Jungle Inn - Bukit Lawang to Airport - Medan, Indonesia

April 11

Since our elephant bathing was canceled (it fell on the biggest celebration day after the end of Ramadan), we had free time today. After breakfast we wandered into town. We noticed tons of lodges crammed in side by side and lots of shops. The small walkway was shared by motorcycles, kids on bikes and pedestrians. Many locals were cooling off in the river and tubers kept going by. It’s a lovely tourist village.

breakfast at Jungle Inn 

view from breakfast

stairs to our room

pretty flowers on the walk through the village

one of our guys bringing new guests' luggage

the long bridge was the one we crossed to do the hike yesterday

there was some nice wall art around the village

Greg under the clothes

fruits & vegetables for sale on his cart

small child sleeping at the shop where we bought the sodas

this spot of land is for sale

back at the Jungle Inn

small snake in front of the stairs to our room

Turkish Pide

I found a nice magnet made from bamboo with an Orangutan on it that said Bukit Lawang. We made it to the end, and we walked back stopping for photos along the way. Got a couple of cold drinks and we wandered back to the hotel. There was one of those harmless skinny fast snakes and the staff heard Greg say snake to alert me to get a photo and they came running with a long stick. It had already escaped into some plants. I guess they were worried we were afraid of it. 

We got packed up the rest of the way except for a couple of things and spent time on the balcony until lunch time. Since they cook everything to order, food can take some time to get. We split a Turkish pide and then split a banana split. (now that we know what I scream is on the menu) The staff was chatting with us and shared their snacks with us. 

The guys took our luggage first on their motorcycles and then came back to get us. These guys do everything here. I watched them sweeping and cleaning in the morning, they are the wait staff, luggage collectors, fix it guys, working until past closing time at night. Happy, eager to please and just nice young men. One of them was the guide’s assistant on our trek in the jungle.

I got taken first and I got photos of Greg and Tom and was waiting for Cathy, she arrived on foot as her guy’s motorcycle ran out of gas. A nice driver was there waiting for us, and our luggage was already in the van. So much traffic, but we had a better driver than the one that picked us up at the airport and made it in way less than 4 hours. It was nice to see the area in daylight and we saw lots of families in sidecars, vans with people sitting on top, organized chaos of the various modes of traffic.

Dinner was in the airport, and we ate at an Indonesian Restaurant and then went to A&W for ice cream.

Tomorrow, we leave for the island of Java for Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

For larger photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/y4C6tF7BgckniZyd7