4 days and 3 nights of an unforgettable experience within the National Park of Gunung Leuser out from Ketambe where only 14 guides are available to bring you through out of the popular beaten tracks of Bukit Lawang (about 150 guides overthere, with semi wild Sumatran Orangutans not noticing the presence of humans..).

Throughout our journey with Johnny (our guide), we had the luck of learning about the fauna and flora, and spotted many wild Orangutans (Orang-Utan means in Bahasa the person of the forest), Rhinoceros hornbills, several groups of Thomas Leaf Monkeys, a praying mantis, green snake, and lots of very interesting plants and insects. Our porter Ahmed was also very friendly, and cooked some remarkable meals, which I thought were comparable with many of the amazing Indonesian restaurants that we visited later on our trip.
On the third day we camped at a hot spring which flowed in to the river, it was an absolutely magical location. You could find the perfect balance of hot and cold water between several pools, and the water is constantly replenishing so there is no buildup of algae like in most hot springs. We also hiked up to a waterfall, where Johnny showed us a safe place to get a back massage from the strong flow of the streams.

We discovered that burning trash was the only mean of making it disappear (no rubbish/trash system outside of the main cities in Indonesia.. At least it's better than India just leaving it as is! : )  and we unfortunately had to remind it to our porter after cooking.. Also some other interesting topics discussed with our guide were the inability of students to get a real employment within a company because they don't have enought funds to pay the company, for being employed! Apparently that is standard for this corrupted country, in which you must pay a hefty sum considered as a 'Welcoming tax' to the company which hires you.. Hence many get just the basic education and work on farms, restaurants, guides (in this case), guesthouses or other non-taxed employments..