Relaxing in the Isles

Day 71 - 73 (09/06/08 - 11/06/08): Don Det, Laos

I spent three wonderfully relaxing, beautiful and enjoyable days in Don Det. As I said before, Don Det is a little perfect slice of tranquility, a small island bounded by the mighty Mekong river on all sides, and home to nothing more than a few backpackers, rice paddies and water buffalo. The island is joined to the neighbouring island of Don Khon by a small bridge built by the French during the colonisation. On the first full day we were there, Charlie, Lou and I rented some bicycles to explore the islands. The bikes were the old fashioned type, very upright, bent handlebars, full mudguards, a little basket on the front, and to complete the look, a little bicycle bell. The weather was scorching hot, and very soon we were soaked in sweat, as is normal for this part of the world. We spent most of the day cycling around, over the rough farm tracks that criss-cross the island. The scenery was very picturesque, lots of little rice fields with children playing in them and water buffaloes wallowing in the mud. We crossed the bridge (after paying a small toll) to Don Khon and went to the large waterfall. The waterfall here was very impressive, although not really a waterfall, more of a large collection of big rapids the swirl around giant boulders and come crashing down through the gaps, driven by the mighty power of the Mekong River. They were very big, and definitely a sight to behold. By this stage by cheap rent-a-bike had developed some problems, with the chain falling off pretty constantly. Normally this is an easy fix, although sometimes the chain would jam itself tight between the cassete and the wheel hub, requiring a lot of tinkering and brute force to fix it.

We continued cycling down to a small 'beach', a little bit of sand next to a small inlet off the river. There were a few warning signs up saying that it was very dangerous to swim there if you went to close to the river itself. The current is phenomenally strong, and their was a small memorial to a backpacker who died there a few years ago. However, we were all hot and sweaty, and so went into the water anyway. We just stuck to the little inlet, and it was fine, no current at all. There were however some small fish that delighted in nibbling on parts of us. Back on our bikes and we explored the rest of the island, finding a small local village and more water buffalo. At one point we came across a very dodgy looking bridge. The structural work was made of old iron, and it looked stable enough, but it only had a few narrow planks running across the top of it to walk over, less than a foot wide. To top it all off, the bridge was high enough that a fall would not be very nice. We all got across in the end, trying different styles of getting the bikes across. We found our way back across the islands, with me stopping every few minutes to put the chain back on my bike. Luckily we had rigged up a little 'device' of ribbon and leaves to stop the chain jamming, and so fixing the chain was a simple thing that I could do in a few seconds (I got a lot of practice).

The next two days on Don Det I spent doing almost nothing. I would actually wake quite early, when the morning sun came into my bamboo hut. I would lie in bed and read my book, and then perhaps migrate outside to my hammock, where I would continue to relax and read my book, overlooking the Mekong river. Ultimately, a pretty good way to spend the day, and it beats being in an office by a long shot. At night we would meet up for dinner at one of the eateries. Afterwards we would spend most of the evening sitting on someone's deck around some candles, listening to (battery powered) music and having a few drinks. On one night we went across to the other side of the island (about a 2 minute walk) and watched the sun set across the Mekong river and the plains of southern Laos. Overall, a pretty good way to spend a few relaxing days in the middle of the Mekong river doing almost nothing except enjoying the peace of the place and the company of good friends.

Lao local Transport

Day 70 (08/06/08): Don Det, Laos

It was with a touch of sadness that I had to leave Tadlo, it was such a beautiful and relaxing place. I met Lou and Charlie for breakfast, and we caught a tuk-tuk back to the main road. We had to wait there for a little while before the local bus came past. Once again we went back to the 'Pakse Southern Bus Terminal' and were greeted by numerous people wanting to know where we were going. Eventually we figured out what to do, and found our way onto the back of a very crowded truck. Unfortunately we were the last on, and so were squeezed into the back. I had a sack of something at my feet, and so couldn't even put my feet down. A number of local Lao guys where hanging off the back, one of whom spoke good english and spent a lot of time fascinated with my blonde leg hair, which he constantly touched (much to Charlie's amusement). Three very sore hours later, we arrived at our destination stiff, sore and very dusty.

Siphandon, otherwise known as the Four Thousand Islands, is in the very south of Laos, near the Cambodian border. The Mekong river has been gathering water and momentum since starting in China, and by now it is a very large river. At Siphandon the river breaks into a large delta, spreading across the flat land, forming numerous small islands. Some of the islands are quite large and support habitation, others are just tiny small outcroppings poking up above the river. We had picked the small island of Don Det as our destination, which was a quick boat ride from the mainland. Don Det is a wonderfully laid back place, just a small collection of guesthouses, eateries and paddy fields. The island has no mains power, and just runs a few generators in the evening. Like Tadlo, it is a brilliant little quiet spot to relax and just chill out. After a much needed meal, we found a nice guesthouse. I got a little bamboo hut right on the river, complete with small deck and hammock, all for the princely sum of $2NZ a night. Fantastic.

