Sumatra Christmas Part II: Leeches and Highlands

Some things you don't ask why in Indonesia

Scott and I left Medan and headed into the central highlands in our mullet-guided missile (more commonly known as Indonesian minibus). Road travel in Indonesia is always interesting. There's a complete lack of road laws, no police enforcement, and a strange Indonesian tendency to get carsick really easily. So you can always expect to be entertained, surprised, and/or terrified on your trip. 

Scott and I keep it real on the mini-bus while the Indonesian family keeps it real carsick

For example, looking out the window while going up a twisty and busy mountain road and seeing a man standing and riding on the top of a minibus.
Surprising? Check. Terrifying? Check. Entertaining? Check.
Or having a guy almost fall out of the minibus after the door he was leaning on suddenly popped open. Surprising? Check. Terrifying? Check.
Or a little girl throwing up milk all over Scott's backpack.
Surprising? Check. Entertaining? Check (at least for me).
Or flying around blind corners in an old bus praying no one is coming around the other side.
Terrifying? Check. Check. Check. 

Mainstreet Berastagi. Notice the cabbage monument: classy

Luckily, we made it to Berastagi safely. We wandered around the beautiful highland town, and were sad we couldn't stay longer. There's some good hiking in the area, but after our Tangkahan elephant fiasco ate up 3 days, we had to keep moving.

Rice paddy view on the way from Berastagi to Ketambe

After one night in Berastagi, we headed to Ketambe. Situated just outside the entrance to Gunung Leuser National Park, the village of Ketambe is pretty much just a collection of guesthouses and a few scattered residents. 

Welcome to the jungle

We signed up for a day-trek through the jungle to some hot springs, with the hope of seeing some cool animals along the way. I've never been in a "jungle," so I was pretty stoked for the hike.

Sign at the entrance of the park. I think it means "one tree is important," i.e. don't cut it down illegal logger

Cool vines

Our trusty guide wore a blue fedora, black sweatpants tucked into socks, and chinese soccer cleats so I knew we were in good hands. He also took various smoke breaks during the trip, but was remarkably less fatigued than either me or Scott.

Nothing like a smoke break in the jungle

Unfortunately, we didn't see a lot of wildlife during the trek. We saw a couple varieties of monkeys and some shiny bugs, but that was pretty much it. The highlight was a brief glimpse of a horn-billed pelican.

Scott and the guide make their way through the vines (left side of the picture)

Surprisingly, the jungle itself was enough to keep our attention. Everything was enormous and there was various species of parasitic vines and trees that are constantly choking and killing each other. It just felt alive in a way that I haven't experienced before on a hike.

Me and the tree

About halfway to the hot springs our guide asked us, "Mau tarzan?" (Do you want Tarzan?) We gave a hesitant and confused "Ya??" and he directed us to a natural vine swing. "Oohhhh... Tarzan." What followed was a super fun swing that got about 25 feet off the ground.

I take a swing on the "Tarzan" vine, with Scott doing the same in the photos above

After the vine swing, we continued our trek. The trail was often slippery and steep, and I took more than a few tumbles. Soon, the guide took it upon himself to hold my hand (literally and figuratively) at every difficult section. Even though I was decked out in a "Boulder, CO tuxedo" (waterproof hiking boots, quick-dry hiking pants and shirt, and technical backpack), I still needed help from a guy in a blue fedora and plastic soccer cleats. My Colorado outdoorsy pride was sufficiently crushed. The only way I could console myself was that at least I didn't get leeches.

Scott and the tree

For some reason, the leeches really liked Scott. It probably didn't help that he wore shorts during the trek. He ended up picking off 4 or so leeches over the course of the day. One latched itself between his toes when we were crossing a small river. He got the complete jungle experience.

Checking out the tree that sheds its bark

Leeches aside, we finally made it to the natural hot springs in the jungle. After lunch and a relaxing soak, we safely made our way back.

Scott and the guide in the hot springs

Both of us were pretty tired from the day, but our chain-smoking guide was as fresh as ever. He grabbed us a fresh cocoa bean pod to try. About the size of a large potato, the inside is filled with white fleshy covered chocolate beans. The flesh has a nice sweet taste that's hard to describe (the closest thing I can think of is Mangosteen, but I'm not sure if you've had that either). I was happy for another "Oh, so that's where that comes from..." moment and a good day in the jungle. Our Sumatra Christmas would continue the next day as we headed north again. Sharia-law and excellent coffee would await us...

This is where chocolate comes from. The actual chocolate beans are inside the white fleshy stuff