The above image offers a glimpse into my failed attempt to create one of those Instagram-influencer-style don’t-you-wish-you-were-me-in-this-beautiful-waterfall type videos.
It all started out innocently enough, when I was riding my motorbike around western Sumatra’s waterfall-studded Harau Valley. I’m not sure what the name of this waterfall is. I initially assumed it was called “Dilarang Merusak Lingkungan,” as per the sign at the trailhead, but Google Translate later told me this means: “Don’t Damage the Environment.”
Whatever the case, the hike in was not difficult, and I had the place to myself. After enjoying the lower waterfall for a while I saw a steep trail that allows you to reach an even higher cascade, which (with the help of some sketchy nylon fixed ropes) leads up to a gorgeous, roaring jungle waterfall halfway up the ridge.
Once I’d clambered to the upmost waterfall I stripped down and jumped in the pool, where I splashed around and unselfconsciously treaded water in the fine mist for about 15 minutes.
It was bliss. Or at least it was bliss, until I realized it might be cool to share my waterfall experience on Instagram.
I set up my phone-camera on a damp rock downstream and resumed my frolic in the waterfall. Unfortunately, this mainly yielded footage of my (not particularly tanned or hirsute) head bobbing around, barely visible in the deluge. To even be seen in the video, I would have to stand in the water and (in true Instagram style) play-act my previously insouciant enjoyment of the waterfall.
Friends, I have chosen to share only a snippet of the resulting video, since the first several minutes feature me slipping off of various rocks while trying to stand under the force of the falling water. By this time it had started to rain, and I absently began to ponder what a flash flood might look like in a place like this.
Hence the footage you see here: Of me suddenly wondering if the circumference of the waterfall’s deluge had widened (it had), and if the water around the rock that held my phone-camera was rising (it was).
This is, in essence, a 20-second depiction of me opting out of the whole stage-your-pristine-jungle-waterfall-experience-for-Instagram business.
Note: “Dispatches” are short vignettes, profiles, and mini-essays written and posted from the road, often in tandem with my Instagram account. For more full-formed writing, check out my book Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, or the Essays or Stories archives on this site. I don’t host a “comments” section, but I’m happy to hear your thoughts via my Contact page.
Share This