The tranquility of Tadlo

Days 67 - 69 (05/6/08 - 07/06/08): Tadlo, Laos

The sleeper bus, while comfortable, is not quite a bed and I only managed to get a couple hours of napping during the journey. However I am also at the point where I consider ten hours in a bus (at least a decent bus), as an average journey, and in all honesty it didn't really feel all that long. We arrived in Pakse about 7 in the morning, and as is typical in SE Asia, were assaulted by the waiting tuk-tuk drivers mob as we stepped off the bus. We politely declined them all, and walked the very short distance into the centre of town to find some breakfast. Pakse is a very small place with not much happening for it. Mainly it is used by tourists as a stepping stone to the surrounding countryside, which is exactly what I was doing.

I considered the possibility of going on a guided tour of the local area, however the rates charged by the tour company were horrendous, upwards up $90USD for a two day trip. The kind of money would normally last me over a week in this place! So I just decided to do it myself and head to a small village called Tadlo, which not many people have heard of, but I had been told about it through the travellers grapevine and decided to check it out. Garth and the two other English people we caught the bus with were planning to go straight on down to the Four Thousand Islands in the south of Laos, which is where I would be going after Tadlo.

For some reason in a lot of places in South East Asia, the main bus station is well outside town, and so we split a tuk-tuk for the 20 minute ride there. The 'Pakse Southern Bus Terminal' was little more than a large dirt patch surrounded with some market stalls. All manner of vehicles were in here, offering transport to all sorts of places. Our tuk-tuk driver sorted out the others, putting them on the right 'bus' to the Isles (although it was actually a large truck with bench seats at the back, filled with locals, sacks of rice and a couple of screaming cavorting piglets, and of course the odd chicken). I was led to a very old bus, where I too climbed over the sacks of rice and local children to a very small upright and uncomfortable seat. However after the lack of sleep from the overnight, I was soon fast asleep, sleeping through the bumpy dirt road and all. Arriving at the Tadlo intersection, and I joined the few other backpackers for the 2km walk down the road to the village. Despite the sweltering heat and our packs, the walk was very nice, passing through a traditional Lao village, complete with waving kids.

I found a very nice bamboo hut overlooking the river and the waterfall. I had a small walk around to explore the area, the waterfall is very nice, quite wide, and reasonably high, set in amongst large trees and dramatic cliffs. Further down the river you could see all the local children swimming and playing, while the woman washed clothes and the water buffalo took an afternoon dip to escape the heat. Despite my best efforts to stay awake, in the later afternoon I collapsed onto my bed and had a good nap to recover from a long night and a long day of travel.

The next day was exactly what I needed, a day of doing nothing to recover from the hectic nature of the previous three weeks. In my defense there was a light rain falling for most of the day, and so after a long sleep in, I spent most of my day sitting on my little deck (which was awfully rickety and was nowhere near level) on a plastic chair, watching the river and the waterfall and reading my book. I went and found a quite little eatery for dinner, and halfway through my meal, I got a wave from Charlie and Lou walking past. They had followed my tip on Tadlo and had just arrived that day. We joined together for a beer, and had fun talking to the old Lao lady who ran the place. Even though she must have been into her fifties, she was clearly as high as a kite and a great laugh. She explained to us with a great smile how she fostered her 'little plants' up on the hill. It was a very funny time, and something that could only happen in a place like Laos.

The following day the weather was a lot better, and so I met up with Lou and Charlie for the day's adventure. The guesthouse didn't have any more maps of the area, and we didn't really want to pay for a guide so decided to explore the river for ourselves. We knew there was another big waterfall upstream and so followed the river by clambering over fallen trees, skirting the banks and jumping from boulder to boulder, all the while humming the Indiana Jones theme. The waterfall upstream slowly came into view, and it was very impressive. There was a large sheer cliff, and at several points across its large width, the water streamed over in big frothing cascades. There was actually a small bamboo 'bridge' across the river, and this really was from an Indiana Jones movie. Very quickly we were swimming in the big pool underneath the waterfall, being careful not to get too close to the swirling currents under the falls or strong current taking the water down the rest of the river. After this wonderfully refreshing swim we found a path up the cliff and proceeded to follow the river further upstream. Up here there were lot of locals fishing and washing clothes, and as usual plenty of naked little kids playing in the water. We found little herds of goats, and several small fields of vegetables, irrigated by the river. Overall it was fantastic, a truly beautiful place where we really felt like we where in the middle of Laos.

