Orangutans And Public Relations

Saturday, October 27. Our objective today is to get to a small city north of Medan, Bukit Lawang. Near there is a famous Orangutan sanctuary we'll visit on Sunday. It's one of the few places in the world where you can easily see them in the wild.

Here's the problem. From Padang to Bukit Lawang is 24 hours by bus. Or, a one-hour flight to Medan plus 2-3 hours by car. Twenty four hours versus maybe four? We chose to fly, but on an airline that crashes about one out of every ten flights, so it was a cheap ticket. But we made it and we're in the car on the way to Bukit Lawang as I write this.

We spent much of today talking about Public Relations. Marty, who is an expert on planets, stars and galaxies, asked me if I knew what the largest planet is. I said, "Sure, Mars." He said it's Jupiter, and he wondered why I didn't know that. I told him it's because Mars has the better PR Department. They work hard to keep Mars in the news. Jupiter's PR staff is on flex time, and some are allowed to work from home, knocking off early each day to watch Judge Judy and Dr. Oz. Pluto's PR was so bad Pluto got kicked out of the Planetary Country Club.

Same thing with oceans. Marty can quote the exact square miles for each of the world's oceans. The Pacific is way, way larger than the Atlantic, yet which gets the best press? The Atlantic - better PR. The Arctic Ocean is almost unknown. That's because it has a one person department, the recently-divorced aunt of one of the administrators. She needed a job

It's now 10pm. We're at the Ecolodge - sort of a green/hippie hotel and lodge - near the Orangutan Sanctuary in Bukit Lawang. It's in a jungle. Arrived at about eight, ate dinner and now we're in our room. There's an honest to god orangutan outside our window making orangutan grunts. Accompanying the grunts is a cacophony of jungle sounds. It's a thrilling experience for me. Marty would call the front desk and tell them he can't sleep, but there's no phone in the room. Tomorrow we spend most of the day in the sanctuary. Videos of this place - searched, I suppose, under Bukit Lawang - may be on YouTube.