Our third day in Indonesia was a great experience that turned into one of those crazy adventures that we will stand out in our memories of this amazing trip.
The day started out sunny and clear as we took off for a two and a half hour ride towards the elephant preserve. After a bit, we stopped to stretch our legs and enjoy some panoramic views of the countryside.
The road got narrower and bumpier the further we went and we crossed some pretty sketchy looking bridges.
After a lot of rocks and potholes, we had to stop to change a tire.
We were glad to get out of the rattling vehicle at the end and walk on our own two feet across a gently swaying suspension bridge to our lunch place.
We ate at a lovely restaurant in the jungle perched above the river. They had decorated our table with a profusion of flowers.
After lunch, we had a little side trip to visit an “English club”, an after school center where a group of 5 - 8 year olds was supposedly learning English. However, the teacher knew very little English herself and they seemed to depend on visitors like us to help expose the kids to the language. As we were entering, another visitor was just finishing with them, but she had a very strong Scottish accent, so I don’t know what the kids made of such different versions of the English language. After the kids each introduced themself and told us their age, we introduced ourselves and then we all sang a song together.
Then, finally, it was time to meet the elephants.
This is a special project developed by the government. The elephants are fed and brought to the river for washing twice a day as a low impact tourist industry for the community. In return, the villagers help protect the elephants from poaching. So, the elephants are not exactly “wild” — they are trained to follow various commands and they pose for pictures like any hams would. However, it is still amazing to get up close and personal with the huge creatures, scrub their rough skin, get sprayed in the face and get a kiss on the cheek.
At the end, they lined all the elephants up for a group photo and we all got to pose with them. The baby decided to join our photo.
After changing into some dry clothes, we loaded up again for the drive back to Bukit Lawang. This is when the crazy part of the adventure really started. The clouds got blacker and blacker until they burst with lightening and thunder into a torrential rain that turned all those bad, narrow roads into muddy rivers.
Our intrepid driver didn’t seem too fazed by the change of weather, so we all held on tight and hoped for the best. In fact, it was more fun than any ride Disney could come up with. But we were happy and relieved when we got back to our lovely little Ecolodge safe and sound.
Next morning, we had an early start for our drive to Lake Toba.
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