Catching the travel bug: Attack of the killer mosqitoes

by Jerry Guo on

Welcome to Catching the Travel Bug, Gadling’s mini-series on getting sick on the road, prevailing and loving travel throughout. Five of our bloggers will be telling their stories from around the globe for the next five weeks. Submit your best story about catching the travel bug in the comments and we’ll publish our favorite few at the end of the series.

The swamp here could be the stuff of nightmares. Because this happens to be the rainy season, which lasts from October to March, the trails are meant to be waded, not walked. Yet I am utterly stuck, knee-deep in pungent red mud with stagnant water up to my waist. Ellen Meulman, a PhD student from the University of Zurich, doubles back to pull me out of the quagmire. It takes a few hard yanks. “Be careful,” she says. “You can disappear in these waters.” Thoughts of leeches and king cobras vanish, replaced by a more immediate fear.

We’ve been slogging and hacking through the Sumatran jungle for nearly three hours, on our way to rendezvous with today’s observation team. The field staff hustles day in and out to arrive at the nest-site before dawn and do not return until after dark. In between, they track the individual behaviors of the orangutan in excruciating detail.

But for now, I’m too busy worrying about myself. Asides from the immediate danger of disappearing into the quicksand-like mud and trying to balance on a crude plank trail that’s submerged in water, I’m being absolutely devoured by mosquitos. Before embarking on this afternoon trek through the jungle, I dumped half a bottle of herbal mosquito repellent all over my body, but that has made no difference. At one point, the constant biting and buzzing and circling drive me nearly to tears. Alas I’m too tired to cry.
That night, after returning to camp and getting deleeched (a complicated process that involved me screeching in a high pitch voice, “get them off; get them off”, to my driver), I noticed a patch of mosquito bites around my ankle. I started scratching them and soon enough, a half dozen bumps turned into a dozen.

My flight back to the states was set to depart in a couple days, and this swamp was something like 1,000 miles away from Jakarta airport. So I had to leave the very next day, up a winding river and then through the heart of Sumatra on a 10-hour overnight drive back to Medan. From there, I flew to Jakarta and left right away for New York.

Here the story stalls for about a week. I kept scratching my bites and they kept festering and oozing and doing all the other nasty stuff that I’ll just leave to your imagination. What was somewhat worrisome at this point was that these bites weren’t getting any less itchy–and keep in mind that a week has passed by now. Even worse, they started melding together into a few superbumps.

Then all of a sudden, I started walking with a limp. I immediately thought of the worst case scenario: I had contracted some type of flesh eating bacteria (and made the mistake of Googling the images … don’t). I ran down to my school’s health services, where something happened that you never, ever want to happen in a doctor’s office, which is to have the doctor say “hmm, that’s interesting.” He subsequently disappeared, and a few minutes later, came back with three or four of his colleagues. They proceeded to collectively give a “hmm, that’s interesting”. I could see the pity in their eyes. The end was going to come in only a matter of days.

And being the unlucky guy I was, this happened on a Friday afternoon. The nurses and doctors had no idea what I had, although they feared it was contagious. So they basically held me prisoner as an inpatient for the entire weekend. The following Monday, a dermatologist came to see me and declared that I had a “hypoallergic” reaction to the mosquitoes, which is to say that my immune system just went berserk from the utter number of bites I received.

Two weeks of heavy-duty antibiotics and a course of cortisteroids later, the scary rash that was climbing up my leg had abated. Looking back, would I have trekked out there if I knew that it would land me in the emergency room for the better part of a week? Probably!

Yo see, the orangutans in this part of Sumatra are pretty damn special. They’ve learned some remarkable tricks, such as how to fashion a seed-extraction stick to crack open the prickly shell of the Neesia fruit. The theory goes that this rather complicated skill developed from simpler abilities to use tools to dig for honey, fish for termites, and scoop for water. Yet primatologists know little more than that these smarter-than-we-thought apes possess culture; the pressing question now is to figure out how it’s acquired and transferred.

Though outsiders often refer to this swamp as “orangutan heaven but human hell,” the staff does not plan to jump ship anytime soon. They want to bring the station back to its old glory by this fall, with an new 6-room dormitory, solar panels for constant electricity, and three boardwalks (getting to the orangutans without them can take several hours). They’re even hiring-the graduate students need at least five more assistants to juggle the array of projects.

