Bukit Lawang 2013 - Youth Expedition Project Trip 2

Bukit Lawang, 16-29 June 2013, Team Urban Trekkers

16 June

I’m at Bukit Lawang again with another group of students. Wow! Time flies. It feels like, just yesterday, I was here with the previous group. It’s 5.45pm here right now.

This time round, I left home with a heavy heart. This is because my youngest son, Budi was not feeling well. He was running a fever of between 38 – 39.5’. Fortunately, school has made some arrangements for a temporary replacement, if necessary. They’ve informed Shahul to be on standby in case I have to go back for awhile if Budi needs to be hospitalized. I hope it doesn’t come to that. So far there’s no news from Raihan. As they say, no news is good news.

We had our first drama today when one of the students developed a fever of 39.4’. Fortunately, the nursing students has an idea of what to do i.e. sponging him and brought his temperature down to 38’. He is quite stable now and he is even walking around.

The students will be going through the same 3 main activities that the previous group did; tree replanting, jungle trek and office administration at the Orangutan Health Project.

18 June

Day 3 of our programme at Bukit Lawang. This place is becoming like a place of Retreat for me since 2010. I never thought I would be coming back for consecutive years. People here are beginning to even recognize me. From the shop owners to the guides and plantation guys. I’ve become such a familiar face to them. That makes coming here such a comforting thing.

Things are moving relatively comfortably here. The students are settling in quite well albeit some discomfort, pain and minor accidents. It is inevitable since they are 22 teenagers in a place away from home and free from the constraints of home. Things look ok at home too. I called Raihan this morning and she told me that she brought Budi to the hospital. The doctor ran several tests on him and the results are negative for malaria right now. They asked her to bring him home but to monitor his situation especially his temperature. If his fever persists till Thursday, she has to bring him to the hospital again. I hope he gets well soon. It won’t be nice if he has to be admitted to the hospital.

I've added a new activity for this year's programme. I've included a 1-day orientation programme. It consists of a 3-hour warm-up trek and a 2-hr introduction to the OHP. For the warm-up trek, the student will take a short 30 minutes walk to the plantation area. There, they will be briefed on their task for the following 3 days. Thereafter, followed by another 30 minutes walk to a bat cave which is a popular tourist destination in this area. They go through this orientation programme on the second day of the expedition.

The students making their way uphill to the tree replantation site.

We visited the site of YEP Medan 2012 and had a look at progress of the trees planted by the previous team.

The students exploring the bat cave.

The students listening to the briefing by OHP Project Manager.

19 June

It is Day 4 here in Bukit Lawang. The students are settling in quite well. They are able to move about independently and no longer need me to bring them around. This gives me more time to be on my own and ponder upon my situation.

It’s the end the day. After a hard day’s work, they usually end up soaking themselves at the river. Not really something that they can do in Singapore. I’m the one taking the picture and just keeping an eye on them but they look fine.

I do feel that I’m kinda stagnating and wish for some changes in my job. But at the same time, the stability and comfort zone are somethings I’ve never felt since I joined the workforce in 1995. Now I understand why people in their 40’s rarely change job anymore unless they really have to.

Do I want the excitement in my life right now? Wouldn’t it be easier to stay within the comfort zone? Try to find excitement in other facets of life besides my job. Have a stable job which is good for the family and find excitement in some hobbies. How about stepping up my photography skills? How about working on my website development skills? There are other areas that can excite my life. I don’t have to get a job to excite my life. This is one of the benefits of bringing students for Youth Expedition Project. Once the workday is over, I have more time to ponder on other aspects of life.

20 June

Day 5 of YEP Medan 2013. Still pondering the question; do I stay or do I go? Stay would be more of the same but go same but if I move; more new old things but good new old things?

Today, I accompanied one of the groups for their tree replantation work. We went to the same worksite like last year’s group but in a different part of the plantation. Tree replantation is hard work as you can see from the pictures below. We’re doing work like a farmer. Not something we’re familiar with back home.

First we dig a hole at stipulated positions using old-school “changkol”

Then we remove the dirt and put in the saplings and make the area around the sapling conducive for it to grow.

It’s a back breaking work. To make it worst, it’s always hot here. Additionally, mosquitoes are aplenty.

23 June

Day 8 of YEP. I’m in the jungle with one of the group. This is our second day here. I reckon some of the students can’t wait to get back to the lodge. I told them earlier that how basic the lodge is, they will miss it once they are in the jungle; especially the toilet.

That’s the thing about life; we only miss the things that we have when we no longer have them. Let’s take these students as examples. Upon arrival and looking at the spartan condition of their living accomodations, they started to miss their rooms and homes. They miss the creature comfort they have back in Singapore. Then, when they spend the nights in the jungle, they miss the bed and the toilet in the lodge. From the perspective of staying in the jungle, the rooms in the lodge are far more comfortable. This is a teachable idea. When the students hit upon this realization, I talk to them about being grateful and appreciative.

