Almost A World Tour!

To set the scene, The Gibbon Experience is essentially a nature reserve which has been set up in the Bokeo forest in very Northern Laos. The project was created to help protect the Nomascus Concolor Lu Gibbons which were once thought to be extinct but have been living in this part of the forest for many generations. By taking part in the project not only are you providing funds but also helping to raise awareness - sounded like a good enough reason to us.

Theoretically it is a 2 to 3 hour drive from Huay Xai to the start of the forest and then a further hours trek to the reserve. It all started well and we were approx 1 hour into the drive when we stopped for lunch. It had been raining alot the past few days so the roads were really, really muddy, so muddy it turned out that the truck we were meant to all change into was stuck on the way to pick us up. We waited for an hour or so before the guide said we have no choice to walk the final 14km's. So we got our waterproofs on and set off thinking this won't take too long. It soon became apparent the going was pretty dreadful even by foot, we had to wade through rivers, balance over rickety old bridges and trudge through deep mud. After 6 very long hours of walking we arrived at the village completely covered in mud and pretty tired.

We were met by another guide who would take us the final hours trek to the reserve (which ended up taking 2 hours). Little did we know that this would be the most extreme trekking we had done so far. There was barely a path as it had been washed away so most of the time you were having to be extremely careful not to put a foot wrong unless you would fall over the edge. We all made it in one piece although there was plenty of complaints from some members of the the group. Where was their sense of adventure..?

Our home for the next three days was a treehouse 100 meters in the air. The only way to get into the treehouse was by zipline so after a brief breather for some water and pineapple we got strapped into our harnesses and prepared to take flight for the first time. It was now 7pm and dark so we had to just push off the launch platform and aim for the lights of the treehouse. It was a pretty amazing feeling to be flying through the air in the darkness. After showers, dinner was served and we all hit the sack exhausted.

The real treat came the following morning when we were woken by the sounds of the gibbons singing, I climbed for underneath my mozzie net and saw the full treehouse and forest for the first time. It was unbelievable, I couldn't believe how high we were, the views were absolutely stunning we were just surrounded by trees. After breakfast we were given a quick safety and procedure talk about using the ziplines and then allowed to go and play.

There are four treehouses in total and they are all connected by a network of ziplines some running as long as 300 meters and the highest being 250 meters above the ground. Most of went out with one the guides to try and spot some gibbons. Doing my first zipline in the daylight was pretty spectacular as this time you could actually see how high you were and you had to climb the main tree holding up the treehouse and zip out over the side. This was probably the best day I have had travelling so far as we spent the day zipping and trekking around the forest. It didn't take long from us to graduate from novice zippers to one-handed, leaning right back in the harness and zipping like the guides. We had such a great time.

That evening when we all settled down for dinner I felt something on my leg, I just presumed it was another mozzie bite but when I rolled up my trouser leg I realised I had two leeches trying to suck me dry of blood. The weird thing is that you don't feel it at all at first and when you get them off they bleed like hell, apparently they have an anti blood clot agent in their bite.

On our final day we had to leave the reserve at 10am in order to get back before dark. There had been even more rain so there was speculation as to whether we would have to do another 6 hour walk. We did our final zip back to the HQ and set off on the initial walk back to the village. When we arrived there was no car so we waited and waited and waited some more until Hannah (a volunteer worker who was teaching the Laos guides English) said we had better start walking. Well all hell broke loose as these two American girls who were in our group went mental saying there is no way they could walk as they had blisters from the the walk on the first day. It was pretty funny they were so dramatic, threatening law suits and all sorts. We just started walking.

After about 45 mins we saw the truck which was dropping off the next batch of people so we waited for it to come and pick us up. We all piled in (all 13 of us with our 2 guides on the roof) and started what was the most extreme off-roading I have ever seen. The roads we were so deep with mud that the truck kept getting stuck but the driver was so good that he always got us out even when all thought there was no way he could.

