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I have just had the most amazing three days of my life! Waking up early to pick up last minute jungle supplies like gloves for zip lining and choccie biscuits to fuel the 3 hour trek on the first day I was unsure what to expect from the Gibbon Experience, especially since it was a whopping 2mn kip! Worth every penny I might add. Got to the shop for 8.30am briefing which was a comically filmed safety video about harnesses and safety clips made all the more funny by the fact the model demonstrating the harness was wearing a traditional Laos skirt (basically a sarong tied around the waist), along with some plinky plonky jazz- nice. After that we were loaded like cattle into a tuk tuk and driven 2 hours into the Bokeo Nature Reserve. Within 5 minutes of trekking up hill all of us were soaked in our own sweat it was boiling, I was drinking water like it was going out of fashion. Stupidly I had laughed at Stephen for wanting to carry 3 bottles of water on the hike saying it was only 3 hours...wish I'd bought three!
Our guides were from the Hmong hill tribes, the whole idea behind the Gibbon project was to give the locals incentives not to chop down the jungle which has led to large scale loss of habitat for the gibbon and instead get the locals to guide around the jungle instead. The two boys, Vuu who was 22, and Thuy shon who was only 18 were like gibbons themselves and they jumped on and off the zip lines devil may care whilst the rest of us new bloods checked, double checked, and triple checked to make sure the safety carabiner was attached properly and then the zip line device before tentatively stepping off the platform. But oh once you let go and launched yourself from the trees it was incredible, it was like flying. The views of the jungle were fantastic we were right up in the trees (trekking and sweating had got us there mind) and when we got to our first treehouse for the night my heart did a little dance as I couldn't believe were I was getting to spend a night. We had to zipline right into the treehouse which was built 60 m or 200ft high around a tree. The long drop in the bathroom really deserved its name!
After delivering us the the house the boys got a break and we got to go exploring...i.e. ziplining for a couple of hours!! After showers in the treehouse watching the sunset as I showered (completely open air) the boys ziplined into the house with dinner- perfect!! Much to Patrick's dismay no Beer Laos was served up alongside but he had sneaked in a bottle of very strong banana and cinnamon liquer!
Stephen had said to Vu he'd give him some English phrases and after seeing Vu look very confused at 'sneaky slimy snake' I ended up chattering away to him for an hour and a half helping him write down expressions and questions he could use as a guide. He seemed very pleased and teacher Kate truimphed in the jungle!
Next day we were all up and left at 6am to hunt around for gibbons, we heard their call through the jungle but our guides said they reckoned they were at least 2 hours away. We had fun ziplining though, probably best to have a cup of coffee before the first zipline out of the treehouse it was a bit scary as enormous drop!
Breakfast was true Laos styley of rice and vegetables and identifiable meat in egg. But went down a treat after the morning's trek. We spent the day walking to our next treehouse right by the waterfalls. Another sweaty day but the waterfall and pool beneath it was perfect for swimming and our guides joined in the fun in the water.
When we got to the house I was suprised to discover a resident cat! Apparently she enjoys living up there and the boys regularly zip line her to and from the kitchen but she prefers the treehouse. She didn't have a name apart from 'Meow' so we've renamed her 'Mekong'! When we got back to the house after the swimming and yet more ziplining someone pointed out Thuy shon had brought his notebook and English book, they teased me saying he's waiting for his English lesson now! So of course I couldn't not help him out too, he wanted to learn the body bits. I figured out only too late after talking to him for ages that he'd never been to school and so even though he was writing words in his book he didn't know how to read. Wish I'd had more time to help, he seemed to be learning so much just from speaking with guests but still so much he needed to learn.
I got a little bit cocky and started filming the zip lines, only I had taken off my gloves for one of the big ones and as I neared the jump off bit I didn't quite make it and because I didn't have my gloves on I couldn't grab onto the wire to pull myself in. Not realising it was at a slope I suddenly started slipping back the way I'd come and pretty fast!! Eventually I wriggled back into my gloves and slowed myself down to a stop but I'd ended up right in the middle of the zipline hovering 60 m in the air on my harness. Suddenly not feeling so confident. I had to climb like a gibbon hand over hand all the way back to the jump off and was exhausted!! Have some great screaming footage of me and everyone saw it from the treehouse too so made for a good tale.
Day three and it was all over, a trek and a tuk tuk back to Houy Xai and it was all over. I booked my bus to Chiang Mai for that night and arrived there at 11.30pm.
- comments
mum WOW!!!!!!!! amazing What a girl ! loved the story about the fall & teaching the boy - what Katie did next!
Lynz Katie, this sounds amazing!! x