Another Victoria's Secrets

I woke up at 7 a.m. in Bangko City and had breakfast but we still had few hours before we had to depart again. That day we went to the Merangin Geopark Information Centre, where we were welcomed and given a tour through the museum. There, we were told about the 300-million year-old plant and wood fossils found in the Merangin District. This is the oldest prehistorical fossil found around the world.

replica of the Batu Patah Pondok, cylindrical fossil stone found in Muak Village

replica of Prasasti Karang Berahi

old wagon in front of the information centre, facing the Batang River

over exposed

We had lunch in the back office, then went to the Batang River for rafting. It was another half-hour drive to the rafting starting point. When we arrived at the rafting centre, a strong smell attacked our nose and it came from the freshly-harvested raw rubber they laid on the front yard. It was so sharp and smelled weird and made us all queasy. I had no idea!

We're so ready to raft!

the village's unique architecture & planning with houses on stilts

you see those beam-like stuff being dried in the sun? those are freshly harvested rubber--and the smell stings!

But the show must go on and we all prepared for rafting. Unlike any other rafting I've ever done (not the one in Dufan--NO), this time a boat has three instructors and only 3-4 guests. They didn't give any instruction to us, on which signal means to row, which to put down the ore, and which to sit on the bottom of the boat. Well I guess we should just go with the flow.

being on cam always makes me groggy

photo by Ary Zulkarnaen

photo by Ary Zulkarnaen

photo by Ary Zulkarnaen

 

check out those rocks

and the beautiful forest across the river

look at the streams!

there's a waterfall and it feels so fresh!

and I feel so good!!

Beside the nice natural view along the rafting track, we also saw several of plant fossils along the river. They're super old and it's just cool to see it first-hand, right on the location where it's found. Definitely one-of-a-kind rafting. We wrapped our shoot before it was dark and carried on to our next destination: Jangkat District.


We had to drive for about 4 hours to get to this great lakeside villa in Danau Pauh tourism area (locals said it could be 1.5-2 hours drive--are they crazy? But if you see how fast--and reckless--they're driving here, you'll understand.)

It was dark already and we were super tired so after had some conversation with our hosts, who served us self-service hot beverages on the floor mat, we fell asleep. It was a really heavy journey for my physical condition and as if the Universe was answering my prayer, I got such a warm and comfort bed that night. So ready for the next day's adventure!

Check out Metro TV this Saturday, Dec 9, at 3:30 p.m. to see what was going on in Jangkat! And check my Instagram feed for more pics.

It was a new experience for me to wake up in a tent. I've camped before, some time in 2002, but I've forgotten how it felt so this was a fresh thing. It was around 6 a.m. and the kids already woke up, singing the song Jisel taught them the night before. When I got out of the tent, most of the team already woke up too and preparing food.

our morning busy-ness

Bang Robin, Anindya, me, and Fitra Eri

Anindya and Mas Fitra Eri were doing a morning shoot, and the rest of us either wandering around, watching them taking pictures, or packing up. We took photos and stuff before leaving the 'camping ground' and went back to where we parked our vehicles. It was perfectly steaming on a midday for a walk and we were melting!

me with the WARSI volunteers

We packed up all of the tools back to our rides and got ready to go back to the 'civilization'. Due to the heavy rain the night prior we had a bit of trouble passing thru the muddy road, but this is an off-road trip anyway so yeah we had fun with the dirt. We had a little closing ceremony with the Orang Rimba tribe before going back to Pak Paryan's house.

Jisel and Bang Maknun teaching the kids songs

Ary, Acenk and Dayu

Jisel asked Acenk to pack up the emergency kitchen

this kid constantly checking on my footsteps whenever the track gets rough

went back through palm oil forest

We took shower, had super late lunch, and got our stamina back. But first we went to the village's community centre where people were playing volleyball. We had another small ceremony and some shootings there, then went back to prepare to hit the road again. Anindya and Mas Fitra were going back to Jakarta and they went with the WARSI's ambulance, so we went separate ways there.

