Hello there everybody,

We actually made it to INDONESIA!!!!!!!

We always wanted to come here (Debs' especially) but never knew the details, but whilst I was frolicking with Nemo debs was studying maps and charts and now were here!!

So, we got the tube and arrived at KL airport at about 4pm, where we attempted to check in but got redirected to the International terminal …. glad we were organized and got there early as it was a good half an hour taxi ride away. That's cos ur traveling with a girl Chris. You're welcome.

We managed to catch our flight to Medan in the end (the capital or Sumatra, Northern Indonesia) which we both found grubby!!! Possibly the worst city we've seen so far….especially after KL….but the best thing about it was that we were off the beaten track! It really makes u feel like a traveller when all the local kids stop in their tracks and stare, giggle and shout "Hello Mister"! Bless them for knowing any English! I'm going to be information Debs now for the first time cos Indo is my thing and I took a lot in about it! We were only in Northern Indo so we could head to the jungle in Bukit Lawang but had to pit stop in Medan overnight which was near by. So, in Medan we had Macdonalds AGAIN…can u believe this place had it?! and played pool before retiring for the night in a shack next to a road full of locals working all hours welding steel. The place was gridlocked with traffic, full of dust and run down buildings…not nice at all… and u really got harassed by the locals as they were dumbfound by tourists! The worst thing was that we were still in shorts and vest tops from the flight and Medan is so muslim that men and women were gawping at us! I felt indecently exposed and so wore my nice new jumper!!!! We adapted to the new culture pretty well so as not to offend anybody…but was still amazed and equally appalled at the driving skills of the Indonesians! Fair to say that the roads are a free for all!

Chris now: The next morning we got up early after another bad nights sleep (can be hard work on the road with a new cheap bed every night and at this point we were feeling it!!!) and got cold showered and stuff! We struggled to feed ourselves in Medan so yes……. We went back to McD's (feel like we were back at uni!! hehe) Then we needed to figure out a way to get to Bukit Lawang as, although it wasn't too far away from Medan, the roads were bad and the Lonely Planet Guide specifically explained just how bad the touts were for hassling tourists about jungle trekking!!

Luckily when checked out, the hostel owner's brother was 'by chance' heading up to Bukit Lawang and offered to escort us there!! We had a think about it over our highly nutritious breakfast and accepted as we didn't have a clue what to expect! With hindsight it was a fantastic move, the bloke was so helpful and made sure we didn't get ripped off (for a 4 hour trip it cost 2 quid for the pair of us!!!!)

Anyway we headed from the hostel in the sidecar of the motorbike, and got to the local bus station - and from there we caught the local bus, which is only comparable to a VW Camper, with benches lining the windows! They managed to cram about ten people into the back and everyone was smoking (when I asked I was told the floor was the ashtray!!) The bus driver set off and was driving like a loony! Completely insane! We asked our guide why the bloke was driving like he was and he replied 'Driving buses out here is like gambling… because there are so many other buses you have to take risks to earn the money!!!! ' FREAKIN MAD!!!

Anyhow, after a few bus changes we managed to get to the middle of nowhere… Bukit Lawang! Possibly the best place we have been … just beats Ban Lung/Rattanakiri (North Cambodia) and the volcanic lake!! On the way Debs got some good photo's…the roads were pretty rocky and muslim school kids and women with babies would cramp up 5 to a 2man seat, but was memorable! Note to selves…going off the beaten track, although trying, is worthwhile!

Debs again…Chris has gone for more beer as we approach the 6th hour of this blog stint!Got some more info now, check me out…..Bukit Luwang (completely the opposite to the Thai BUCKETS we were used to) was amazing! Maybe 50 houses, a few bars/restaurants but mostly relaxed locals earning their keep with cattle and jungle treks! The place is only an hour from the chaos of Medan - 3 hours in a bus with the dilapidated roads - and in the past was a real biggy with advanced toursists (we count ourselves in this category now!). However a flash flood a few years back wiped out families and their houses, very sad, and the tourism industry crashed. Even our tour guide lost his house and had to start again. I think we're one of the first bunches of travelers to revisit this place so we're lucky, and we're glad that the locals appreciated us being there to get them back to how they used to thrive!

We had consulted the travelers bible and found the nicest place we could as we knew it would be cheap and really fancied as clean and comfy place to stay! The place was called the Eco-Lodge and was incredible!! We got off the bus and walked for all of two minutes and reached the river, where we took a rickety swing bridge (Chris I hated that thing at night!!!!) to reach the room………..but aren't we glad we did!!! As you can guess it was an extremely eco-friendly place, which did everything in accordance to nature, to the extremities of not allowing any electronic appliances in rooms and recycling everything and anything possible!!! We endured many nights of playing cards by candle-light, was quite nice being at one with mother earth actually! Totally hippy man! Some of the rooms even had an inside garden in the bathroom! Anyway, that night we sorted out trekking with our guide and got an early night ready for the next day.

