April 9
We slept in and managed to find something to eat in their weird buffet. It was like a dinner buffet with very little food one might eat for breakfast. (pastas and BBQ ribs for example) Yes, I am aware that very few countries eat different foods for breakfast like we do in the States, but generally most hotels include some Western choices. Not even much fruit. We've eaten fried noodles and other Asian foods for breakfast, but this buffet was particularly weird.
We grabbed the 9:30 shuttle which didn’t really save any time getting to the airport. There was no direct route between the two terminals, and we drove way out and around so it still took about 20 minutes. It saved all the dragging of luggage up and over bridges and steps and streets and multiple elevators.
Once we checked in, we had a really good lunch at Oliver Stone for pizza, grilled veggies, and garlic chili bread. Later we stopped for some gelato after we found our gate.
Our flight was running an hour late and we had some flaky pastries outside the gate while waiting. flight.
We arrived in Medan and were already running over an hour late when we had to get a “surprise visa on arrival”. We checked before we left, and no
visa was required. Jason at AH said we didn’t need one. We Googled it while in
line to get one and nothing had changed indicating one was needed. We weren’t
getting out of the airport without one, so we stood in line and paid the fee. (one of our later guides told us that the airport was charging a fee "just to make money" under the guise of needing a visa - who knows.)
Then security and immigration forms were all online. So, using your cell phone you bring up the site and fill it out that way. (slow internet) There was a lady assisting with the forms so we could collect our luggage before they put it in storage. That took about another hour that we were running behind. She took us to our luggage and finally we could leave the airport.
We were met by a driver for the 4-hour drive from Kuala Namu International Airport to Bukit Lawang where we would stay at the Jungle Inn for 2 nights. It wasn’t that far distance-wise, but Medan is huge and we drove for eons through the hectic traffic.
I've included some bad photos taken from the car.
We stopped at a Mini Mart and picked up cold drinks and snacks for the drive. We also encountered our first squat toilet of the trip. We had been quite lucky finding Western toilets everywhere up to this point.
We drove through lots of small villages with very little jungle. As we were getting close to the lodge, we started to hear firecrackers and long Calls to Prayer. We then found ourselves driving through many people carrying torches in a parade. As we were driving amongst them it felt otherworldly. It signified the end of Ramadan and there were many parties going on. People were sitting outside of homes and mosques praying or just relaxing. We thought about Rose back in her village in Sabah and imagined her open house to celebrate the end of Ramadan with her delicious treats.
Finally, we arrived at the spot that was as far as cars could go and our luggage was unloaded and 4 guys on motorcycles put one case in front of them and each of us climbed on for “Mr. Toads Wild Ride” in the dark through the narrow alleyways. What fun! My thighs must have squeezed my driver to death as I hung on.
We arrived at the Jungle Inn and were seated in the
dining area and greeted with iced tea that was divine. They presented us with
tote bags and cans of Sumatran coffee as gifts.
Since we were so late, they held the kitchen open and asked for us to order right away. We all had chicken satay and rice. Very tasty and it hit the spot as we were starving.
They asked us if we minded a later start in the morning since
they were going to end of Ramadan celebrations. We said no problem and we were to have
breakfast at 9:00 and start our jungle trek at 10:00.
The staff grabbed our luggage, and we were led to our rooms that had great views of the river. The rooms were absolutely charming. We got unpacked and it was bedtime. We fell asleep to the sounds of the river.
We were really looking forward to our trek tomorrow as it was our best chance of seeing Orangutans in the wild and hopefully pretty close.
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