For the return journey we decided to cross to the other side of the river and walk back along the path. We scouted an area that had a lot of boulders and rocks, and managed to make it most of the way across while still keeping dry. However the gaps between the rocks got too large and we were forced to wade across a quite deep, flowing section. Normally this would have been an easy swim, however we had bags with us and I had my camera. I managed to get across in the end, although my bag got wet (nothing to worry about). I managed to keep my camera dry by holding the camera bag handle in my mouth and keeping it just above the water. The hardest part was not laughing with Charlie and Lou as they looked back and saw the ridiculous scene of me in chest deep water frantically biting into my camera bag and trying to keep it above the water. Another fun experience to remember about Laos.

We walked down the small path through the countryside back to our village. Arriving there it was still too hot and we went for another swim in the river. There were a bunch of kids swimming in a pool amongst some rocks and small rapids and so we joined them, taking it turns to be pulled along by the river before standing up and moving back into the pool. The current was awfully strong in the shallow part, and it made for good fun. All the small kids actually stayed in the current and proceeded to go down through the next little series of rapids, screeching and hollering the whole way, before getting out and running back to us. I, unfortunately, followed them. While having fun swimming in the current, I didn't stop in time and got swept down over the rapids. I wasn't too worried as I had seen all the kids do it, and I was in the right position with my feet forward and body behind. Unfortunately, I then proceeded to smash my shins right into a rock, flipping me over, and I bounced through some other rocks before managing to catch myself and stand up before being swept down the next series (which the kids were staying well away from). Apart from a nasty bruise and scrape on my shins, I was fine, and I enjoyed a good laugh about it with Lou and Charlie.

Our last night in the beautiful little village of Tadlo was spent enjoying a few good drinks of the local whiskey while sitting on my balcony overlooking the river, bathed in the flickering glow of candlelight. As I have said before, Laos is an amazing place..

A day in Vientiane

Day 66 (04/06/08): Vientiane, Laos

The day was spent in a pretty leisurely fashion. I had a good sleep in, my first decent one in days. I had been told that there wasn't much to do in this sleepy capital, and so Garth and I booked a sleeper bus leaving that night to go to Pakse, the next destination of mine. I had originally intended to go out to one of the big temples just outside town, or perhaps the Buddha park, but after sleeping in, checking out of the guesthouse, eating some food and catching up on some emails, it was already the early afternoon. So I just spent a few hours walking around the city, meandering aimlessly through the less touristy parts. I quite enjoy just walking around new places, you get a feel for the vibe of the place and see what the 'non-tourist' parts look like. I walked past a couple of quite impressive buildings, and stopped at the 'Black Stupa', a very old stonework Stupa that is now a roundabout.

Walking back to my guesthouse in the mid afternoon, I heard someone yell something at me and ran after me down the street. Not knowing exactly what was going on I turned around and was confronted with the face of an old friend from New Zealand, someone who had gone to College House with me in my first year of uni. A fellow engineer (albeit only a chem eng), he is working on a mine site in northern Laos through and Australian company and was down in Vientiane for a few days. He had a colleague with a car, and so we all jumped in and went down to a pub for drinks (incidentally, the same pub I was in the night before). We had a good chat over a few drinks and laughed at all the old stories and caught up on the news of mutual friends we knew. It was definitely one of the things I least expected to happen in the sleepy streets of Vientiane!

Unfortunately after a few hours I had to leave and meet Garth for dinner before our bus left. We found a great curry place and proceeded to eat a lovely curry with samosas and naan bread. Brilliant. We said a quick goodbye to Charlie and Lou, before leaving for our bus. As is usual with any transport here, we waited for a good half hour at our guest house before the tuk-tuk arrived. We piled into this, and after picking up more and more people to the point of overfill capacity we arrived at the bust terminal. There was some confusion as the person issuing the tickets didn't have a matching ticket for my receipt (like everyone else I had booked and paid at my guesthouse). Nevertheless, after a few of them argued in Lao, I was given a ticket and sat down in my recliner seat of my VIP bus for the next ten hours.

To the capital of Laos

Day 65 (03/06/08): Vientiane, Laos

And so it came to be my last day in Vang Vieng. The whole Gibbon crew was leaving today, and so once again our loyal group of Gibboner's got further fragmented. Simone was heading off to Bangkok and Lucy was going north to Hanoi in Vietnam. The remaining 4 of us, myself, Garth, Lou & Charlie were all heading to the south of Laos, and had booked the same bus to the capital of Vientiane.