Helping each other navigate the terrain during the trek in the jungle.

The simple overnight accommodation in the jungle, Bukit Lawang-style.

24 June

And suddenly, I’m out of the jungle. My writing was interrupted yesterday when Dani (a local guide that I befriended) came over to our campsite from his campsite. He was about 40 meters away. He was guiding a group of Australian based in Singapore. I got to know him when I first came to Bukit Lawang in 2010. I came here with Sam Craig that time. Boy, that was 3 years ago. In Bukit Lawang it was 2 bridges ago. The first time I came, we used a “V” bridge to get across the river. It was quite a broken down bridge also. They tore it down last year March. In it’s place they replaced it with a sturdier red metal bridge. Nowadays, we use a suspended bridge built by Yusman Guesthouse. I still prefer the red steel bridge but the wooden bridge is easier to reach Yusman Guesthouse.

At this time, I’m having tea and “pisang goreng” at one of the stalls near the river. It is the same one that I frequent everytime here. The owner has kind of upgraded her stall. The place used to have only sand and soil flooring with wooden chairs. Now the stall is cemented and the seats are made of cement and ceramics.

The development in Bukit Lawang is so apparent as in many other places. They are also more guest houses hare and many of the shops have upgraded themselves. I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple of years wi-fi and aircon lodges would be available here. More development would also mean more encroachment into the jungle. That is the negative side of development. Unless the development is managed well, the status of Bukit Lawang as an Eco Tourist Area would be put into question.

That is the challenge, I suppose. How do you balance between development and conservation? Left to the private sector, a lot of this area would be developed and usually it would be outsiders who would benefit. This is because it is usually the outsider who have the financial muscle to invest in infrastructure. This happens everywhere including Singapore. But the locals deserve development if that is what they want. I’m sure they too want good roads, regular electricity supply, piped water to their homes and eventually air-con and wi-fi.

However, are these people ready? They can have knowledge and use it but do they use wisdom to apply it? Like Rousseau wrote, when we give man knowledge without the wisdom, they end up burning themselves. A lot of them will lose their lands, their children end up becoming workers for foreigners in their own land. Of course, they will have creature comfort but they will be trapped like birds in a gilded cage.

Anyway, we visited an Eco Farming Education Centre earlier today. This is Centre established and managed by the local government. Their main objective is to teach the local farmers in the areas on ways to make their farms more eco friendly.One of the ways that interest me was food waste composting. I know for a fact that Singaporeans throw away an immense amount of food. How best can we actually make that wasted food become something productive.

One of my students reading on the composting process adopted by the Centre.

My students were then taught on the process of planting using compost. This is the same way that the local farmers are taught.

25 June

I have another trek into the jungle with another team for the next 3 days 2 nights. The jungle trek is always the highlight of their expedition. My students are city dwellers so trekking and sleeping overnight in the jungle are a rarity. For all of them it would be the first time and for most of them it would also be the last time.

Here we are at the main entrance of the Leuser Mountain National Park.

This park has about 20 re-introduced orangutan. These are orangutans that were kept as pets previously. They were rescued and re-introduced into the jungle. There used to be an Orangutan Rehabilation Centre in the park. It has been closed since the late 2000. The Centre now operates in South Sumatera. However, the previously re-introduced orangutan remained in the fringes of this park . Additionally, there are also wild orangutan deeper in the jungle. The above picture is one of the re-introduced orangutan. They have made this area as their home and some has started families.

As we trek through the jungle, our main guide Pak Wanda will explain about the jungle. He likes to say that the villagers used to see the jungle as their provision shop. However, that has stopped nowadays since the park has been given the status of conservation and eco-tourism area.

One of the highlights of the trek is alfresco dinner by candlelight.

27 June

This is the last night of the expedition. Yesterday, we had our farewell party and just now we had our final debrief. I organize debrief sessions every 2-3 days. These debrief sessions are important for me to listen to my students on how and what do they understand about their experience far waye from the comfort of home. I realized that without giving them the right framing and understanding, the trip would just be a happy-happy trip. There was a need for me impress upon them their roles and responsibilities within the framework of sustainability. Additionally, they need to understand the roles and responsibilities of the local people within that framework too. The relationship between the locals, the government and the NGOs in the area must be positive in order for the practice of sustainability to work.

Anyway, we are now in Berastagi to enjoy a day of R&R before heading home tomorrow. This evening we chilled by the pool in the cool evening weather of Berastagi and tomorrow morning, we’re off to the hotsprings by the foot of Mount Sibayak. Then, back home! Hope the students bring back positive memories.

Sharing our learning points at the Farewell Party.

A final debrief before going home the next morning.