On the bumpy mini-van ride, a local got on about 25 km before the town. His English was good and he let me practice my Indonesian with him. He spoke of the town, the orang-atangs, and accomodation. He was, what guides in the Bewkit Lewang call, "hunting." About 4 years agoin in November, the river in the middle of the town flooded. It was a flash flood that killed many people and destroyed half the town. Only some of it has since been rebuilt, but visiting the National Park and the Orangutang rehabilitation center is the only source of income for the town. Unfortunately, there are too many guides for the amount of tourists. So, they will take the bus to Medan or somewhere in between and ride back into the town, chatting up tourists, hoping to get clients. It is a rather good buisness tactic, but is made me really uncomfortable.
(to be continued...)
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