This is a completely raw and honest experience description of my jungle trekking journey in Sumatra, Indonesia. I won’t leave anything out, because I think it’s important to go into these things prepared. While I will cover your packing list and some important health tips, I’m also going to give you an unfiltered run down of some pretty intense experiences throughout the process that you should be prepared for. Image may be NSFW.
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On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I lay next to my best friends pool where she announces that she wants to witness orangutans in the wild. Indonesia has been her dream trip for some time and as her 40th birthday approached, she could not think of a more perfect way to spend it than trekking through the rain forest hoping to catch a glimpse of these amazing creatures in their natural habitat. Without hesitation, I eagerly jumped at the chance to tag along in this adventure. Upon sharing the news with our two other ride or die best friends, one more was able to swing the time and money to join. So, there we were, the three musketeers. Totally unprepared to hike through a rain forest for 6-8 hours at a time.
We were positive and ambitious women, so we vowed to hike and prepare in the months before our trip in order to be in tip top shape for this incredible opportunity. As you might have expected, our hiking goals were less than successful. Nonetheless, we carried on to our trip, backpacks and hiking gear ready to take on the challenge….
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We booked our adventure through a company called “Trek Sumatra” and had chosen the option of the 3 day jungle trek. This included transportation to and from the airport, which we were grateful for given the language barrier. Having made meticulous plans prior to the trip, the birthday girl had confirmed we could pay for our adventure onsite in cash as well as in USD currency. Another good thing because as it turns out, it’s almost impossible to use your ATM card in Sumatra due to the high thefts in the country. The mini van pulled up to pluck us from the airport sidewalk and a smiley face greeted us while piling our bags into the back. We weaved in and out of traffic as the driver puffed through a pack of cigarettes. Cars tailed so close to one another that you could fit two fingers in the space in-between.
Any array of ages drove rapidly between cars on motor bikes and the traffic played like a symphony. No one missed a beat and each seemed to know exactly the next move of the other. This all without proper street signs or lights on many roads. We bumped up and down for over an hour on backroads, taking in the majestic scenery. I could go on forever about the beauty of this place and the intriguing culture. However, given that you haven’t got all day, I’ll break this down into bite size portions.
The Hike:
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The hike is intense. Even those who are seasoned hikers remarked on reviews that they struggled with portions of this trek. You’ll be at high elevation and literally pulling yourself up by tree roots at some points. The guides can give you options based on your skill level, but even the easiest of treks will test your limits. You will need to come prepared to carry your own water and trust me when I say that you will go through a lot of water. Once the bottle water runs out, it’s boiled water from there on out. My friends and I packed hydrating tablets, which turned out to be a life saver to keep from dehydrating. I do recommend that you speak up and tell your guide exactly the kind of experience that you want to have. Otherwise, you can find yourself back at camp with many hours on your hands and not a whole lot to do, but swim and photograph. If that is your thing, take the short cuts. If not, make sure you tell them you prefer the more rugged route. You will see a ton of wild life! Just make sure to keep your distance and listen to your guides. On orangoutang in particular, Mia, was raised in captivity and released years later into the wild. As a result she can be rather aggressive in attempting to obtain food from visitors.
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Camping:
I am not a camper. I mean, I reluctantly camp when the circumstances call for it. I can get dirty with the best of them if need be. However, this is the very definition if roughing it. Ok, so I might be being slightly dramatic, there were wood floors and tarp covered roofs. You’ll be provided with a yoga mat to sleep on and a basic sleeping bag (slightly extra). I brought my airplane neck pillow, which worked great to sleep on.Image may be NSFW.
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My friends brought blow up pillows that worked well too. Trust me when I say, you’re going to be so tired that a pillow will be your last concern. Bathrooms are all around you. Meaning, the trees. There will not be any showers, but you can jump in the river. No soap or shampoo please, think of the wild life. Your best bet is a pack of baby wipes and zip lock to collect the trash. The guides did let us know where they preferred we went to the bathroom as they wanted to ensure that camping and cooking areas were kept clean. The girls brought “go girls”, which is basically a urination tool for women. They had mixed reviews of this as they were difficult to keep clean. Especially when trying to navigate in the dark. I went old school and squatted, but I’ll admit that I was slightly nervous with my bum that close to leeches and other insects. Yes, leeches. They are not those big ones that you think of from the movie “Lean On Me”, they look like tiny white worms. My friend looked down to see what she described as a “dancing worm” and was moving in closer for a photo when our guide devilishly grinned over to inform her “that is a leech”. I did end up with at least one leech on my leg and it caused quite a lot of bleeding, but no pain. It was just super creepy.
Food:
My girlfriend made her own beef jerky for the trip, which was a great snack in between meals. However, the tour will feed you quite well and the food is delicious. Image may be NSFW.