We changed into two smaller pick-ups at the half way point and myself, Mark, Hannah and Chico (one of the guides who we had got on really well with) got stuck with the banger. Despite having chains on the wheels the pick-up got stuck at least 6 times on the way back, each time we had to all jump out and push it out of the mud. We had a good laugh with it though getting covered in mud and there are some pretty funny photo's to follow.

It was so good to get in a proper shower when we arrived back in Huay Xai, we were filthy and it has taken about 3 days to get myself properly clean. We spent that evening drinking our last Beerlao's with Hannah and Chico reminiscing about our 3 day adventure. It has been by far the best thing I have done whilst travelling, anyone heading over to Laos should definitely check it out!

Our next stop - Chiang Mai

After all the excitement of death defying tubing in Vang Vieng our next stop was Luang Prabang for some much needed R&R. Eric and Mel who we had been hanging out with in Vang Vieng were also heading that way so we all got the bus together.

Luang Prabang itself is really stunning, an incredible collection of Buddhist and French colonial architecture against a drop back of mountains. We found ourselves a really nice guesthouse on the banks of the Mekong River which was run by a very chilled out family. I was chatting to one of the son's about Laos and how I really liked it when he said he though the best thing about Laos was the beerlao which he declared "very, very delicious!" made me laugh - maybe you had to be there...

We visited the Royal Palace Museum which provides a real insight into the local history as this was the residence of King Sisavangvong and his family. The king died in 1959 and his son Savang Vattana inherited the throne, but shortly after the 1975 revolution he and his family were exiled to northern Laos and the palace was converted into a museum. So no-one can say I wasn't listening but I appreciate this must be abit boring for you guys so no more culture talk.

We also went to more waterfalls which to be fair weren't the most impressive waterfalls ever but you could swim in them and jump off the top into the water and there was also a rope swing thing you can swing on and then let go. So once we had done the usual teetering around the edge for 10 mins not wanting to go in because the water is cold we had lots of fun jumping and swinging off things.

There were alot of monks in Luang Prabang (presumably because there are a few temples) but these are cool monks who like to hang out man. They were at the night market, cash points and internet cafes looking all cool in their orange robes and shaved heads. I was doing a spot of emailing one day when a monk came in and started using the machine next to me to chat up some birds on MSN - I'm not sure Buddha would have approved it was getting pretty fizzy!

After 4 days in Luang Prabang it was time to move on, the fact you couldn't get a beer after 11pm didn't have anything to do with the decision. We were heading further north to Huay Xai as we plan to move onto northern Thailand and also because we had had a trip called "The Gibbon Experience" highly recommended by some mates we met in Vietnam. There are two ways of getting to Huay Xai, either by slow boat which takes 2 days or by speedboat which takes 6 hours. To save time we opted for the speed boat. Now I was expecting a James Bong style speed boat where I could lay in the roof working on my tan but then I remembered I was in Laos and that transport is always rather on the basic side.

When we arrived at harbor the following day we were both pretty shocked by this speed boat, not only was it tiny and apparently took 8 people but it also didn't look too sturdy. We were issued with a crash helmets and a lifejacket and took to our tiny seat (so small your knee's were round your ears) and off we sped. It was pretty scary at first as it was pretty nippy and you were sat about 3 inches above the water but we arrived safe and sound. There are some comedy photo's to follow.

Our next stop - The Gibbon Experience

Sabadee Bloggers

So we are back in Laos and I can't believe Vientaine is the capital. It is so small and chilled out, a complete constrast to the hussle and bussle of Vietnam but I like it.

We met a nice British couple (Jim and Kate) on the flight over so we all shared a taxi into town in search of a guesthouse. We ended up in a $3 USD a night place, I am even impressing myself with my economising now adays. We all went for lunch and it turns out that Jim and Kate are also from Clapham - it really is a small world. We all spent the afternoon exploring Vientiane.

That evening we went out for beers with Jim (Kate was really knackered so she stayed in). The best thing about being back in Laos is Beerlao - probably the nicest beer in the world and Lao-lao the rice whiskey which is probably the most lethal drink in the world.