Our little group had breakfast together, in the same place we always have breakfast. Even though we had all been tubing many many times, we all still felt a pang of jealousy as we watched as the 'tubers' for the day gathered their tubes, jumped into tuk-tuks and prepared themselves for a day of great fun. We lamented the breaking up of our group and reminicsed about how good a time we all had together. Even the owner of our guesthouse, who had come tubing with us a few times, was sad to see us go.

At 1pm we climbed aboard our minibus, and it was with some sadness that we said goodbye to our home for the past 13 days. We will all remember it with great joy and it will hold many happy memories for us. However, amongst all the melancholy, was also the deep down excitement of travelling. We would be going to new places, to discover new things and experience new adventures, and as much fun as Vang Vieng was, moving on to new places is also always fun.

The minibus ride only took just over three hours, and I actually managed to sleep for parts of it. The south of Laos is considerably flatter than the mountainous north, and as such the roads got smoother and less windy the further south we got. We arrived in Vientiane in the late afternoon. Vientiane is the capital city of Laos, although it is actually rather small, with a population of only 200 000. Everyone I have met, and even all the guidebooks say that there isn't really a lot to do in the city, and to spend as little time there as possible. The original plan was to use the time to get a Cambodian visa, but luckily the guesthouse we stayed in can organise it for you overnight, so that made things easy. We are staying close to the Mekong River, and across from it you can see Thailand. Dotted along the river are a number of small little restaurants/street stalls, where I had dinner with Garth, and an Irish guy who was on our bus and sharing our room. That evening we met a few other travellers outside our guesthouse, and ended up going to a local pub and drinking a few beers. Tired from all the travelling, and probably still not completely recovered from tubing, I ended up going to bed reasonably early and having a good nights sleep.

Tubing Tubing TUBING!

Days 58 - 64 (27/05/08 - 02/06/08): Vang Vieng, Laos

I ended up spending a lot more time in Vang Vieng than I originally had planned for, a total of 13 nights in the end. It is the kind of place that can do that to you. I met quite a few other travellers who were also staying for a lot longer than they originally thought. The simple truth of the matter is that Vang Vieng is just a very fun place. I have been to lots of places that I have really enjoyed for one reason or another; I loved the history at Kanchanburi, the relaxed vibe of the Perhentians, and of course the unforgettable adventure of the Gibbon Experience. But Vang Vieng is just pure unadulterated good old fashioned fun.

Most of the time in Vang Vieng was spent tubing, with the odd day of rest and relaxation thrown into the mix. In the end I went tubing a total of seven times, and each time was a blast! I realise you must think that it would get boring after a while, but each day was always as fun, if not more fun, than the last. Part of the reason is that there always new people doing it, each day new people arrive and bring their energy and enthusiasm to the party. And of course there are the giant rope swings, which never get old. To show just how high the big one really is, I have attached a video of myself doing it. You will notice there is quite a drop after letting go before you hit the water! Another reason that I really enjoyed Vang Vieng and the tubing was the great company. When we first arrived in VV, there were 9 of us from the Gibbon Crew together, which made for a lot of fun. Joe and Justin left after a day, and a few days later Gemma and Johnny left, to much sadness. The rest of us stuck together, and were later joined by Simone. Louise had 2 of her friends come out on holiday from the UK, and so we were one big happy family, having meals together, tubing together during the day and dancing away the night. We still met a lot of other people, particularly when you run into the same old people each day out on the river.

There isn't really much more to say about what happens during a day tubing that I didn't mention in my last post, although each day always has its own little unique moments. One of the days it rained a fair bit, and the resulting mudfight at one of the river bars drew in everyone, willingly or not! Unfortunately a lot of the funny stories are only funny if you were there, and so repeating them here would be pointless. Each morning we would gather for breakfast and recollect the stories of the night before, giggling and laughing about what had happened.

On one of the relax days, I got on the back of Charlie's scooter and we drove out of town to a collection of caves and a small swimming hole. The journey involved driving through some old muddy rice paddies, some of the time I would have to get off and push the scooter as it got stuck in the mud. It was a lot of fun. The caves were not particularly impressive, mostly pretty small. One cave was very long and thin, I had to breath in to fit through. At the end was a deep swimming hole. One of us held the torch, while the other gingerly floated in it. It was actually quite scary going for a swim in almost complete darkness, with unknown things lurking in the water below you...

On another relax day the others rented scooters, while I rented a mountain bike and we went 7km out of town to another series of caves and a small swimming hole. The road was pretty mud and quite rough in places, which can be very hard on a scooter. However, it posed no problems for a mountain bike, and as such I rolled in before any of the scooters did. The swimming hole was quite nice and relaxed, with a small rope swing and jumping platform. There were also some caves around, but it started raining pretty heavily, and we decided to not bother with the caves. The ride back was great fun, and I got very muddy indeed.

