Bukit Lawang - Bali

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra 

24.6- we got up bright and early ready for the '7.30am' start.... Only to be told that we then weren't leaving until 9.30. Not the best start but finally the rest of our group arrived ( 2 Indian guys and 1 Nepal/Austrian girl) and we set off. There was a lot of up and down as we walked further into the jungle, and about an hour in we saw our first orangutan. She was clearly not fazed by humans and it was amazing to watch her swinging about in the trees. 

We carried on and stopped for a delicious fresh fruit stop- pineapple, bananas, passionfruit and watermelon. We continued our trek and stopped at a high up lunch spot- the guides just kept producing food from their backpacks! 

We had just finished when the guides started to say "Mina's coming". Now apparently Mina is an aggressive orangutan, so they chuck fruit skins for her, to distract her from the tourists... However we saw no aggression and they continued to throw fruit for both her and a few other orangutans that came with her. Whilst an amazing experience to see them so close, it did not sit well with us that they were being fed; surely that is keeping them domesticated and so easy to poach if they want to interact with humans? It seemed far more for the tourists benefit than the animals.

Anyway, we continued and saw some other types of monkeys and some more orangutans (and more fruit feeding...) and began and very slippery slope descent to the river camp. 

The camp exceeded expectations, having sponge mattresses to lie on, and a generally waterproof roof. We also saw a massive monitor lizard having bath in the river. 

 We spent the evening playing cards by candle light, eating a lovely meal and watching one of the younger guys perform card tricks. The rain was absolutely hammering all night but we stayed (mainly) dry in our little shelter.

25.6- After a better than expected nights sleep we had breakfast and we're lucky enough to see a mum and baby orangutan that came to check out the camp. The baby managed to get inside one of the shelters and steal some biscuits, but at least they weren't intentionally feeding these! 

Next we waded up river to a track up to a little waterfall. We all swam and relaxed here for a bit, then jumped into the river a few times, where the current would sweep you downstream- lots of fun! 

Then it was time for lunch and another amazing fruit platter before rafting back down the river in 5 tubes tied together and our stuff tied in plastic bags. When we arrived back in the village the celebrations for Eid were well underway and the village was busy with families picnicing along the river. We wandered around the village that afternoon and watched a variety of average fireworks being let off in some sketchy places in the evening! We then had a stressful night trying and failing to find accommodation in our next destination ( Lake Toba in Sumatra). We thought we had it solved, but later found out that everything was full. 

26.6- On to Plan B, go to dive on one of the islands... Also full everywhere we tried.... Plan C get back to the airport and get on a flight when we got there! We decided Bali was a safer bet due to being less Muslim and more touristy. We paid cash for the flight (6 million rupiah, quite the wad of cash) and left that evening for Jakarta. We then had a 6 hour wait in Jakarta, so we travelled round on the shuttle bus for a bit to find an open terminal and slept on the chairs in the entrance like homeless people.... We slept well on our next flight to Bali anyway!