We were getting well stuck into the pitchers of Beerlao when a group of Chinese people on the next table asked us to jion them. There was one guy who spoke really good English and the others spoke limited English but they were keen to learn. They were a lively bunch and in Laos for a fortnights holiday so it wasn't long before the Lao-lao made an appearence. Then the camera came out and they all took photo's of us - it was abit nice but abit wierd. As we were all chatting it was apparent that there was one guy who seemed to be the ringleader of thier group, he was a really nice guy and when our bill came he insisted on paying for all our drinks. He then insisted on us going onto a club with them, paying for our entrance fee and even more drinks. We were all convinced he was some sort of chinese mafia boss - there was no way he would let you pay for anything all night.

The club was full of young Laos people so we had a great night dancing with them all. They have these funny dances they do so I picked up a few new moves, I can't wait to hit Inferno's with them when I get back. When the Chinese people left he was really thankful for us hanging out with them. We were just all relieved to wake up the following morning minus horses heads in our beds!

We left the club at 4am and were really hungry so we stopped off at a food stall on our way back home. We sat with more locals and ordered some sticky rice and what I thought were chicken schewers. The food was going down pretty well but the chicken was pretty chewing and it didn't really taste like chicken. I asked one of locals we were sat with and to my horror was told we were infact feasting on chicken hearts - nice! You need to be careful in Laos as apprently they eat anything that they believe has nutritional benefit.

Two days was long enough for Vientiane so we got a bus up to Vang Vieng. It's a tiny place and so laid back its unbelievable. There is only really one main road where all the restaurants and bars are but whats really wierd is that they all show Friends and Simpsons episodes all day long. However, now I'm sports expert we opted for the men's Wimbledon final and the World Cup final - I didn't get bored once!

The following day we went for a traditional Lao massage, I was pretty exhausted after watching all that sport to be honest. I swear to God I have never been in so much pain in my life. I mean massages are meant to be relaxing right? But I would never of thought such a tiny Lao person could inflict so much pain! I felt pretty beaten up by the end after having had my entire body pumelled, pulled, stretched, twisted and cracked. He even cracked my earlobes for god sake! He was laughing at me so much because I spent the entire hour wincing in pain.

Our last day in Vang Vieng was pretty active. We hired Mountain Bikes in the morning and set off to find these wicked caves. It was pretty short-lived, Mark lost the map after 5 minutes on the road so we just kind of cruised round decided to go Tubing instead.

Tubing is like Vang Viengs national sport. The concept is very simple, you are issued with an inflated tractor inner tube, dropped off a few km's up the road and you float back down the Nam Xong river to the tubing place.

It all started off well, we met another British guy at the start so we all floated merrily down the river chatting away. They have bars every 30 or so mins where a guy will pull you in and you can stop for a cold beer and jump off a massive rope swing into the river so we did that a few times. We were told at our last beer stop we only had 10 mins till the end of the route. Now my tube has been abit slow which had been an ongoing joke with Mark and Eric so I noticed the middle of the river had developed quite an impressive current so I decide to get myself in the middle of that.

The next minute I'm flying down the river past the others and as we turn the corner its the end of the route. Mark and Eric get pulled in by the guys no problem but I'm too far out still picking up speed. It's when I turn the next corner that I begin to panic. There is no-one else in the river as far as I can see. I decide the best thing to do is abort my tube and swim to the side. I fling myself into the river, prompted loose both my flip-flops (which I really liked) and frantically swim to the side dragging the bloody tube with me. I manage to get myself onto the bank feeling pretty relieved. There is however a big barbed wire fence running down the bank of the river. I have no option but to scale the barbed wire fence with my bare feet being very careful not to puncture my tube. I then limp shamefully and abit shaken back to the tubing place to meet the guys.

Tubing in Vang Vieng - good fun but its not a race!

Our next stop - Luang Prabang

Dear Bloggers,

For my last update we had just arrived in Pakse Laos. We only ended up staying there one night, it was very much a stop over place so there wasnt too much to do so we decided to keep it short and sweet. We did end up drinking with a couple that evening who had just come back from an Island called Don Det in Si Pan Don which is where we were planning on heading for the next day so the rucksacks were packed and we hit the road.

