Culture

• Indonesia has several traditions and customs and it is best if you know them beforehand. Some of them are:
• Even though hand shaking is deemed appropriate between men and women, bear in mind that a number of Muslim women prefer to introduce themselves to men by nodding their head, smiling, and clasping their hands without any physical contact.
• Traditionally, when you greet someone, both hands are used when shaking, without grasping.
• Shoes must be taken off before entering a house or place of worship like mosques.
• Usually drinks are offered to guests. It is polite to accept.
• When eating, receiving or giving something, always use your right hand. Right index finger should not be used to point a place, items or people. Use the right hand thumb and fold the remaining fingers to be more polite.
• Most Indonesian Muslims do not consume alcoholic drinks and pork. Hence, the tradition of proposing a toast to honor someone is not generally known.
• Indonesian people are very welcoming and friendly and tend to be very smiley. You will attend to be asked “where do you come from” and call you with “mister” even though you are woman
• Women should wear clothes that cover them reasonably (shoulders and knees covered), especially in the Aceh province. It is advised to wear t-shirt / shorts when swimming instead of bikinis.

Visa
Tourists can get a 30-day “Visa on arrival” at Medan airport and at any other Indonesian international airports. From July 2015 “Visa on arrival” is officially available for free at Kuala Namu Airport in Medan for tourists from more than 169 countries. Nevertheless, immigration authorities often find reasons to charge a fee of 35 US dollars from travelers. Therefore we recommend our guests to always carry the exact sum of 35 US dollars with them while proceeding through immigration. Other airports, like Banda Aceh, still charge for issuing visas. If you want to stay longer you can get a 60-day tourist visa at the Indonesian Embassy. The exact process and documents required will vary depending on your nationality, the country you apply in and the kind of your stay in Indonesia. The validity of your passport should be 6 months from the date of arrival in Indonesia.

Health

• You should take out comprehensive insurance with good medical cover in advance. Please note that travel insurance is within the personal responsibility of each traveler and should cover accidents, injury or loss of personal property!
• Please consult your doctor in advance and discuss your individual medication (Tetanus and Hepatitis vaccination, anti-rabies inoculation…) and get his advice on malaria prophylaxis. Basically you should use an insect repellent all day whilst in the jungle (Deet > 40%) and wear long sleeves/trousers during sunset when the mosquitoes are at their most active. There are mosquitoes around Bukit Lawang but we have had no reports on malaria infection in recent years – but there is always a risk since mosquitoes can be dangerous all over Southeast Asia!
• You need to be fit enough for strong exercise if you plan to do treks over a few days. A general health check with your doctor is an absolute necessity before travelling to the Sumatran jungle and lies within the responsibility of each guest.
• Please note that in and around Gunung Leuser National Park you will mostly be out in the wild and that the tours arranged by us Bukit Lawang Adventure include: traveling in mountain terrain, trekking in dense rainforest and crossing rivers; unpredictable behavior of wildlife; accidents caused by the forces of nature; accidents or illness in remote regions with little or no medical facilities and without any means of rapid or free evacuation; accidents caused by Indonesian traffic.
• You should inform us about your personal health conditions like high blood pressure, allergies, operations, pregnancy and fear of special insects, heights or darkness in advance!
• In order to keep you as safe as possible you have to abide by the rules and instructions given to you by us and our guides at all times. Please note that the tour operator is not liable for any damages or injuries suffered in consequence of anything, however caused, in connection with services carried out by third parties and for death or personal injury.

 

WHAT TO BRING?

 

 

The climate here is hot and humid so it’s best to wear loose fitting, cotton clothing.

If you do jungle trekking you don’t really need special clothing or equipment but there are a few useful things to have especially if you’re camping in the jungle overnight such as a headtorch and sleeping bag liner etc.

 

• light clothes like T-shirts and shorts (daytime)
• long and thin trousers and sleeved shirts in bright colour (evening and night time because of the mosquitos), a sweater can be great for cooler nights in the jungle
• change of clothes (if staying overnight)
• 1 small waterproof/ water resistant bag, liner or  day backpack 
• water refill bottle 
• comfortable good walking shoes/ boots for jungle treks
• flip flops during an overnight trek for the time you spend at the campsite
• light and warm socks, long knee-high socks against leeches
• raincoat/ waterproof jacket, plastic or waterproof bag for your personal belongings
• hut, sunglasses, sun lotion, insect repellent, toilet paper
• camera, mobilphone and cards
• light sleeping bag, mosquitonet and flashlight/ headtorch
• swimming suit and travel towel
• personal medical kit and recommended medicine like anti diarrhea medicine, dehydration salt, aspirin and antibiotic
• MONEY because there are no cashpoints in Bukit Lawang; but money changer are available