The torch I sat on the bed head last night is now there for good as it is attached by an elaborate spider web. The spiders can keep it. I don’t want it back now! Thank goodness there was a mosquito net between our heads & the arachnids who were a few centimeters from us & obviously very busy while we slept.
We braved the Indiana Jones Bridge of Death again to walk into Tangkahan village.
I had a chat in Bahasa Indonesia with 3 little kids who were about 6 years old.
In our culture, when we bump into someone, we tend to say “Hi. How are you?”
In Indonesia, the question is always “Mau ke mana? which means “Where are you going?”
So the beginning of a conversation ends up being a bit more interesting. Instead of “Fine thanks how are you?” you end up with something like “I’m going to the market” or “I’m visiting a friend”. This morning when a little boy asked me “Mau ke mana?” I told him “Mau ke toko. Beli baju”.
We were going to the shop to buy a shirt. (It’s not that fascinating, but it’s better than “Well actually, I’m perspiring a lot & I’ve got some back pain from the pot holed roads & lack of suspension in the vehicle).
On our walk we saw tiny monkeys scampering down Rambutan trees & up into Palm trees. Lots of trucks were trundling along the road full of human cargo all waving at us and yelling “Hello Mister” as they headed from Medan to the river in Tangkahan for the last day of Idul Fitri celebrations. We bought a durian from a lady on a small stall. She cut the spiky fruit open for us. Dan, Dave & I ate the whole thing, then & there. It was delicious & custardy. (Last time I ate it I didn’t like it but maybe then it was over-ripe & had the odour of drain. This one didn’t).
I offered the lady some but she looked slightly sad & told me that she couldn’t because she was pregnant & it’s dangerous for pregnant women to eat durian.
Back at the Jungle Lodge restaurant for lunch, we were serenaded on guitar by Alex, the owner. He sat at our table & sang some Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens, Guns n Roses & Nirvana. He wasn’t bad! He invited us to watch the local soccer game he was playing in. I was assuming we were walking there, but after crossing the river (on that bridge again!), Alex & Kanu led us to some motorbikes. There were no helmets of course but when in Rome… So we hopped on the back of the soccer players bikes & off we went, bumping down the stony road & through a field of palm trees till we reached the sporting field. Game on! It was bare foot soccer with skins versus t-shirts. It was great to watch. They even stopped mid-game to pull down a palm tree that was on a serious lean & in danger of falling on spectators. Once it fell to the ground, play resumed. Then it was back on the motorbikes & one more crossing of the river on the dreaded Indiana Jones Bridge. Four times in one day was quite enough for me!
Dave met a man named Raikhan. His wife Rahmi has started an English school in Bukit Lawang, a few hours away. They are on the lookout for volunteers to teach the children there for a three month stay. Accommodation & food is paid for. What an experience! It would be amazing. And we love it here – the food, the people, the scenery, the climate. My Indonesian would improve if we had a three month stay. So many positives. We are already thinking about it…
We ate dinner at Mega Inn, drank a few Bintangs & chatted with one of the young waiters who we recognized from the soccer game earlier on. He introduced us to two of his friends, both who were named Dan. We had a good laugh & took a photo of the three Dans together. Things got a bit serious when he told us that he left school early to cut down trees in the jungle to help make money for his family. Once eco-tourism started, they would get in trouble with the police for cutting down trees. In the end, his father started the restaurant & he went to school to learn English. Now he is a part of the eco-tourism in the area by being a jungle trek guide & working in his dad’s restaurant & guesthouse & the wildlife is happier because he is not one of the people cutting down trees & assisting in diminishing the jungle.
We left the restaurant in the dark with our little torches lighting the way for the ten minute walk back to our accommodation. The cicadas were putting on a musical performance for us, the moon was peeping out now & then from behind the clouds & hundreds of insects were making a bee-line for the light of our torches. Suddenly there was a huge scorpion on the path in front of us, it’s pincers held out wide in attack/defence mode. (He obviously heard us coming a long time before we saw him). I laughed because we were all wearing thongs & instead of stepping backwards & giving the creature a wide berth which would have been sensible, we all reached for our cameras & stepped in closer to get a few photos.
Ah, the 21st Century…
If you don’t take a photo, did it really happen?...