Crazy days and nights in Vang Vieng

Days 53 - 57 (22/05/08 - 26/05/08): Vang Vieng, Laos

I am going to write up all these days at once, because they have all been pretty similar. I have now spent 5 days in Vang Vieng, 3 days tubing and 2 days recovering. The first day we obviously all went tubing as it was our first day, on the second day Lucy had arrived, and so obviously the polite thing to do was accompany her, even if our bodies weren't as keen. Then there was a much needed day of recovery in which I did nothing except go on the internet and read my book in hammock. Lou's friends then arrived from England, and so obviously we had to go again. It was like walking willingly to an execution, knowing the trauma and carnage you are going to be putting your body through, and yet doing it with a smile on your face.

So what is this 'tubing' thing then? Well let me explain a typical day tubing in Vang Vieng. You'll wake up mid-morning, and go out for breakfast. This for me is most likely going to be a filled baguette (as Laos is an old French colony, they bake good bread, unlike Thai bread, which is horrible. There are numerous street carts that will make a custom baguette sandwich for you, it is exactly the same as Subway, only with slightly less choices and its only 10 000 kip, or $1.50NZ). At about midday we will congregate around our guesthouse, dressed in nothing but togs and some money in a waterproof bag. At this point Garth and I will start dealing out a whiskey shot to everyone. We then ritually play 'Eye of the Tiger' to get ourselves in the right mood for tubing. We go down the street and sign in at the tubing place, pay our 40 000 kip, and climb into a tuk-tuk, on whose roof a number of large truck inner tires are strapped. A five minute dive up the road, and you are ready to go....

Grabbing a tube you jump into the river, and proceed to float for a whole 30 meters before stopping at the first bar. Well, its more of a bamboo platform built onto the side of the river that is selling booze, giving out free shots of local whiskey, playing pumping music and packed with people. All of which is fun, until you look up and see the biggest rope swing you can possible imagine. A very high platform is built off the side of a tree, and from an even higher pole is a steel cable with a swing handle (You can just see the platform in the upper left of the group photo). A local Lao guy pulls the recovery cord and you hold onto the handle, realise just how high up you are, and jump anyway. Generally you swing once, wait till the highest point of the swing and then let go, about 5 or 6 meters up in the air. At this point you come crashing down into the (very deep) water, hoping that you land upright, and not on your back or stomach. Occasionally that does happen and a collective 'ooohhh' will issue from the crowd. Or a big wave of applause for someone who tries something particularly gutsy, such as a flip. The whole thing is exhilarating, and while it is very scary, once you have done your first one for the day, the rest are easy.

The rest of the afternoon is then spent this way, drifting down the river in a tube, stopping at pubs and going on giant rope swings. The first pub still has the biggest one, but some of the smaller swings (which are still incredibly big, just not as big as the first one) at other pubs allow you to go two at a time, which is great fun. There are also some ziplines, although after going on the Gibbon Experience, the ziplines were pretty tame in comparison. I prefer just to climb up the zipline tower and jump straight off it.

Ultimately the idea is to make it back to Vang Vieng, although because all the pubs are in the first half, it takes about an hour to float from the last pub back. And most times it gets dark while you are still at a pub and we just catch a boat back. I did manage to make it back all the way the second time I went tubing. Back in Vang Vieng, those people who are still able to will go down to the riverfront bars and continue to party the night away around the bonfires. Now while this may all sound a bit cheesy, it is in fact an incredibly incredibly fun time. Everyone is very social, with everyone talking to everyone, dancing around bonfires, having mudfights and jumping into the river together to float down to the next pub. I personally think the swings are my favourite, and sometimes just spend the whole time at a stop doing continuous laps of the swing. As some of you might know, I am not particularly keen on heights, but with the Gibbon Experience and climbing to the tops of all these platforms and the big swings, I am getting a lot better.

Unfortunately, tubing really takes it out of you. Without stating the obvious, your liver is working overtime from a whole afternoon of drinking. Your arms and chest muscles will really hurt from all the paddling and hanging onto the rope swings. Your shins and feet will be bashed, bruised and cut from constantly climbing out of the river over the rocks (I wear my sandals for this reason). You get surnburnt (most sunblock is stripped off from the high speed impacts with the water), and whichever part of your body hits the water first will most likely be sore, generally thighs and arse for me. Although people who back or belly flop can bruise their whole body. One girl's entire stomach was purple the next day after belly-flopping. And yet it is great fun, and you are rearing to go the next time.

Some people bring dry-bags with other possessions in, normally cameras, and so I've managed to grab a few photos of tubing from others, including some great ones Johnny took of me on the big swing, it really looks like I am flying, and will give you some idea of the height of the swings. (My camera is too big and expensive to risk or be practical). So there you have it, a day of tubing down the NamSong river in Vang Vieng Laos. I have now done it three times, and doubtless will do it a few more times before I move on again.

