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Many years ago I went to Bukit Lawang. I was holed up with a friend waiting for him to recover his health so we could move on to our next adventures. I busied myself riding down the river in a rubber ring which is one of the highlights of Bukit Lawang. Apart from that, we ate too much, drank too much and played lots of chess.
The main reason for heading to this part of Northern Sumatra is to visit the national park and see the orangutans living in the jungle there. Duty bound, I left my friend and wandered up the river to where a little boat ferried people over the water to join a tour heading up into the jungle to see these “people of the forest”.
Out of nowhere there seemed to be an awful lot of middle-aged western tourists. You know the type: white socks, hats, video cameras, too much weight around the middle, and generally being annoying to a trendy travelling man like myself. A guide briefed us on the plan which consisted of walking about a kilometre into the jungle and hoping to see some orangutans come down to the feeding station. About thirty of us started heading up the path into the jungle. It was a pleasant, sunny afternoon and I had no intention of hanging around with the ‘tourists’ so I powered ahead. Within minutes, the huffing of unfit westerners was replaced by the wonderful sound of the jungle. The path was wide and clear, and after a good hike I came upon a clearing which was obviously where we were to congregate. Platforms quite high in the trees, I deduced, were feeding platforms, and my assumptions were proved correct when I saw a female orangutan with a baby on her breast up in the trees.
Now I was happy; a perfect jungle moment by myself and a wonderful creature to behold. I said hello, as you do, and watched mother and child in fascination. I didn’t worry overmuch as Mrs. Orangutan, as I called her, climbed down her tree and hung about in the lower branches quite a bit closer to me. I wasn’t even worried when she climbed out of the tree altogether and wandered a little closer. When she wandered to within ten feet of me I became very fucking concerned, and the sudden realisation that I was in the jungle alone with a large ape dawned upon me.
I spoke calmly to them the whole time as she approached me, face to face. She had a curious expression, and her baby was cute as a button, staring up at me from mum’s breast. Mrs. O came right up to me and I had no idea what she was going to do, but held myself together as she reached out with her free hand and took my hand. Then she sidled up and we ended up with an arm around each other, like a couple on a date. I spoke to her and stroked the long hair on her back and shoulder, and she gently pawed at my waist and the top of my leg. I knew by now that no harm was coming my way, and I relaxed and enjoyed the moment.
The spell was broken when the voices of people coming up the path disturbed us. Mrs. O gently disengaged herself and moved a few feet away. People appeared all around, cameras started to click and excited voices called people further down the path to hurry up. Mrs. O went back up into the trees.
I have no idea if that is a common experience for visitors to the jungle. I also have no idea what happened after the rest of the group arrived as I simply walked past everyone and went back down the path to the river. I had had my moment and nothing was going to beat it.
When I got back to my friend, holed up in our room, I burst in and told him I’d just hugged an orangutan. He looked up from the bed and the waiting chess board, ignored me completely and said simply, “You want to be black or white?” |
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