orangutan woman called Minra. She approached us in a threatening manner. One of the guides gave some “road toll” (food) to her while the other guide helped us pass the ape. I had real respect of her.
On our onwards hike, we had a fruit break again and an Orangutan grabbed our watermelon after we finished them. We also saw some cool other animals.
Then we met Jacky, another Orangutan woman with her super small baby. The guides had us already prepared that she likes to take hands of people and that we should not be scared. She catched the arm of the swiss guy immediately. First I was a bit jealous – but when she did not want to let go of his arm, I became scared. She had a really strong grip and his arm got blue! When some other guides came to our support, they got his arm free after an incredibly long time. In hindsight I think the guides’ behavior is unacceptable (during the whole hike).
The further walk back to Bukit Lawang was slippery again. It was pure horror for me and I started crying after a while.
When we finally arrived at a river, I was really sad. We had lunch (served in palm leaves again – actually really cool!) and then the guides tied together some large tires. We then sat on them to ride back to the village. Our backpacks were of course stored safely in some plastic bags. That was quite adventurous.
When I was back in Bukit Lawang, I had to change my onward plans. Actually, I wanted to take a bus to Lake Toba in the afternoon – but the bus would only drive in high season… So I staid one night in Bukit Lawang and cancelled my accomodation at Lake Toba. At least it would be less stressful this way.
30 November 2019
Today in the morning, I took the bus at 10 a.m. back to Binjai. I had a kid vomiting on my feet – great. Then I took the train back to Medan – in another hostel than the one I’d been to before. Situated a bit more outside, directly next to a mosque.
There was only one other guest apart from myself – Greta, another German girl. In the evening, we were watching the “Baywatch” movie together with the girl from the reception and had such a great time 😀
01 December 2019
Today, I was visiting the Masjid Raya Al-Mashun, a mosque. It was a great experience. I first had to wait until the prayer time was over. then a woman offered me to guide me around. She showed me where to get off my shoes, where the Muslims wash before their prayer and explained that women and men pray in different sections of the mosque. I was asked a couple of times for pictures with girls again. In the end, a school girl group asked me for an “interview” for their school.
In the evening, I took the night bus towards North to Banda Aceh – which should become the worst night of my life.
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