To Vang Vieng in a bouncy minibus

Day 52 (21/05/08): Vang Vieng, Laos

We had organised a minibus ride to the next destination of Vang Vieng, party capital of Laos. There were six of us Gibboners booked for the minivan, myself, Garth, Charlie & Lou, and Gemma & Johnny. Joe and Justin were going down the same day in a different minivan with their friends. Lucy would be following us the day after. Initially there was some confusion, as the minibus driver (who spoke no english) wouldn't go and pick up Lou and Charlie from their guesthouse, and we had one shared ticket for all six of us. And then he made Gemma go in another minivan, even though there was space in ours. In the end it turned out that he was only taking us to the minibus station, not to Vang Vieng itself. We all re-grouped at the station, and then climbed aboard our proper minibus for the 5 hour ride. If there is one word to describe the journey, it would be 'bumpy'. I was on the back seat as the minibus wound its way around and up and down the steep Laos mountainsides, bouncing all the way. I was trying reading my book for some parts of it, but it proved too hard to hold the page steady enough to read. The scenery was absolutely fantastic though. Laos, especially its mountainous north, is a truly beautiful place.

We made a few short stops for food, but in the mid afternoon we rolled into the Vang Vieng minibus station, and shared a tuk-tuk down to the riverside, where the 6 of us all checked into the same guesthouse. We are all planning to stay here for a little while, and so haggled for a better price, and I got my own room. There is a very nice little bamboo gazebo with a few hammocks in it that overlooks the river, and it has quickly become a favourite spot to relax or have a few quiet afternoon beers. Both Lou & Charlie and Gemma & Johnny had been to Vang Vieng before, only leaving to go on the Gibbon Experience. In fact Gemma & Johnny weren't supposed to be coming back, except that it is such a fun place and with people they knew going to it, they couldn't resist to come back for a few short days.

It was blisteringly hot (what a surprise!), and so we headed down to one of the riverfront bars and had a quick swim in the river. Although you tend to 'float' more than 'swim'. The current is very fast and the river shallow, so you just jump in and float down a couple hundred meters, then walk back. The scenery is, as always, amazing. Across the river are some truly huge sheer mountains, whose faces are so steep in parts that no vegetation can grow. We all sat back, gazed at the scenery, enjoyed a cold beer and listened to the two couples who had been here before talk about tubing down the river, the activity Vang Vieng is famous for. I have heard a lot of stories about tubing down the river, and everyone says that it is an absolute blast of fun. Garth and I were very much looking forward to it, after hearing the stories of the giant rope swings, ziplines and riverside pubs. Bring it on!

The evening was spent at the same bar, now geared up for its nightly patrons with several large bonfires and pumping music. It was very much a deja-vu night, as I ran into several other people I had met previously, including some people from the Perhentian Islands almost 6 weeks before!

Gibbon Experience 3

Day 48 (17/05/08): Gibbon Experience, Bokeo Park & Huay Xai, Laos

We all woke early with the morning sun, and Max our guide zipped in, ready to take us 'Gibbon Hunting' again. The girls didn't want to come, so it was just us guys. We were ready in our harnesses, and under Max's instruction, sitting very quietly in our treehouse, waiting. And then we heard it, the distant sound of a single gibbon singing in the morning. With that we all sprang into action. Ignoring the standard rules of one person at a time, Max threw us all down the zipline as fast as we could each clip on. Down on the jungle floor we followed the sound, which had now grown in cacophany as several gibbons joined in. We turned off the main path, and climbed and slid our way down a steep hill, towards the source of the amazing howling, whooping and shrieking of the gibbons. Whenever they paused in their singing, we would freeze and not make any noise. When the singing resumed we would continue down, trying to make as little noise as possible. We probably got to within 50m of the gibbons, whne they decided to move on. I managed to see just a few fleeting glimpses of gibbon silhouette against the morning light, and then they were gone. However, it was worth it just for the singing. The gibbons are incredibly loud when they sing, and have a big vocal range. All the more impressive was how the group of them all sang together, one gibbon would start off with some low notes, before all the others would slowly join in, building to a brilliant crescendo of gibbon voices. It is incredibly eery, hiding in the fog of the early morning jungle, listening to this other-worldy song.

