"Mistah, you like local now"

Sorry for the delay- the jungle is more remote than I imagined... This is a post from three days ago, I'll try not to get too far behind and get up to date tonight or tomorrow. I'm in a guesthouse on Lake Toba, a MASSIVE lake that formed from a volcanic crater that has an island the size of Singapore in it. That's where I am. Not bad... Anyway, without further ado!

What a fifteen hours it’s been. To frame it, I woke up this morning in the air conditioned heaven of the Old Penang Guesthouse, had a breakfast of toast and blackcurrent jam, and got on a bus to the airport. As I write, I’m sitting in a mosquito net teepee on the banks of a small river in the middle of a little jungle town in Sumatra, Indonesia. It’s been an interesting journey.

The flight from Malaysia to Medan, Indonesia was only about 25 minutes, shorter than the Jacksonville to Atlanta flight, except international. We stepped out into the barely organized chaos of Medan, fought off the several extremely persistent cabbies and made it to an ATM. The exchange rate in Indonesia is about 8,500 Rupees to the Dollar, which, besides being incredibly hard to calculate and communicate, makes one feel like Richie Rich. Pulling out a cool one-hundred and fifty thousand in any currency is a nice feeling. It’s a pity that in a land of no ATMs or pay phones or running water, this may not last as long as I’d hoped. Oh well, we’ll survive. Maybe. Also, as for communication, you may know how to count to ten in lots of different languages but I challenge you to count from 1,000 to 1,000,000 by one thousands in any language other than English. It’s hard for everyone…

But challenges aside, we made it to the bus stations where the next leg of our madness began. We were headed to Bukit Lawang, near the entrance to the State Park we’re about to trek in (known for its Orangutan feeding areas) and the bus ride was to take about 3 hours. We were in a bus that probably sat about 9 comfortably but had been restructured to fit, well, 16 (plus one baby). Nathan, on the seat in front of me actually had a poor Indonesian woman, head shawl and all perched on his lap, while I had a young guy passed out on my shoulder. Not ideal, especially in the unbelievably sticky heat.

But the real drama was outside. Before we’d even gone a mile, traffic stopped and it was soon apparent rubbernecking was to blame. However, rather than the normal accident scene, there was a huge mass of people and stopped cars blocking half the road. In the middle of the mass of people, two men were yelling and very nearly coming to blows. Everyone was leaning in for a closer look, including the very entertained policeman who was more likely to be taking bets than stepping in restore order. Apparently, according to the guy on the bus who spoke some English, these scrums formed around arguments over taxi fares and car accidents and nearly always ended in fights, sometimes resulting in death for those who were particularly at fault. Considering the crazy driving (I have probably spent more time this week in the wrong lane passing and nervously praying that the driver would dodge oncoming traffic than most people do in a lifetime in the States) I imagine this scene was played out fairly regularly across Medan.

The pavement ended well before the city did, and thus began the really challenging part of the journey. We zipped along in our cramped bus, through hills and down river valleys, flashing past little hovels and massive palm oil factories. Every few miles or so, we’d pass a ‘school bus’ which was usually carrying about 30 kids crammed inside and at least another 15 clinging to the top, back and sides for dear life as the bus skidded around the curves. Not safe.

However, at long last we made it to Bukit Lawang, which was, surprisingly, nothing like I imagined it. Compared to the burgers, beer, and backpackers of South Thailand, this was charming, cheap, and backpacker free. We finally made it off the beaten path. Thanks goodness. The kids and locals all say hello, and I’ve been the subject of many a photo with the delightful local kids. The only bridges are wooden planks laid haphazardly over a rickety wire frame dangling over the fast flowing, shallow water below. Surrounded by mountains, jungle and with monkeys swinging from rooftop to rooftop, this is paradise.

After settling our plans for tomorrow, Meredith, Nathan and I headed to the river to go for a swim. Locals in all stages of washing were all along the bank but we jumped straight in, swimming against the strong current and dodging the sharp rocks. Within minutes, we were the center of attention for all the local boys who were jumping, swimming, and practicing their English with the fun foreigners who were brave enough to swim the cold and dangerous waters with them. They closest they got to getting my name right was ‘Kroos’ but it was an A for effort and we had a ball until the parents came and yelled at the kids. They all produced little packets of sample Pantene shampoo and began washing up. Nathan and I begged a little extra off of a little boy and we washed our hair with them (for the first time in too long…) much to their delight.

We finished up, dried off and had some dinner of spicy peanuts, capping one of the best, most enjoyable days I’ve had in a very long time. We leave for a two day jungle trek tomorrow, so we shall see!