Swinging on a Rubber Band (The Gibbons Experience)

If someone had asked me at the beginning of my trip, what I was most excited for, I would have probably said "the gibbons experience". Now at the end of my trip, if people ask me what was the most challenging part of my trip, I'd probably say "the gibbons experience". The first day was amazing and exactly what I was excited about, but the second and third... Yeesh with a capital Y. 

The Gibbons Experience is a tree-top zip lining, mountainous jungle trekking eco adventure in Northern Laos in the Bokeo Nature Reserve. The name is rather misleading as it is incredibly rare to actually see gibbons or really much wildlife at all. However, the name could lend itself to the fact that you swing around on ziplines and sleep in treehouses, high off the jungle floor. We had picked the "waterfall" 2 night option where in addition to the classic treehouse/ziplines, you visit a small waterfall too. 

We started our adventure by piling into the back of a truck tuk-tuk and taking a windy two hour ride to get to the base camp (a small hillside village). We were then split into groups and joining Simon, Karen and I, were a friendly American couple: Rachel and Nick. The five of us met our guides and started the waterfall trek. We hiked about two - three hours when we reached the waterfall and maaaannn, after a month of eating rice and sitting on buses, that trek kicked my butt! A lot of uphill climbs and steep declines to get there. Quads of steel by the end of these three days!

It was at this point when I took out my camera to snap some pics, when I realized that although it was a good idea to charge my batteries the night before, it was not such a smart move to leave it in the charger in my big backpack. As such, I only managed a precious few pictures on my iPod. Doh!

Trekking in the jungle

The waterfall wasn't super impressive and ridiculously cold. Yet it was a welcome relief for our muddy, wet and hot feet. Nick was the first to jump in, while Rachel got her own free fish pedicure as the fish nibbled on her feet. After a bit, our guides came back with harnesses and we suited up for another hike to the ziplines. 

The ziplines were awesome. I love, love, love zip lining and so far have had the privilege of going about three times already in my life (England, Costa Rica, and Whistler). This time however, it was much more freelance. After we got to our treehouse (which we had to zip in and out of), we had free reign to zip around as much as we wanted to. We learned how to suit up, strap on and slow down pretty quickly. Helmets? Nah. Stuck a little far from the end? Pull yourself (or have Simon save you at one point!). It was awesome. The longest zip we went on was 500m over the forest canopy. Pretty damn awesome.

Zipping out of the Treehouse

The treehouse we stayed in was basic but functional. We slept on gym crash-mats, under what basically looked like a childhood blanket fort. The bathroom was a squatter toilet with a sink and a cold shower. There was drinking the water and meals were zipped in from kitchens nearby.

Our Second Treehouse

The first night after we ate dinner (vegetable mixes and rice), the five of us played a long game of "Bugger Your Neighbour" (my classic family cottage card game) before tucking in early. It was so loud trying to sleep with all the tree crickets! The morning came way too soon and we started the next days trek to another treehouse. 

After lunch and a mini-siesta, we went zipping on our own. It was a lot of fun,  until I started to feel really hot and gross. Thinking it was a bit of heat exhaustion, I ducked out a bit early and went back to the treehouse. Then, the disaster started. *Warning: TMI Susan is about to tell you probably more than you wanted to know* 

Non-stop vomiting from about 6pm to 1:30 am with the "exploding double ender" (throwback to first year uni and Giles/505 Bates for that phrase!). It was quite possibly the worst diarrhea I've ever had. Like a faucet. I didn't know that was even possible (how did I have anything left in me?!). Throwing up, gave way to dry heaves, gave way to flecks of blood. So imagine how awful that feels. Now put yourself on a squatter toilet, 100 m above ground. I definitely can take away some balancing/multi-tasking skills from this experience.

All that though, was not as tough as the hike back. There were no evac procedures, so I had to slowly make my way through the jungle back to the village. Thank you so much to everyone for being so patient with me and waiting while I was sick or had to poop in the jungle (I guess that's off the bucket list too?). I felt so bad for being such a drag on everyone. Even though they were an insanely challenging three hours, I made it and gratefully climbed onto the truck.

We decided the small village of Huay Xai was probably not the best place to seek medical attention, so after our bus to Thailand, we checked into a hospital in Chiang Rai. The Overbrook Hospital was clean and they spoke fairly good English. They gave me a crap ton of medicines as well as an IV shot of anti-nausea and anti-cramping meds. I felt so much better. I unfortunately saw nothing really of Chiang Rai except the hospital and my hotel room. 

Drugs, Drugs, Drugs....