We clambered back up the hill, pulling ourselves up on the trees and vines, not worrying about making noise now. Being as 'zip-addicted'as we were, we went for a few more quick zips. There was a heavy mist this morning, and it was a great fun zipping through the mist above the treetops. Although as we found out, the first person down the zipline gets completely soaked, as all the condensed water on the zipline sprays into you. At about 9am all others came over for breakfast, and the 13 of us enjoyed our last meal together in the treehouse. It was then with much sadness that we all packed our bags and had the last zip out of our treehouse. A short walk back to the base camp to drop off our harnesses, and an easy hour walk back to the main village. After all the walking over the past few days, this last walk was easy for everyone. There was only one four wheel drive to take us back, and so instead of all cramming in, Garth (the Canadian in the group), and I jumped on the roof and enjoyed the ride back getting a great view and dodging all the low lying branches.

Back at the main road, and we had lunch at a small shop, before the first of us 'Gibboners' (as we had taken to calling ourselves) had to part ways. There were three going North, while the rest of us were going back to Huay Xai. At least we could all fit in the jeep now, and we spent most of the trip already reminiscing about how much fun we had just had, and how it was one of the most amazing experiences we had ever done. Back in Huay Xai, and most of us checked into the same guesthouse. We all went out and had dinner together, and then had a good party on the upstairs balcony of our guesthouse.

Gibbon Experience 2

Day 47 (16/05/08): Gibbon Experience, Bokeo Park, Laos

I woke up at a very early hour to the sound of Owen zipping out of our treehouse. Our guide would be coming around at 6am to take us on a walk to try and find gibbons, but in the meantime we still had half an hour, and so the rest of us guys threw on our harnesses and did the quick loop to Treehouse 2 and back again. It was brilliant zipping in the early hours of the morning, the air was crisp and dew covered all the ziplines. We got back just in time for our guide, Max, who then took us on a walk in the jungle. The best time to spot gibbons is in the early hours of the morning, when they sing. Gibbons literally do sing duets, the males and females each having different parts. Because the jungle is so dense, and the gibbons are so high up, it is impossible to spot them during the day, so the only way is to listen for their singing in the early morning. Alas, even though we walked very quietly through an area that Max said there are normally gibbons, we didn't spot or even hear any. It may have been because of all the noise we made in the night, oh well.

Another few zips on our own, then back to our treehouse for breakfast, consisting of steamed rice and vegetables. Being our full day in the jungle, we now had the choice of two treks we could do. One would take us down some ziplines to Treehouse 5, the newest and biggest treehouse overlooking a great valley, and then an 1.5 hour walk back. The other option was to walk for several hours to the waterfall, go on the really big ziplines there, and then walk back for several hours, overall a long day. The people in the other two treehouses decided on the easy walk, but we were all quite keen to go down to the waterfall, so shortly after breakfast, we stocked up on water (the tap water in the tree house was safe to drink), and we set off. The walk was actually quite easy, it was downhill for most of the way, and the Laos scenery is fantastic. Along the way Max also pointed out some of the more interesting plants and insects, and we even ate the stalk of one of the edible plants. It tasted like bland celery.

The Gibbon Experience has two different areas of operation, the 'classic' and the 'waterfall'. We were doing the classic, and staying in that area. But now we were getting the best of both, by walking all the way to the waterfall area. Personally I think the 'classic' area is a nicer place to stay, and the ziplines are more accesible, allowing for a lot of zipping. Howerver the ziplines at the waterfall area are huge. And when I say huge, I really mean huge! They were all at least 300m long, with the longest one touching 400m. The highest one went from one big hill/mountain, all the way over the valley and the river, to the hill on the other side. It is supposedly 1000 feet high, or just over 300m. You literally felt like you were flying. We did about 7 different zips in this area, they follow a big long circuit that takes about an hour to do, including all the walking between ziplines.

We came to the waterfall itself, and all the guys jumped in for a swim in the large swimming pond. There was a bamboo raft there that had seen better days, but it didn't stop us from all trying to sit on it and keep it upright. 'Bamboo submarine' is probably a better term for it, and much hilarity ensued as the raft lost all stability with 5 guys on it. Lunch was more sticky rice and vegetables, at one of the little village camps where the food is cooked for the 'waterfall' area. We then had the walk back, the first hour or so was flat, and then we got to the big hill that had taken us 40 minutes to walk down. We all split up at this point, everyone going their own pace. Joe and I soon were at the front, and decided it would be a lot easier if we just power walked and ran our way up the hill. This way we did the whole thing in less than half an hour. Joe and I got back to our treehouse, and had enough time to have a shower and a few hot chocolates before the others started arriving. Treehouse 2 and 3 came over as well, and the whole group sat and chatted while our Treehouse had our dinner. The others had to leave before dark, and having no whiskey for the night, we spent a quiet night chatting and listening to the jungle sounds.

Gibbon Experience

Day 46 (15/05/08): Gibbon Experience, Bokeo Park, Laos

The previous night ended up being quite a good one. Walking out of my guesthouse, and the first person I walked into was Sian, who I had spent ten hours with on a third class train, and later met in Koh Phangan and Khaosan road. Yet another example of traveling being a very small world. She was with an English and Dutch guy, and so we went out for a great meal and finished the night having a few drinks on the roof of their guesthouse.

