We had booked our ferry ride and to be honest we thought we were getting on a large ferry to Sumatra, similar to the one that runs between the North and South Islands of NZ. We were, however, in for a shock. Our backpacks were loaded onto the top of what can only be described as an oversized speedboat that could carry about 200 people in some very cramped and odd travel conditions below. I say odd because not only was it full of people carrying way too much stuff with them, but also there was a strange noise coming from the tv's at the front of the cabin, known to the locals as karaoke . Not many people were singing, so we're not sure of the purpose but it amused us no end trying to say some of the words and watching the rubbish videos behind the lyrics. Captiviating. The novelty soon wore off however, when we had sailed (or motor-boated) past the 4 hours we had been told that the journey would take. It took 7 in all. Not so good. We arrived in Belawan, close to Medan (the worst city in the world, ever) not sure if we would be able to make it to Bukit Lawang in time before sunset. Some overly aggressive touts told us we could, and we, along with 4 others, jumped on a minibus to reach the rainforest.

We stopped only shortly to get some food at a dodgy restaurant (one of the others got a really bad tummy bug from it) and reached the rainforest in the pitch dark at about 9.30 at night. It was also raining, really raining. We had to get off the bus and cross this rickety old bridge that wasn't big enough for both of us and the rucksacks on our backs so Sheona and I were waddling along this wooden bridge in the dark across a swollen river. We made it to the other side, but oh no! It didn't stop there. Some of the accommodation we wanted to look at was about "3 minutes" from the end of the bridge so we decided to walk there, thinking it would be paths all the way. It wasn't. The only thing resembling a path was a small plank of wood that led across a small but very deep ditch full of water. The rest was mud trails through bushes, over fallen trees, through huge puddles etc. When we eventually collapsed in our room we were very relieved to be there in one piece!

The next day we just chilled out in the village. A lot of it had been washed away by a freak flood back in November 2003, killing over 200 people. For a small town where everyone knows everyone else it was pretty obvious that a lot of them are still hurting. The government promised new houses but the ones they have built are small and poorly made. The government also promised to improve the road from Penang to the village but it still has pot-holes big enough to fit people in! Trust us, our necks were still hurting from it several days later.

Some of the villagers were really trying their best to get us to go on a treck through the rainforest and we'd heard mixed reports about the reliability of the guides, the mossie problems etc etc. The weather was also distinctly average when we were there so alot of the paths were really muddy, and we hadn't brought clothes for trekking in (can you tell our excuses were well rehearsed!?).

To see the orangutans up close we bought tickets to the feeding station in the jungle, part of the rehabilitation centre. Some of the orangutans here were kept illegally as pets and some of them were in bad shape. The rangers then begin a program to get them back into the wild. Sometimes they adapt well but other times they have problems. To ease them into it they have set up a feeding platform offering the orangutans reliable but bland food. This is to make sure they don't starve and also to make sure they go looking for their own food in the jungle. It was really good seeing them swinging and climbing through the trees. The less that come each day, the better the rehabilitation programme is working. We were treated to 6 in total inlcuding a mother and her baby. It was pretty amazing.

Also good was tubing down the river! Basically, you jump in a tractor tyre inner tube with some netting on it and float (!) down the river. Gently passing over rapids, small waterfalls, things like that. Easy, right?! I was swimming at one point after capsizing, and Sheona ended up stranded in the middle of the river but apart from that it was great fun! After all the rain the river was pretty swollen, so not particularly safe; sorry Mum!! Hehe!

-B