Since fieldwork stopped across Aceh, it’s difficult to precisely quantify the impact of the civil war on this biodiversity hotspot, home to elephants, rhinoceroses, leopards, sun bears, tigers, and some 6,500 orangutans. While the primatologists at Suaq lost much more time than their neighbors-eight years of data-the 70 or so test subjects haven’t missed a beat. In fact, the concentration of orangutans here, where fruits rain from the trees year-round, is greater than anywhere else in the world (twice the density of other sites on Sumatra and five times the density on Borneo, the only other island where these apes can be found). The unusually high density has enabled these solitary creatures to “teach” each other skills like tool-use, making Suaq the ideal laboratory for studying the origins of human culture.

But for now, Suaq is still a friendly neighborhood. I still distinctly remember the afternoon that I finally spot two of the residents: the mellow Lisa and her 6-year-old daughter, Lilly. Lisa, ambling in the treetops, much prefered her sour melaka fruits to our company. But for a brief moment, Lilly swung down to investigate these strange-looking two-legged apes, and realizing we would not make suitable playmates, disappeared in a blur of orange.

This brief encounter with one of the world’s most intelligent and beautiful creatures was worth dealing with the travel bug.

Execution of Bali Bombers Imminent

by Josh Lew on

The three men who planned and carrier out the 2002 bombings of Bali nightclubs will be executed within 72 hours, according to Indonesia’s attorney general.

The attacks killed 202 people in the crowded tourist area of Kuta. The bombers, Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron have exhausted their appeals. They were actually sentenced to death more than five years ago. In a final legal stand, the condemned men asked the courts to change the method of execution. The three wanted to be beheaded rather than executed by firing squad, but Indonesia’s Constitutional Court rejected the idea.

Bali’s tourism industry has recovered well from the bombing. The island took a major step when it hosted the high profile United Nations Climate Change Conference last year. But the executions might bring back some old ghosts. Officials are worried that there could be a backlash. The bombers are not popular in Indonesia, but fundamentalist religious groups could take to the streets to show their objection to the execution of the bombers.

Twelve tips before making your pet a world traveler

by Jamie Rhein on

The story about the U.S. soldier who was granted permission to bring the dog she rescued from a trash pile in Baghdad to the U.S reminded me of the friends I’ve known who have brought their pets with them when they have moved to another country.

In the case of the U.S. soldier, the issue was with military regulations that needed to be worked out. In other cases, bringing a pet has to do with airlines and the regulations of the country to which you are moving.

Depending upon the country, regulations differ. Knowing what to expect right off can save you time and frustration in the end. For example, if you move with your dog or cat to Singapore, there is a lengthy quarantine process. One set of friends brought their two cats. Other friends brought their dog.

Every other day or so, both sets of friends would head out to the place where their pets were being held to visit. Along with the time and expense it took to get to the quarantine location, they had to pay several dollars a day for their pets’ lodging and care.

With pets offering undivided devotion, the desire to include them in a move is compelling. If you’re so inclined, here are tips to consider before turning your pet into a traveler:

These 10 tips are from the Website Living in Indonesia, but most of them are not Indonesia specific.

  1. Find out from the airline the regulations for the country to which you are moving. Also find out what you need to know about bringing your pet back with you.
  2. Consider the costs for both going overseas and coming back in your decision making. Getting there is only the first part.
  3. If possible, bring your pet along with you as access baggage which will allow you to check on your pet throughout the journey.
  4. Sending your pet via cargo may be more practical and cheaper.
  5. If you can, schedule layovers so your pet can have a travel break.
  6. Make sure your pet carrier meets regulations
  7. Clearly mark the carrier with the name of the pet, your name and your destination.
  8. Before your trip, put your pet into the carrier for long periods of time to get your pet used to being in the carrier.
  9. Put one of your pet’s favorite blanket or toy in the carrier to create a sense of familiarity
  10. Don’t feed too much
  11. Don’t give tranquilizers because they put your pet at risk
  12. Attach a water bottle to the cage that can be filled from the outside.

For more details for taking your pet along, click here. Some are Indonesia specific, but they give an idea of those things you should be thinking about.

Here are the guidelines for traveling with an animal on American Airlines. I chose this one for no particular reason. Other details are listed that are worth reading if you’re considering taking a pet on your move.

Indonesia: Southeast Asia’s Next Great Destination?

by Josh Lew on

Listen to all the chatter about Indonesia on news web sites and travel blogs and you might never set foot on the archipelago. But search for some media that is produced closer to the source and you will find some more balanced opinions. Take The Java Jive as an example. An expat blog written by American transplant Brandon Hoover, it gives a realistic view of life in the rough-around-the-edges metropolis of Jakarta, and beyond the city limits, with plenty of photos thrown in. In fact, it is the photos, as it so often is, that provide a true sense of place. And a picturesque and diverse place it is.

