The (Wo)men of the Forest

Hand-written boarding passes - Into the jungle we go

When it comes to the wonders of the animal kingdom, Indonesia got the lion's share (no pun intended - seriously, there aren't even any lions here). Aside from your everyday treasures like the little geckos that decorate the walls and the monkeys the street kids like to dress up with miniature guitars and creepy baby doll heads, there are also animals you only see on the likes of National Geographic, like the komodo dragons and orangutans. In honor of my momma's visit to the archipelago, we decided to kick off 2012 off with a three-day river tour through the Orangutan National Reserve in Borneo and see these 'men of the forest.' 

Our trip was totally organized through an eco-tourism company in the small fishing town of Pangkalan Bun (southwest Borneo). We arrived at the small airport and were greeted by a dozen military and police personal. Well, okay, they weren't there for us so much as the regent (something like a governor) of the area who also happened to be on the plane, but we still felt fancy. We were actually welcomed by a hand-written sign for "Mr. Jackie Gish and Mrs. Gail Bable' (That's right, I'm scowling at you, Chan). After we cleared up the gender confusion, our guide Isai drove us to the dock to board our home for the next three days: 

Ha! Just kidding. Here's where we really stayed - the one in the back. Our boat came with a four-person crew: one guide, one cook, one captain, and one all-purpose deck-hand. Since it was low season, mom and I had the whole place to ourselves, though we met plenty-a-foreigner in other boats along the river. For the next three days, we lived on that boat. The cook made our meals on board (amazing), the crew transformed the deck into sleeping quarters at night, and there were bathroom "facilities" in the back (oh why didn't we think to bring wet ones?). We roughed it, and we loved every minute of it.

She always cooked enough for four people...

...so, we shared.

Sleeping arrangements - my first mosquito net!

Our tour guide, Isai, leading the way.

On day one, we went up the river to a small Dayak village. The Dayak are the local people of Borneo. Our guide, himself Dayak, told us that there are over 200 Dayak languages, meaning that in some places there could be two different tribes not even a kilometer apart who can't understand each other. Gila (crazy). The particular village we visited was a sleepy fishing/farming town of about 100 families. We walked along the one cobble-stone road that ran the length of the village and took in the slow and simple life-styles of the families living there.

The only school - children must move to the nearby city to attend high school.

A typical home on stilts

They had a library!

The mosque - so many bright colors

This stream irrigates their farms and doubles as a bathing and laundering spot

The clinic. The decorations of the roof are meant to mimic the hornbill bird.

This 80-something-year-old grandfather was weaving together roofs.

As the sun began to sink, we continued upstream a ways to catch the Proboscis monkeys as they made their way to the trees lining the river. The Dayak people refer to them at 'Dutch' monkeys because they have long noses. These little guys sleep in the trees by the river because their predator, the Clouded Leopard, doesn't like to go near the water. They just have to be careful not to fall out of the tree while they sleep and become a midnight snack for the river caiman (crocodile). Then we parked our boat along the side of the river, ate dinner by candle light, and crawled into our mosquito net for the night.

This little one never let go of mom

Day two we continued upstream toward an orangutan feeding station. We joined four or five other river boats full of tourists to watch the morning feeding. We all sat in front of a raised wooden platform while our respective guides called to the orangutans. The rangers showed up and upped the ante with rambutan and pineapple. We all watched as our great, orange friends shook the forest canopy and descended to the feeding platform.

We cruised up stream a bit further for the main event: Camp Leaky. This is where Julia Roberts visited after filming Eat, Pray, Love (and is rumored to have not heeded the ranger's warnings about getting too close to the animals). More importantly, this camp was founded by one Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas - the Jane Goodall of the orangutan world. This remarkable woman came in 1971 to wade through the mosquito-infested swamps of Borneo and study the wild orangutan. She founded Camp Leaky with the help of some local Dayak people. Lucky for us, Dr. Galdikas just happened to be at the camp. Eat your heart out, Julia.

We learned straight from the source about these (usually) gentle giants. The good doctor, hand-in-hand with one of her furry friends, led us around the camp. She called each orangutan by name as she told his or her life story. She also shared about the sad reality of the rapidly decreasing numbers of orangutans. The babies are taken by smugglers while thousands more die when large palm oil company clear their forest homes to plant farms. The reserves in Borneo and Sumatra are the last refuge for them. Note in the video who is in the cage this time.

The Queen of the Camp, Siswi, 35

Yeah, he can rip your face off. And that's a teenager. They live into their 50s.

Fun fact: Female orangutans are 5 times stronger than a human.

Our luck continued. Out of the forest lumbered, Tom, the King of the orangutans. When the 29-year-old giant made an appearance, everyone got out of his way. The rangers scurried to get between him and the tourists. They appeased him with buckets of milk and large pieces of fruit. We all looked on, happy to respectfully give The King his space. Our guide later told us how rare it is for Tom to come out. Isai got us close to observe his Majesty, and when he told us to move, we moved.

We reluctantly left Camp Leaky and climbed aboard. After one small snag - part of a floating island broke off and blocked the river - we headed back down stream. Isai kept us entertained with endless tales of the Dayak. He told us about their head-hunting warriors. Certain tribes require human heads to sacrifice during the funerals of their tribe members. He told us that there are still some head hunters (two fisherman from his parents' village were found headless last year!), but he promised they were way, way inland. Whew.

Navigating though the floating island

Once we ended our river tour, we had some time to kill before our plane took off. Isai offered to take us through his city. We walked through the open market and then through the houses that lined the river. He even took us into the house he shared with his two brothers and their families.

The trip was short but filled to the brim with unforgettable experiences. Mom and I returned (with our heads) to the busy streets of Jakarta, and we're now chuckling over pictures and memories while being rocked by phantom waves.