Debs now - Yes, pray let us get to the real point why we came here………WE GOT TO SEE WILD ORANG-UTANS!!!!!!!! Totally out of this world.As I researched this subject thoroughly….seen too many animal programmes and sat dribbling at the TV in envy for too long….I found out that Bukit Lawang is one of only 2 places in the world to see our ginger cousins in the wild! The other is in Malaysia but it's really touristy and you don't have a good chance of catching the little ginger buggurs!!! Also, this place has rhino's, tigers, bears, and different types of monkeys that are all wild but u had to trek for 7 days to spot these, and as there was no ATM in Bukit Luwang, and we had no time, we couldn't do it. Don't think we'd have been able to manage it anyway, pretty hard terrain!Debbie's monkey facts now: Bukit Luwang is a national park and our original intention was to simply go to the feeding centre in the middle of the jungle to play with the orangutans, but the guide and the locals all said it was like a zoo and that the best way was to trek for a day and catch any of the 5,000 hanging around! They only move 1km a day so we were hopeful, and the guide told us that they were semi wild as they're becoming extinct and have come to rely on humans (the babies will be fully wild though) it'd be just fine! We were expecting to catch just a glimpse of one or two in the tree tops, ….but oh my god…..they were inches away from us!!!!!! It was the best day of my life so far!!!!!

Chris now - We set off with hopeful expectations and within the first hour…. they were fulfilled!!! We spotted a mother and her baby!!!! Even the tour guide said that was rare!! Not only to see one, but to see one so soon - and with a baby!!!!! The guide told us that they only have 'kids' every 6 years and that's lucky - so we were completely blown away!!! It was a funny little thing (we're having problems with the vids but when they're up check out the baby fooling around in the tree!!!!) So we stood about for about 40 mins just watching and not believing it. Can Debs just butt in for a sec…when we first approached the pair we didn't know what to expect but the guide sat down right next to the tree they were in and said to take photos etc. I started a video off and the next thing I knew…I was running away cos the mother was hurling towards me! Was well funny! But they can be dangerous and bite so I wasn't taking any chances! Turns out she just wanted a better look at me…her long-lost sister.

After a while we cracked on again, and within half an hour we stumbled upon another!!!! Couldn't believe it!!!! This one was on its own (information Debs wishes to inform everyone that orangutans are the only monkey who travel alone…..racism to gingers eh!!! That's called 'gingerism' if you didn't know) and was so curious - it literally came within arm's reach of us - DEBS EVEN MANAGED TO PICK UP A PLANT THE GUIDE SAID IT WOULD LIKE……. AND FED IT!!!!! Check the vid! How did it feel debs????

It felt nice. And smart. And FLIPPING RIDICULOUSLY FANTASTICALLY BRILLIANTLY SPECIAL!!!!!!! I really don't want a dog anymore…a babyorangutan will suffice please.

No.

After the first two hours it got really tough, the well worn paths disappeared and we were hiking up intense hills only managing by clambering on all fours using tree roots and such! Was a hell of a lot harder than all three days trekking in Chiang-mai put together!! From then on we didn't see another orang-utan!! We had dinner by the stream, in a reight nice little spot, then managed to make it to the river for the rafting back to the town!!! Another enjoyable experience!!! Basically three tyre inner tubes strapped together, us, our 2 guides and the pilot on board crusing through the rapids on a sunny Sunday afternoon, beats the hell out of Stainforth!!! On the way down the river we managed to spot a final Orang-utan, although it was being fed by locals so not really good.

Lets wrap this up Chris, the experience was phenomenal and we won't ever forget how lucky we were! After the trek and white water rafting (chris and one of the guides went for a swim in the water with the local families afterwards too but the water was fast and cold and im not the Hoff so didn't go in!) we fell asleep for three hours absolutely jiggered and our leg muscles burning! When we awoke it was 9pm so we played cards and headed for grub and to watch the footy at a restaurant before hitting the sack!!!

The next day we left the guide and found our own way back to Medan (booooo!).It took ages, we hit the Monday afternoon rush hour in the city! The bus was well hot, manky, grid locked and we wanted a Mc D's!!!!!! After that we got drunk and went bowling! Top night! See the pics! The next morning we were up at 7 to check in for our flight to Bali (South Indonesia!!!) Don't worry parents, no terrorism activity here!!!!!

And that's where we are now! Will report back when we've finished looking at Komodo Dragons, diving on the Gilli Islands, and trekking up volcano's and hot springs! Cant be bad!!!! The only down side is the monsoon rains!!! No wonder I've no tan!

Okay that's all for now folks, were having a ball, hope 2008 is shaping out nicely, will catch u all later!!!!!!

Chris & Debs xxxxxxxx