While the island of Bali remains a big tourist draw, most of the rest of the country does not welcome a high number of tourists. Last year, Thailand, a nation 1/5 the size of Indo, welcomed twice as many visitors. Is it that the tourist attractions aren’t there, or is it just that they aren’t advertised? If you peruse Hoover’s photos and blog, you’ll find that, while Indonesia might not be the breezy travel proposition that Thailand is, it has plenty to offer.

Krakatau Journal: An island paradise that can kill you

by Jerry Guo on

In 1883, a volcano off the coast of Indonesia erupted, setting off a mega-tsunami that killed some 36,000 nearby villagers almost instantly. But halfway around the world, in places like western Africa and the UK, subtle changes were noticed. The skies turned an ominous red (see the famous Scream portrait, supposedly inspired by this eruption). The tides became erratic. People thought it was the end of the world.

What actually transpired was the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history. Krakatau (popularized in the West as “Krakatoa” by the British colonialists) had left its mark in the history books.

I’ve come to the epicenter of the disaster zone 125 years later. The original Krakatau had blown itself to pieces in 1883, leaving behind three crescent-shaped island remnants. But in the middle of the underwater caldera that has formed is a curious new sight: an island that appeared out of the sea before our very eyes.

Anak Krakatau–literally “Son of Krakatau” in Indonesian–is a reincarnation of the original Krakatau volcano. Since the son’s fitful birth in 1930, this faraway piece of rock, sandwiched in the strait between Java and Sumatra, has earned a reputation among academics as an ideal laboratory for observing how life begins, endures, and sometimes perishes in an island ecosystem.

During its heyday in the 1980s and early 1990s, research conducted here on the 400 plant, 50 butterfly, 30 bird, 17 bat, and 9 reptile species, among other animals, came to define much of what we know about island biogeography and ecological dynamics.

Eruptions throughout November-the most violent in over a decade-recaptured the world’s attention, with news of 3-kilometer-high ash fumes, showers of lava bombs, and blasts that rattled the windows of houses on the shores of western Java, some 40 kilometers away. Anak has remained active ever since, with eruptions this January, April, June, and July.

On this bright day, my tour guide is Tukirin Partomihardjo, a wiry botanist sporting at once a collared shirt and a machete. We wade onto the black-sand beach of Anak. The 56-year-old “King of Krakatau” has arrived.

It’s hard to take a step here, even on the beach, without crushing some sort of life. Just moments after arrival, Tukirin, who works for the Indonesian Academy of Sciences at Bogor Herbarium, points out blue-ish ghost crabs, armies of tiny ants, fast-multiplying casuarinas seedlings, and even one coconut that has sprouted an impressive-looking stem. These are some of the early colonizers of Anak, and each day they continue to launch amphibious attacks on the island.

“There is a constant struggle here,” says Tukirin, referring to the battle between these pioneering species and the elements. One of his on-going projects seeks to explain the degree of success in colonization by examining the diversity of the beach seedbank. This afternoon alone, he finds some 30 different seed species of varying descriptions: green cactus-like, flat and pea-shaped, walnut-shaped (he easily rattles off their obscure scientific names).

But it’s not just about quantity. He holds up a dark, oblong mangrove seed and shakes his head. “This can’t survive here.”

Later this afternoon, he heads into the modest jungle, a panopoly of dominant casuarinas, waist-high grasses, ferns, and emergent fig trees that reach 30 metres. Parts of the rainforest sport bald spots where lava has completely wiped out the vegetation.

Today, for instance, Tukirin is surveying the damage of the November blasts. “Many trees have died,” he says, blaming the ash that has buried much of the understory. “But this place will recover.”

Tukirin, as it happens, is the world’s leading expert on Anak Krakatau (hence the nickname), first hearing about and visiting the place in 1981 during a training seminar. Since then, he’s been back to the island some 30 plus times, leading almost all foreign expeditions there.

It’s quite remarkable how far he has come. He grew up on a rural farm to parents who didn’t make it through elementary school and became the first in a family of 9 siblings to earn a Ph.D. His dissertation was, of course, on Krakatau. “Even with very difficult conditions, my parents felt I needed education,” he says. “They encouraged me to study hard.”
In part 2 tomorrow, we try to climb the active summit, and stumble.