Saturday November 9

Joan and Barb flew back to Singapore this morning and I stayed in Medan to start a 3 week bike trip.  I spent the day shopping; what an exhausting experience.  I bought a brand new bike for $150 after 2 false starts.  Used bikes were not available, but new bikes start at $100.  Unfortunately the first bikes I tried didn’t have all the gears working and the shop didn’t want to fix them before I bought.  The third shop was much better and I got a mountain bike with all 21 gears working.  I just about finished everything on my shopping list, but I’m still missing a helmet and a decent map.  I was too tired to shop any more but the last purchase I made was a positive experience.  I bought a fanny pack for riding and as I left the shop 6 sales girls and the manger were lined up to say thank you and make a little bow.  I did feel special!

.Friday November 8

Today was a transit day.  We were to move from Bukit Lawang in the mountains to Medan near the coast for the flight to Singapore.  We booked the driver for all day and asked him to drive into the mountains to Beristagi where we could see active volcanoes.  He was a good driver and we stopped along the way to see a palm oil plantation and the local market.  Driving in Sumatra is very slow. The roads have potholes and the traffic is very erratic – people never look behind, only in front.  Added to that, everybody stops on the road to pick up passengers and drop off goods.  As we were climbing into the mountains we were driving switchback roads and we did see 2 accidents. 

We got to Beristagi and we saw 2 smoking volcanos – one of which had erupted in September.  Joan was happy and we continued on the way to Medan.  Joan and Barb fly to Singapore tomorrow and I start a 3-week bike trip soon.                    

Mount Cinabung

Mount Sibayak

Thursday November 7

Male Orang-utan

Sandra with baby

Our second day of trekking started with steep uphill but we were ready and so were the guides.  They split up immediately and the young one went looking for Orang-utans and the head guide lead us uphill slowly.  They kept in touch via cell phones and we soon had a destination.  Even the guides get excited about an Orang-utan viewing.  Because I’m chief photographer I had to run after the young guide and we went way past our destination.  Then we had to turn around and run back.  Spotting an Orang-utan in a tree is not easy.  Unless they move, they are very well camouflaged.  Eventually we caught up with a male Orang-utan and tracked him for about 30 minutes. He never came down so I have no good portraits.   We continued our trek and came across a mother and baby.  Sandra the mother is 20 years old and the baby was 2 months old.  The mothers stay with the babies for 6 years.  Sandra was carrying her baby under her arm so we saw him but he was so small we could only see limbs sticking out.  I was taking pictures and checking the results when I notice spots on the pictures.  When I checked the lens it was dripping with sweat.  I tried to wipe it clean but that made it worse.   All the clothing I wore was soaked with sweat.   I had to pull a dry sweatshirt out of my bag to dry my lens.  Sandra put on quite a good show so we followed her for 30 minutes and then called it a day.  Our guides certainly listened to us.  We had a lunch we had requested and a descent from the mountaintop that Tarzan would have been proud of. 

    Later in the afternoon I was lazing in the hammock on our balcony when two monkeys visited me.  The male put on quite a show.  He humped the female 4 times in 15 minutes and then rested.  The female was a bitch.  She was very aggressive and charged me 5 times.  Since I was still lying in the hammock with my camera, I flashed her close-up right in the face.  After a truce was declared she left me alone and I eventually went inside.                 
           

The Bitch

                                        

Wednesday November 6

Mama Orang-utan (Julia)

Thomas Leaf Monkey

Long Tailed Macaque

We started our jungle trek with a serious uphill climb.  The guides (we had two for the three of us) quickly realized we were not mountain  climbers and learned to go slow and take frequent breaks.  The young one helped us over the rough spots with a hand and carried Joan’s purse because she had a load on water in it.  We ascended about 1000m in 1 km and were only halfway up. (Well maybe 100 m in 1 km but it seemed worse).  The guides then split up to track down the Orangutans and soon enough they led to a mother and baby (their cell phones work in the jungle).  We spent about an hour watching the mother.  She parked her baby in the nest and descended the trees to feed.  The guides can recognise each Orangutan and they told me the mother was 17 and the baby was 1 year old.  The mother will stay with the baby until 6 or 7 and then mate again.  We the had a jungle lunch of bread and jam and lots of fruits and headed back.  We encountered a troop of Monkeys on the way back, but the baby was too quick for me to get a picture.  The older monkeys were quite photogenic.  We came across a single Long tailed Macaque who stayed with us for 2 km.  When I asked the guide why he was hanging around us - he told me the long tails are very social.  The monkey had lost his troop and was hanging around us for company.  At least he co-operated for pictures.                                                                                                            

Tuesday November 5

Our Residence - The Jungle Inn

                                 

We arrived late last night in Medan and we left early this morning for Bukit Lawang.  This is a small village, based on tourism that sits at the edge of a national park.  The park is the home of the orang-utan rehabilitation centre and we are here to see Orang-utans in the wild.  We went for a half hour walk by ourselves and then we attended a Orang-utan  feeding session but there were no orang-utans.  We will do a jungle trek tomorrow and according to our guide we will be 99% sure to see an Orang-utan in the wild. 

    In order to get to the park we must take a ferry.  It’s a hop on, hop off ferry because you scramble to hop in and scramble to hop off.                                     
                 

They took a picture of me first

Crossing the River

Monday November 4

Hindu Temple Roof

Sleeping Buddha

     With a few hours to spare in Georgetown, I visited 3 Temples this morning.   First the Hindu temple at 7 AM.  Joan and I had walked through the grounds the night before and they had been very welcoming.  Joan was invited to meet the head Brahma and I talked to one of the priests about Canada.  The priest told me they opened at 7 so I was the first tourist there.  They held a very noisy ceremony with lots of bells and lots of fire.  I was allowed to wander anywhere but I was hesitant to take pictures of the worshippers,  so I left after 40 minutes.

                   

       After breakfast I went to the Sleeping Buddha temple.  It is a Thai temple with a 130 foot reclining Buddha.  All the tourist maps call it the Sleeping Buddha, but his eyes were definitely open.  Across the street was a Burmese temple with a Standing Buddha.  He seemed to be 60 feet tall but it’s hard to tell when you’re looking at his kneecaps. 

        Since we first started touring in Asia I have been practising the opposite of a Photo Bomb.  When I see somebody lining up a picture I sneak up behind the photographer and take a picture too.  I have lots of photos of people I don’t know.  A very pleasant girl from India posed for me after the couple asked me to take their picture with his camera.

Girl from Southern India

   Late in the afternoon we flew to the island of Sumatra.   Tomorrow the jungle!                 

                                 

Standing Buddha

Sunday November 3

                                                        

Caroline in the clouds

    Barb and Caroline wanted to try Parasailing so they signed up for a flight.  Because of low winds they had to be transported to an small island offshore.  I went along as the official photographer.   Because the winds were tricky the crew would not let them fly together and the instructor insisted on going with each of the girls.  While we were on the island another group was there for parasailing as well.  I watched the other couple.  He was first and I didn’t see him take off, but his landing was a solid face plant into the sand.   The girl’s takeoff was pretty ugly as she got dragged 10meters on the beach and then 20 meters through the water.  Her landing was face first in the sand.  Then came Caroline, a quick 3-step takeoff and a graceful 2-step landing.  This was Barb’s second time at parasailing and her experience showed.  A one-step takeoff and a perfect one-step landing.  She aced it.                                                                                                                       

Barb's quick take off

Barb coming in

Barb Landing

  This was our last day in Langkawi so we caught the 2:30 ferry to Penang and we are overnighting in Georgetown.  We fly to Sumatra tomorrow.