Confetti, Mud, and Orangutans: My Unforgettable Sumatran Adventure

Written by Andy, Orangutan Haven Field Trip 2026

When I booked my trip to Sumatra with Raw Conservation Adventures, I thought I knew exactly what I was getting myself into.

I had read the itinerary. I knew I was signing up for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure: volunteering at a world-class facility, helping the staff at Orangutan Haven improve the lives of the animals in their care, and trekking into the jungle for the chance to see orangutans living in the wild. It sounded incredible.

What I didn't realize was that I would be getting everything promised on the website plus a completely unexpected cultural experience that I will never forget.  And it involved running, confetti, torrential rain, mud, banana trees, ice-cold beer, and getting gloriously, completely lost in the middle of Sumatra.

“It’s Just a Little Fun Run…”

Throughout our time at Orangutan Haven, our group leader Amy kept talking about a “fun run” that we should all go on. She described it as a short, relaxing skip through the countryside, where we'd be rewarded with great local food and cold beers at the end. This sounded right up my alley!

Group leader Amy and I just before the “little fun run”

I'm a runner back home in Canada. I run marathons and adventure races, so the idea of getting out for a run and exploring a new country sounded fantastic. Add great food and cold beer at the finish line, and I was sold. What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, pretty much everything.

But in the best possible way.

Welcome to the Hash House Harriers

Sumatra was my first introduction to the wonderfully bizarre world of the Hash House Harriers, an international running and social club. Hashing combines running, exploration, games, food and drinks to make for an absolutely amazing night out in North Sumatra! 

Our instructions seemed simple enough. Follow the confetti. Keep it on your right. Easy.

Hash confetti - sprinkled on the right side of the trail, runners call out ‘‘on, on’’ when they find it to inform runners behind them

We headed out into the countryside, and almost immediately I realized this was going to be one of the most beautiful runs I'd ever experienced.

The Run

The terrain was magical. Steep climbs led us to spectacular viewpoints overlooking lush green valleys. Then came sharp descents through banana plantations before the trail plunged us into beautiful, clear, cold streams. Every corner brought something new.

We'd spot a tiny scattering of confetti and cheerfully follow it, wondering where it would take us next. It was less like running a predetermined route and more like playing an enormous, tropical game of hide-and-seek.

A river crossing on the trail

Then it started raining.

And when I say raining, I mean RAINING. I have never seen rain like this in my life.

It came down in torrents. Within minutes, the trails transformed into muddy rivers and the carefully scattered confetti markers began disappearing beneath the water.

But we were in the middle of the jungle! We couldn't just stop.

We slid down a long, muddy hill, grabbing onto banana trees to slow our descent. At one point, we spotted a single piece of confetti and celebrated like we'd discovered buried treasure. We climbed the next hill, carefully avoiding 10-centimetre spikes jutting out from the vegetation.

Another piece of confetti. Success!

Then we trudged through an ever-rising river and spotted another tiny marker on the far shore. We followed it.

The trail disappeared.

Clambering up unmarked trails in search of the finish line

Lost in Sumatra

There we were. In the middle of Sumatra. Soaking wet. Covered in mud. Night approaching quickly. And completely lost. And somehow…

we were loving every second of it!

We knew we couldn't be too far from the finish. We'd already been running for nearly 45 minutes, and we'd been told the course was only about five kilometres long.

So we decided to try every possible route.

Every time we reached a fork in the trail, we'd split up. Two people went one way. Two went the other. We'd search the trail, hunt for the smallest scrap of confetti, and then report back. Then we'd do it again.

And again.

And again.

We must have gone down a hundred different trails. Eventually, though, something wonderful happened. We heard music.

Music!

Somewhere beyond the jungle, the unmistakable sound of the finish line was getting louder. We had found it! We sprinted through the final stretch of jungle and arrived (last but alive) to an incredibly warm welcome from all the other runners. I don't think I've ever been happier to finish a run.

Food, Beer, and the Hash Circle

The reward was everything we'd been promised and more.

We spent the rest of the evening eating outstanding local food, drinking ice-cold beer and swapping stories with the Hash House Harriers about our adventure.

And this was the part that made the experience truly special. We weren't simply tourists watching a cultural tradition from the sidelines.

We were welcomed into it.

Drinking cold beer after a Hash run is part of the fun

We sang songs. We joined the hash circle. We laughed about getting lost. We listened to stories from the local runners and shared our own.

For one evening, I wasn't just someone visiting Sumatra. I was part of the group.

And that is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

Our Hash running team

The Experience I Didn't Know I Was Looking For

Genuine cultural experiences are so often advertised when we travel.

“Authentic.”

“Local.”

“Off the beaten path.”

“Experience the real culture.”

Sometimes those promises deliver. Very often, they don't. This was different.

Standing there that night, surrounded by people we'd met only hours earlier, covered in the evidence of our ridiculous adventure, I looked around and realized something:

I was probably one of the only tourists who would ever experience Sumatra this way. And that made it incredibly special.

My trip with Raw Conservation Adventures had already given me exactly what I had hoped for—the opportunity to contribute at Orangutan Haven, learn about conservation, work alongside the incredible people caring for these animals and venture into the jungle in search of wild orangutans.

But the “little fun run”? That became one of the highlights of the entire trip.

It wasn't little. It wasn't particularly relaxing. And I'm still not entirely convinced it was only five kilometres. But it was one of the most beautiful, wild and unforgettable runs I've ever experienced.

There are trips where you see amazing things. There are trips where you learn amazing things.

And then there are trips where you find yourself standing knee-deep in the mud, soaking wet, laughing with complete strangers in a country thousands of kilometers from home, wondering how on earth you ended up there—and realizing this is exactly where you were supposed to be.

That was Sumatra for me.

Confetti, mud, orangutans, rain, friendship, food, beer and one unforgettable adventure.

I wouldn't change a thing.