It's a 3 hour bus ride down south to Si Pan Don, as I was still getting into my travelling grove I was thinking more along the lines of the 88 then the big Tuk Tuk style vehicle we ended up on. This time I was definately getting a seat! It was again packed full of locals who had all gone to the market apart from this other white guy sat right at the back. Now I don't think I actually know any psycho's but I've seen them in films and he definately had this kind of psychotic look about him - oh and he only had one ear which was abit wierd....

We set off and about 2 hours into the journey the pyscho looking guy suddenly started going all pyscho and shouting at all the Laos people really agressively in english but with a really thick foreign accent. They were all just looking at me and Mark so we tried to find what he was banging on abit but he said he had a story to tell and he was going to finish it. About 5 mins later he shut up again.

Just as we were arriving at Si Pan Don (the bus thing was pretty quite by now) he started talking to me, apparently 2 of his mates had been shot a year ago (no idea where - didn't like to ask) so he was angry about that - hence the outburst. So we got chatting and I said we wanted to get to Don Det but wasnt sure which boat we needed. He actually lived there so he helped us get a boat across the Mekong River and he was actually really helpful but he disappeared as soon as we arrived, I think I hid my relief well.

We sorted ourselves out with a guesthouse and met a girl from the Netherlands who was staying next door so we went out and had some food and beers with her. As Don Det is such a small island it only has electricity until 10pm at night be she said the bar next to our guesthouse plays music till late so we decided to check it out. The bar, restaurant and shop is owned by a Laos family but there are two british guys (Martin & Andy) who help them run it. After 10pm they use a tractor battery to power the lighting and music so people tended to go there for late drinks. Needless to say we bonded over Laos Laos which is a tradtional Laos rice whiskey with them all. Martin actually had a pet monkey called Squeekie who chilled out at the bar cuddling you and then ran off with your beer (it was called the Monkey Bar)

We spent the next few days exploring Don Det on bikes we had hired, the island is set right on the bank of the Mekong River so it was really stunning. They have a rare breed of Dolphin which we didn't manage to see but we did see some pretty impressive waterfalls.

A few night later whilst we were drinking Laos Laos in the Monkey Bar, Andy decided we should go for a BBQ on Don Pom which is a tiny island not in any guide books so there are hardly any travellers going. We had got really friendly with a Canadian guy and a guy from Brighton so it would be a laugh. The next day we all set off in Mr Tong's (the owner of the bar) boat to this other island. Mr Tong and his Laos mates build a BBQ from scratch and cooked all this really nice fish and traditional Laos food whilst we chilled out drinking beers by the waterfalls. We had a really good day.

After 5 days on Don Det we decided we had better move on at risk of getting too settled so we got tickets sorted - next stop Cambodia.

Set off this morning to complete our quest to get into Loas.

Spent most of the day travelling on various Tuk-Tuk's and buses to Chong Mekin in order to cross the boarder. The nice girls on reception at our hotel sent us in the wrong direction originally so we actually spent about 2 hours doubling back on ourselves (but how we laughed..!) and one of the bus drivers kindly stuck on some Thai Kareoke which made the time just fly by...

Finally got there, exited Thailand then wandered down the road a few minutes and got our Visa's and entry to Loas. All went without a hitch although I did somehow end up paying a twice but I didn't fancy a debate when he was holding my passport to ransom!

Got the Sawngthaew (like a big Tuk-Tuk) down to Pakse, they allow about twice as many people on these things as there are seats so I hung off the outside with the locals (like to think I made a few friends - the banter was limited but good) apart from there was this old guy with a net full of little birds (the feathered variety) which freaked me out abit.

Found ourselves some decent accommodation in Pakse, recon we will stay for about two nights as we only have a 15 day visa and quite abit to see.

Next stop Si Phan Don in deeper southern Loas which is meant to be stunning.

For now a few beers, Loas brews its own beer "Beer Loa" it's going down a treat!