The next day, I was feeling a bit better and began the trek to Hong Kong. We said goodbye to Rachel and Nick and took flights from Chiang Rai -- Bangkok -- Hong Kong. I spent the night at James' place before arriving at the airport this afternoon.

It was sad to say goodbye to Simon and Karen as they continue on to their trip to China. Despite the crappy end, I had an amazing trip. I saw ancient wonders, tried new foods, hung out with elephants, bartered at markets, rode crazy buses, relaxed on boats and made a million memories. Thanks Asia, it's been a blast.

Lovin' Laos!

So far, Laos has been my favourite country. Yeah, it may be a bit more expensive and it may be totally influenced by my elephant experience, but I'm loving the mellow, friendly vibes here. I didn't take many pictures as I was pretty pictured out after the elephants, so hopefully my words do it justice....

Luang Prabang is the second biggest city here and it feels more similar to Hoi An than Hanoi. Infrastructure isn't great and it's more like a cottage town than a city. Our hostel had amazing showers and good breakfasts so it made up for my prison like, bare bones dorm room.

We visited the night market more times than Simon wanted but I loved all the handicrafts available. I shouldn't have bought things anywhere else but here! No one harassed you or made you feel bad for saying no. There wasn't as much bartering as in Cambodia, but sometimes they'd go down a bit. I bought cute new slippers to wear back home in freezing Canada amongst a few other souvenirs. 

The food was a refreshing change from everywhere else. They have a strong French influence leftover from the colonial days, so baguettes and croissants were popular. I think I had about four baguettes there in my time ?one with tofu, so good!) Perfect amount as now I'm ready to go back to rice and noodle dishes.

The bar scene was pretty European/tourist influenced but I enjoyed them. We went to one called Icon Klub, which could easily pass for a bohemian styled bar on queen west. I splurged and got an expensive but amazing mojito. They also had the BEST WASHROOM in all of SE Asia. After squatters and no toilet paper, it was pretty epic.

The next night, we went to the famed Utopia, a backpacker oasis.  We ordered dinner, split some Beerlaos and enjoyed people watching. There are cushions and low seated tables with candlelight scattered everywhere under a big straw coned roof. There are Palm trees and lush gardens surrounding outdoor tables. There was some big long tables for rowdy patrons and a volleyball court and foosball table. It's up there on my all time favourite bars list.

Simon lounging in "Utopia"

On our way home, we stumbled upon some local guys playing what we thought was house-league volleyball. But after a second glance, it was something totally different. There were three guys on each side of the net and they would kick (like yoga gymnastics high kicks) a ball back and forth only using their heads or feet. We were fascinated for about 20 minutes. I later found out this sport is called sepak takraw and it's very popular in SE Asia (thanks Wikipedia!). We then kept walking in this area and there was a mini carnival and for 2,000 kip we played the "throw the darts at the balloon" game. Simon was able to get three in a row and won a Pepsi. There were monk milling around, Kids playing and adults lounging with Beerlao and BBQ. Pretty cool local Saturday night.

After our time in Luang Prabang, we packed up early and boarded the slowboat to take us to Huay Xai where we will join the Gibbons Experience for three days. The slowboat takes two days with a night stopover in the one-street town of Pak Beng. It's more advisable to do this than the bus (12 hrs) or fast boat (6 hrs but people have died on it).

It's called a Slowboat for a reason....

We did not prepare well on our first day. Opting to wear shorts and no socks, the cold Laos morning was brutal. Luckily, Karen had extra socks at least! We made a new friend, Claudia from Germany, and sat with her. It was nice because now her and I could share a room and cut down our costs as dorms were not an option in Pak Beng. 

Inside our Boat on Day 2

Cards (rummy and crazy 8s), boat bought noodles, reading, and naps took up the 8 and a half hours to Pak Beng. Our accommodations were decent and dinner at an Indian restaurant was delicious. The next morning we boarded for another 10 hours, albeit a bit more prepared with hoodies and sandwiches. We spent the night in Huay Xai, packing and eating. Next stop, our three day trek into the Namkam national park to do the Gibbons Experience where we trek for 2-3 hrs a day, Zipline in the canopy, sleep in treehouses, and hopefully spot some monkeys.

I've been done seen about everything when I see a Elephant (...fly)

I had already accomplished one goal of my time in SE Asia (visiting the Chu Chi Tunnels) and during my time in Luang Prabang, I was able to accomplish the other: riding and interacting with elephants. Elephants are a big part of the tourism in Laos, and we researched enough beforehand to pick a reputable travel company to use. We booked a day trip that included a trek through a village, a waterfall visit and a kayak trek in addition to an optional (obviously not even close to optional in my mind) elephant ride. 