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Be sure to alert them of any allergies or restrictions. They give you quite large portions, but you will be hungry by the time you eat after all the trekking throughout the day. You’ll stop for lunch midway in the middle of the rain forest, which is probably the best place I’ve ever had lunch in my life. Surrounded by such raw and pure beauty. Lots of food high in carbs, so if that is not your thing you might want to consider packing some of your own snacks. Just keep in mind, you carry everything you bring and that pack starts to get really heavy after a few hours. I love carbs, so I thought the food was delicious. LOL.
Warnings: I am reluctant to inform you of these trekking warnings. Primarily because Sumatra heavily depends on tourism and tours for their economy. So, I rarely shed a negative light on travel experiences unless it’s absolutely necessary. In this case, I feel I would be doing an injustice to my readers if I did not prepare them for these potential situations:
- Bait and switch: We were told we’d be staying in a lovely little cabin along the river prior to our trip. Upon arrival, we were booked into a larger hotel instead as the people who rented the cabin before us were stranded a few extra days due to weather. No big deal, we were only staying one night before our trek, so we accepted the other accommodations, expecting we’d have the cabin for the 3 nights upon our return. Unfortunately, that hotel convinced us that we should leave all our belongings behind as “the monkeys will steal things”. Now, I am seasoned traveler and I know better than to leave money and passports behind, but I was assured all would be securely locked up and they even pointed out security cameras. I reluctantly and stupidly agreed. Upon returning from the jungle, we discovered that all our cash had been stolen. My fried inquired about a police report as she was concerned that her travel insurance may require this (they did not) and we were informed that it is in fact illegal to file a police report in Indonesia without proof. Doing so could actually result in your arrest for false allegations or “defamation of character”. I’m not a lawyer, but I’m also not going to argue in a foreign country.
- Currency Scam: Unable to pay the company via credit card on their website, we were assured we could pay upon arrival in US currency. However, once we arrived we were told our currency was not “new and crisp enough”. I know that exchanging “old” US dollars can be an issue in other countries, so it made a little bit of sense at the time. Except for the fact that they were brand new one hundred dollar bills. Without any other options, we were told we could pay by credit card, but we would be charged a 10% process fee. We agreed, with no other choice. That being said, the entire price of the trip for all three of us was stolen in USD from our bags and then we had also paid the additional 10% fee. This was proving to be a much more expensive tour than expected.
- Peeping Tom: OK, I struggle with writing about this, but I struggle more with not writing about this. During the jungle trek, we were told to use the bathroom in specific areas. Which at the time seemed to check out, as we were told this was for safety and sanitary issues. However, the cook always seemed to “accidentally” pop up whenever we were using the restroom. At first, I brushed this off as my own paranoia, until I physically caught him watching my two friends use the restroom. He turned to see that I had caught him and just stared at me in a way that let me know there was nothing I could do. What could I do? We are stuck in the middle of the rain forest, someone has to feed us and show us how to get back. Say what you will, but there was little I could do. So, I decided to tell my friends we should use the restroom in groups and find more private areas to go. I did not tell them about the peeping tom until after the trip. However, I didn’t get much sleep the following nights.
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
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We ended up informing Trek Sumatra through their website that all of our money had been stolen. We informed them primarily because we were moved to a hotel we did not originally book. Which is ultimately what caused the theft as we were originally supposed to be booked in a private cabin. Could we have been robbed there too? Probably, but less likely. Upon reading reviews of the hotel, we found this was an extremely common scam. The company finally ended up refunding SOME of the money in local currency. We were torn to accept this as we had no real reason to believe they were involved, but then we just kept coming up against some really creepy situations in this town, where it very much felt like everyone was involved! Botton line, this is an incredible experience, but keep very little cash on your, pay for insurance and do not book with a company that will not allow you to pay beforehand. Always count your change and never piss off the locals. Please do keep in mind that I write all of this with a heavy heart. It’s easy to forget that resorting to scams to feed your family isn’t what people set out in life to do, it is a result of their surroundings and desperation. It doesn’t make them bad people, it makes them desperate people. So, contribute what you can, buy the beautiful souvenirs, eat the amazing food, go on the tours and tip…. but keep a close eye on your pocket book in between.
What to bring:
So, you still want to have this awesome experience despite my hills have eyes description of the town? GOOD! It’s an incredible place to visit, you just need to be properly prepared. Here is a list of things we found handy or wished we’d have thought of:
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- Go-Girl – In case you want to avoid squatting
- Hydration Tablets – Seriously, life saver
- Camel Back – Just don’t forget you have to carry it
- Handkerchief – I tied to my wrist to easily wipe my face
- Baby wipes – toilet, shower, hand sanitizer, napkin – so many things!
- 2 Big plastic zip locks – 1 for trash and 1 for wet things
- 1 Swim suite
- 3 pairs of socks (minimum)
- 2 pairs of yoga pants – Tight and to the ankle to avoid leeches
- 2 Lightweight waterproof shirts
- Sturdy hiking shoes
- Bug spray
- Backpack lock – Bring your cash / passport, but lock them in your bag.
- Camera – Normally I’d say don’t, but you’ll regret it
- Compact pillow
- Swim suite wrap
- Light pajamas
- Flip flops (for camp)
- Hat
- A can-do attitude!
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