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We had to fly into Laos as we didn't really realise that we had to get 900 miles on a bus in about a day!! So we arrived very early and very hungover in Luang Prabang and had a brief explore of the town before we caught an overnght bus to Huay Xai that evening...or the bus from hell as we liked to call it! It was sooo bumpy and windy and we're pretty sure the driver didn't know where the break pedal was! Needless to say we slept a lot the next day before checking in with the Gibbon Experience.
The next morning we drove for 3 hours to get to where the Gibbon Experience was which involved driving straight through a river and up very muddy and uneven ground, wondering when the jeep was going to get stuck and/or topple over! After a tough 1 hour uphill walk we reached the base camp and began zipping. Some of the zip wires were 340m long and 150m high and had the most amazing views of the Laos jungle as you sped through the tree tops. Our tree house also had an incredible panoramic view and we spent that afternoon just admiring the beautiful scenery.
At 6.15am we were awoken by our guide zipping into our treehouse offering for us to go for a walk to spot gibbons...little did we know what was ahead of us! We were immediately taken right into the depths of jungle, trekking through very very steep hills that were so wet and muddy you had to hang on to whatever was nearby to stop yourself from slipping backwards into the jungle never to be seen again! A lot of swearing under our breath took place and after about 5 mins we really didn't care if we saw gibbons anymore, just wanted to survive!!In the meantime our guide was practically skipping away up ahead and wearing only flip flops!!
The rest of our time there was spent zipping about and having fun. Unknowingly we ate dog meat for lunch but all agreed afterwards that it was really nice! After 3 days in the jungle we got back on the bus from hell and back to Luang Prabang where we met up with 3 friends we travelled with in Vietnam and spent 2 days cycling around, visiting the night market and watching the sunset from a temple on a hill in the middle of the town.
Our next stop was Vang Vieng where we did the infamous 'tubing.' You hire a big rubber ring and float down the river; getting pulled into makeshift bars by the locals with long poles and mucking about jumping off ropeswings into the river. It was brilliant fun and we all wished we had had longer there. The following day we left for Vientiane where we met up with our tour guide from Cambodia, Mara. Was so lovely to see her again and saw her again for lunch the next day before we got the bus then train back to Bangkok which is where we are now. We fly back home tonight so intend to do some serious shopping on Khao San Road with what money we have left over!
We have had a fantastic time and met so many great people, many of whom we will definitely see again. We are also already planning our next trip so watch this space! Hope you have all enjoyed seeing our pictures and hearing about what we have been up to. See you all tomorrow! Love from Char and Maz xxx
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