She Ain`t No Dumbo!

The trek through the village was not too informative but interesting to observe the different tribes and how they built their houses differently depending on what they were. There was one child who was wailing when we got there but stopped quickly when he saw us. Our guide laughed and said it was because they told him "you better stop crying or the foreigners will take you away!". Boogeyman Howse. ;)

The waterfall portion was nice too. There are two major tourist waterfalls near Luang Prabang and we went to Tad Sae. They were many small waterfalls flowing over little limestone rocks. Gorgeous but a little cold for my liking. Simon and Karen had no problem, with Simon even jumping off a rope swing.

Tad Sae Waterfalls

The 3 hour kayaking adventure down the Nam Khan was exhausting but a great way to spend the afternoon. As the odd one out, I was paired with the guide which had its pros/cons. Pros: able to take more breaks as he was a strong paddler and he was able to navigate around the small rapids with ease. Cons: language barriers (he asked me "do you like whisky?" And I heard "do you like to ski?" Resulting in a vastly different conversation) and his not-so subtle efforts to pick me up ("I'm not married either, maybe we go to Utopia tonight and have whisky?"). All in all though, I liked the kayak and it felt great to do something active again.

An afternoon on the river

Karen and I opted for the elephant ride. We sat on a Howdah (chair on the elephants back) and a mahout led us on a short trek through a worn trail in a forest. It was really fun but I wanted a more hands on experience. So going on the advice of "you might only be here once, make it count", I booked a solo trip to an elephant farm the following day.

I was told my pickup time was at 8:30, so I grumbled out of bed nice and early to wait. Then half an hour went by. I talked to my hostel staff and they called the company for me resulting in "wait more". Another hour went by and at this point, I'm super annoyed. If it was cancelled, that sucks but at least I wouldn't waste my morning. I just wanted some clarification and was continually being told just to "wait more". This was beyond "Laos time" by this time. Eventually a truck came and without really know where or what I was headed into, I jumped in and took a ride.

45 minutes later, I arrived at Nam Ou Elephant Camp and a frazzled ex-pat greeted me. There was a mixup and the tour company picked up the wrong person from my hostel. She felt so bad that she said I was going to get my own private tour. I had already brightened up upon seeing the farm (no cages, open space, 12 elephants plus a baby returning from the previous groups walk) and these words were icing on the cake. Good things totally come to those who wait.

Pauline, the British ex-pat, explained that she had been working here for 10 months because of her tor guiding experience and her love of elephants. It is a relatively new farm and so far they have rescued (through buying the elephants) from logging work camps where they are being forced to work long, tough days. They are often mistreated through aggressive handling (leaving cuts and scars over their bodies from the  bullhook). It is supposed to be used for the pressure points on an elephants head to get them to turn. Often in the work camps, they are hit so hard that it breaks the skin to make them go faster. She even showed me one elephant who was walking weird. Wen they got the vet to look at her, they found that her old owners had used the bullhook inside her. Pauline was emotional explaining this to me and I even got a bit teary hearing it.

This baby elephant was nicknamed ``Killer Baby`` because she was totally wild and wouldn't be trained until she was three years old.

Even though it's better to not even have them work at all, there are no protected national parks for the elephants. Nam Ou lets them roam free in the jungle behind the village when they're "off shift" (they give rides to tourists in the morning). I really liked the vibes of this place.

I was shown my personal elephant for the day, a female named Kham Seng. I fed her banana trunks which were amazing to watch her eat. Their teeth are far back so they kind of gum them backwards until they give them a big crunch and water squirts out. She was a bit greedy and afraid I'd give some to the other elephants so sometimes she'd grab like three stocks at a time. 

Just some gals gabbin' over lunch

After feeding her, I climbed on a Howdah and walked her through the village. The mahout rode in front of me and Pauline walked alongside, telling me all about living there in the small village and being the only white person who just speaks a bit of Lao. 

After the ride, I was able to take her for a bath. Her howdah was removed and we walked down to the riverbed where I sat on her neck and we waded into the water. She pause to drink a bit before heading in where she had a sit and I helped splash/pour some water over her. I loved it. It was challenging to stay on without falling so I understand the use howdahs for tourists now. Bareback though, was pretty awesome. I loved being connected to her and they said she enjoys being in the water (not sure if they were just saying that but I'll take it).

Splish Splash, we were taking a bath!

I was so lucky to have this opportunity to visit a farm where they genuinely care for these animals. A lot of tourist sites overwork them and I'm glad I supported this one. I'm even more interested in elephants now and so happy I was able to check something off my bucket list. I am one lucky gal.