Kids gathering around the volleyball field

me, Bu Paryan, Rizal Paryan (in blue shirt), and the neighbor kids

this is Bu Paryan, the lady who helped Butet Manurung by opening her house for school

The rest of us went to the head village's house to say goodbye and rolled on, stopping by for supper at a local noodle house, then went on to Bangko City, in which we arrived at 2 a.m. and checked in at an inn. Check the rest of the pics on my Instagram feed and the trip next day here. Don't forget to watch Metro TV on December 2 at 3:30 p.m. for this episode.

I woke up at around 7 that morning, having troubled sleeping the whole night. After bath (they don't use either shower nor bath tub, but you have to scoop the water with a gayung and pour it onto your body--the way we call it mandi) I spent some time with Bu Paryan (the house owner lady character in that Sokola Rimba movie) and the volunteers from WARSI in the kitchen. From them I knew more about the tribe we were about to meet and the struggle within the volunteers on helping them.

Kang Yaya, Bang Prabu and the local official

We didn't have anything to do that morning, so when Kang Yaya and Ary asked me to go with them to do some survey visit, I gladly joined them. First, we visit the Kepala Desa (Head Village) to ask permission for our two-nights stay. Then, we visited the emergency tent built by Bang Yomi from WARSI to check the tribe members who needed medical help. Bang Yomi joined our team a day before in an ambulance driven by Bang Fadli, who led us the way.

that badass ambulance

Nope, they didn't wanna be seen

harvesting the palm oil

surveying roads--but turned out this one's a dead end

Bang Prabu and Bang Maknun, two other volunteers who had stayed in the village earlier, joined us today and ushered us around. They were our bridge to get in touch with the Orang Rimba tribe, who speaks and behaves differently from us. In this opening discussion, we asked permission to the parents to have us stay over the night with their kids for taking pictures matter.

Anindya and I

me, waiting in front of the Paryans (pic by Sedayu)

After we got the deal we went back to Pak Paryan's house and soon the whole team departed to Bukit Dua Belas forest by off-road. After about 1-2 hours of driving and stopping sometimes to take pictures, we arrived to the end of the road to park our cars and had to walk for the rest of the trip. It took about 1-hour of light hiking and I didn't have any trouble walking while carrying my backpack, waist bag and action cam.

Team RJ4, ready to roll

Destroyed forest ;(

Entering the jungle..

Everybody was busy.. well, except for me

We arrived at the Orang Rimba's temporary abode, with a simple wooden hut and some tents made out of tarpaulins, one for each family. We took a short break then built our tents. But rain started to pour before our tents put perfectly and we had to take shelter in the hut. The kids, however, were at their peak interest on studying.

meanwhile I, was having my pic taken (pic by Sedayu)

From the tents they moved to the hut and we lighted candles and Bang Maknun continued his lessons, teaching read, write, and count to those kids. Their ages were varied so he had to customize each kids' lesson materials. I was highly amazed on his dedication and persistence on this!

the kids drew this inspired from Ary's drone

pardon the blurred and crazy poses, but this is me and Ary chatting with the kids (pic by Sedayu)

Anindya, Jisel and I took our part teaching some of the kids with their lessons, until it was late enough and we got tired... but the kids weren't tired at all and they waited till midnight for more. I must admit, their passion and will for studying are incredibly strong, and I should lift my hat to these WARSI volunteers for they could follow the indigenous tribe's lifestyle for 2-3 weeks per month! I couldn't even keep up for a night.

It was raining hard outside but the kids demanded a class. So I helped this little guy Ngarong with his basic math

The rain finally subsided before midnight and the crew set up an emergency kitchen by the woods. Acenk, our cook, made meals for the kids first, then for us. It was midnight when we finally could eat, and thanks to the warm sleeping bag, I could at least catch some sleep that night. Read my next day's journey here and read my official report in Bahasa Indonesia here. For more photos, check my Instagram feed. And check out Metro TV next Sat, Dec 2, at 3:30 p.m.!

Check Fitra Eri's review here:

Nope, we didn't take the long route. We took the shortcut instead, and it's off-road track!