North Sumatra: Lake Toba and Bukit Lawang

Despite the fact that many people assume living on a tropical island equates to banana hammocks and margaritas, that is far from my reality. It’s occasionally difficult to fathom the beauty of Java, with its incredible beaches, hundreds, err, thousands of islands, wonderful temples and more while one is living in Jakarta. Some of the worst traffic in the world permeates through a concrete jungle like which I’ve never seen. Wonderful people, delicious food, and a unique charm that I find hard to define, make it an incredible experience and fascinating environment. However, I needed a vacation from this “vacation.”

I needed an adventure involving waterfront, natural beauty, and Sumatran wildlife. Lake Toba or how I chose to dub it "Jamaica on a lake" was my first stop. I arrived at the Reggae House on a Saturday evening, and between my friend and I we paid about $2.10 per night for our lake front room. Lake Toba is Laid back, cheap, and especially refreshing coming from Jakarta.

Mowgli ain't got shit on me!

Rice Paddy Fields Forever.....

Driving in our Honda Scoopies, Olli and I rode around Samosir island to a massive and majestic waterfall  on the outskirts of a village in the middle of nowhere. Throughout the day there was intermittent rain mixed with the sultry weather. The mist from the waterfall felt sensational and on a bridge just nearby, toads inhabited the sides like cars in Jakarta. Things were going great. That is until the rain came pouring down.......NO fear! About a half an hour ride in the rain led us to some hot springs that were hot enough to burn narcissism

. On our last day I couldn't help but once again take in the awe inspiring view from just outside of our room. The rope swing, and diving board contributed to a nostalgic feeling that often comes, but rarely stays with you. The mountains over the smooth, calm surface made you smile as you fell asleep..........

The trip from Lake Toba, to Medan, and then from Medan to Bukit Lawang was filled with a number of "first world pains" that I wont bother recanting. This quaint town on the outskirts of one of the most beautiful rain forests in the world is truly fascinating. Natural beauty, friendly people, and cheap entertainment (though that seems to often by the case in Indonesia outside of Jakarta) supply an atmosphere that captures your emotions. Bliss, amazement, undisturbed, and inspired. 

It was just a few weeks prior to this day that I watched a video on the deforestation of rain forests in Northern Sumatra. Now I was here. How much longer would these rain forests  be able to thrive in the way that they do today? Will orangutans continue to prosper or will they suffer? Will Indonesia's obsession with development distract the people from the incredible beauty it may begin to slowly destroy? Who knows. It was admittedly difficult to think too long and hard about these dire questions when you are in the presence of such beauty. It is hard to feel anything but admiration. This was also a rare opportunity to see orangutans in the wild. There are only a couple of places in the world where you can see them in their natural habitat. These creatures are truly unbelievable and the human resemblance is uncanny.

Now if these ants got in your pants, they could probably digest your privates, and that, is some next LEVEL shit...

How cute is this Thomas Leaf Monkey?

Big 'ol scary male...

Hmmmmmm

I'll soon be surpassing this lovely lady in body hair.

"I'll call you, I swear."

This wild orangutan decided it was morally justifiable to climb down a tree, grab me, and steal my orange. Was I mad? Of course not. Getting pick pocketed then held onto by such an amazing creature was an experience of a lifetime. These are an endangered species that only exist on two islands in the world, and one  of  them held onto me like a lonesome boy on a Friday night! Though a tad scary, her grasp was sweet and soft though you could sense that if she wanted to she easily could have thrown me around. In the end I was flattered when she followed me (not on twitter) then grabbed hold of me

These black gibbons were fascinating. They sat in the trees staring at us like members of Colonel Kurtz's colony which was a bit freaky. Slightly resembling bears when perched on the trees, they soon showed their true colors by swinging from tree to tree right in front of us. This was quite cool because our guides spoke of how rare it was to actually see them, in fact one of them had never even seen them....

Just as we were getting ready to head back down the river this Mini Komodo-esque lizard appeared near our campsite. Between this and getting quite viciously hissed at by a big male monkey, I was ready to get back to the village. We river rafted to Bukit Lawang and I fell right asleep. A few beers with some new friends later on and finally it was time to return to Jakarta...