Raffles
In the forest (2)

After a long journey and a long time we arrived in the middle of the forest. Here the atmosphere becomes more sinister, large and tall trees began to be found, the flow of river currents increasingly swift plus the dark days make the atmosphere a little gripping.

Raffles and the other porters are nowhere to be seen with us. Maybe they arrived first at camp. Only two porters were left to accompany our trip. They're local village lads. It is said that in this forest there are still inland tribes who inhabit. In some corners of the forest there are still tribal houses. Sure enough after walking further and further we found a small hut that looked uninhabited. According to the story of the porter who accompanied us, it was a house abandoned by tribal people because they chose to come out of the forest and participate in the community empowerment program held by the inland tribe of the national park. Tribal people who agreed to come out of the forest will be given a house in the village even though it is small but still livable.

The hut that we found was only one of the few that had been abandoned by its inhabitants.According to the porters in the forest there are still many tribal people who do not want to be taken to the village and prefer to live in the forest. According to them, the community also does not like to be disturbed by the arrival of new people. They could kill if they feel disturbed. Duhhh, the more scary the story.

"Take out each flashlight because it will soon be dark" said Mr. Rolan. Sure enough it's 5 in the afternoon but we still haven't reached camp. We probably took a break during the trip. I asked one of the porters who helped me cross the river. "Bang, is it far away? my tokyoo".Ah no longer, soon we will arrive, he replied lightly.

How far away is it? I asked again. Only about twice a round, replied the porter again. Okay, I think those two rounds aren't far away. But what is this? the two rounds he was referring to were the two hills we had to cross. Jeez dragon, when did it come this way. We've run out of energy, even hungry again.

There was no time to complain, we kept going until someone from the front was screaming. " Heiiii, quickly camp is near the screams".He is Farhan one of our friends who can't wait to get to camp. He tried his hardest to get to the very front.Actually pity him for the countless number of times it fell in the forest and inside the sungao. I think his feet were bruised by that river stone.

Hearing Farhan's cry we hurried to speed up the pace. The closer to the camp is the smell of indomie which is so fragrant. It turns out memei is already cooking dinner. Our camp was just a tarp arranged lined up and tied to a large tree nearby. Inside the tent there is a gunny sack that has been arranged neatly with a pole to form a mattress. That's where we'll sleep and each person gets one bed. In front of the camp was the river that we had passed. Drinking water and cooking needs we took from there, while to bathe us in the river behind the camp. The river is clean and the water is very clear. There are still plenty of fish and shrimp in the river. Mr. Roland said tomorrow night if there wasn't much work for him, the porters and boys would go down to the river looking for shrimp. Good for extra side dishes.

The camp is not equipped with electricity. Ngawur, where there is electricity in the middle of the forest. The lighting we had was just from the flashlight each plus the two oil lamps the porter carried. Can't play hp here, no signal. Even if there's a signal, our battery doesn't exist. No time to be charged because the main priority when in the office is a camera to be charged. The camera is very important to document all our activities later.

We only eat with side dishes of fried salted fish plus indomie every day.Fortunately if there are animals caught when we go into the forest to retrieve the data,or if there are shrimp that are successfully brought to the camp we will eat well. But this is precisely the art, when the seizure of side dishes or even the remaining rice. Understand the heavy work if you have entered the forest to take data so easily hungry.

Nothing is made, everyone is what they are at a time like this. Even we could have a casual chat with the police and army man who came with us. They are all like friends and family. But what caught my attention the most was the little boy. Yes, Raffles. The boy never complained in the slightest, it seemed like he was enjoying this moment very much. He always looks cheerful even sometimes he helps us wash the dishes in the river.

Because memei is already cooking, we make a schedule per person to wash dishes used food.

Everyone should help each other. Waking up in the morning is the most fun thing in this camp. Seeing the sun start to rise, the aroma of memei cuisine, the longer the river flow is more pleasant to hear if I think. And one of the most pleasant things is to see friends when praying at dawn. Although not praying like them, but I was always happy if the morning saw them praying crowded with one person in front as a priest. Even those who rarely pray at this camp are suddenly diligent.

Our activities are divided into several parts and we have been grouped into several squads. One of the squads that I think is the greatest is those who every day go in and out of the forest to look for caves and do research in them. Just imagine the forest floor is always wet not to mention the invisibility of sunlight has made this forest scary, What if you have to enter the cave as well? But they're great, even if they always go home to camp the very night but never grumble.

My team is the most independent camp version of the team. We who only consist of three people must enter the forest every day without an escort because not enough people. We could have been accompanied by a field companion but pity if the other squad was not there to accompany. Because if so, they will not get the data. Those of us in charge of researching plants can bring samples to the camp to work with a companion at night, but how those who observe birds can not catch it. That's why it's not what we are independent of. But there were always funny events and stories that the three of us experienced every time we went into the forest.