It was then an early start for me. I had to be at the Gibbon Experience early in the morning, and so after checking out, and having a banana pancake for breakfast, myself and twelve other travelers gathered in the small office. We were shown a safety instruction video, and then we all piled into two four wheel drives for the 2 hour journey to Bokeo Park. We all got to know each other very quickly and everyone in the group got on really well. We would be spending the next three days living in close proximity in tree huts, so that was a very good thing. We turned off the main road, drove through a river, and then had a very windy and bumpy trip down a muddy track. In the wet season, this can be too much for a vehicle, and instead you have to do a 5 hour trek. We were lucky, it had been dry and the vehicle managed fine, although the occupants got quite shaken up. At the local village we got out and had a 40 min trek into the jungle to the Gibbon Experience base camp. Here we were given our harnesses and split into three groups, one for each tree hut. There were 13 of us in total, I was in Treehouse 1 with 5 others, Treehouse 2 was the honeymoon suite with just one couple, and Treehouse 3 had the remaining 5.

For those readers who don't know, the Gibbon Experience is part of the Bokeo Conservation Project. Basically, for 2 nights and 3 days, you live in a treehouse and explore the jungle by zipping down giant ziplines. This was you are above the canopy level, and are treated to fantastic views.

Our first zip was quite a short one directly into our treehouse. One by one, we each clipped our harnesses onto the zipline, and tentatively threw ourselves off the launching platform to whizz through the trees and land in our treehouse, which was at least 60m above the ground. The treehouse was very nice. A small communal area with a sink, running water and a gas stove and kettle, a food box filled with snacks and fruit, an upstairs area with a double bed, and then a lower area with two more double beds and a small bathroom with shower. The bathroom itself had a slotted wooden floor, and the shower water just fell down to the ground, as did any other 'things' one would normally dispose of in a bathroom.

Our guide then took us around a few more ziplines, and after that we were allowed to go by ourselves. We immediately set off and spent the whole afternoon zipping around the forest. The main loop we did took us to treehouse 2, using 7 ziplines and taking about 20 mins. The ziplines are all obviously one way, and so a little bit of walking is needed to gain the necessary height to come back down another zipline in the opposite direction. These ziplines were very long and high, the longer 4 all being about 300m long, and getting close to 100m high, as they zipped from one ridge across the valley to another ridge. I will try and use words to describe it, but ultimately it is something that words will never do justice to. Imagine literally flying above a huge tropical rainforest, getting a birds eye view of the giant trees and dense bush, while in the distance is a stunning landscape of the Laos mountains covered in low cloud and further jungle. Above the high pitched whine of the zipline, you can hear the endless multitudes of insects and birds in the jungle below you. The wind rushes past you as you gather speed fly over the jungle, before the incline increases and you slowly come to a stop on the far side. Still buzzing with adrenalin, you quickly disconnect your harness and safety rope from the zipline, and very quickly walk up the hill to zip back across the same valley. It is unlike anything else I have ever done in my life, and it is something I will always remember.

After traveling the same ziplines a few times, we we knew them well enough and started taking videos and photos, which while they are fantastic, once again do not do any justice at all to the actual real event. A very early dinner was brought out to our treehouse by the guides, and we tucked into our meal of rice and vegetables, which is what we would be eating for the remained of our time here. It was still very early, and so we jumped back on the ziplines to visit Treehouse 2, where we stayed and chatted and had tea. All in a tree house 60m above the ground. Very surreal. Down we zipped and trekked down the hill to Treehouse 3, who were a bit secluded in their own little valley, and chatted to them for a while.

It was now getting close to sunset, and so we walked back up the hill, and did our final few zips for the day in the twilight. On one of the zips we could look over to the mountains, and see the sun setting in the distance. A magic moment. We made it back to our treehouse just before dark, which was very lucky as their are strict rules about not zipping at night (it is quite dangerous as you can't see where the zipline ends). The six of us from our Treehouse spent the night chatting, and drinking the bottle of whiskey that a very smart cunning person (such as myself) had brought in. We all got on very well and had a great night. Our Treehouse comprised of myself, two English guys (Joe and Justin), two French girls (Anna and Laurie), and another Kiwi (Owen). Owen and I actually found out that we both did Engineering at Canterbury Uni at the same time, and know a lot of the same people. In fact we probably passed each other in the hallways a hundred times. Another case of the world being very small.

While the French girls in the upstairs bed, and the two English guys worried about all the bugs, spiders and beetles in the forest, myself and Owen, being two Kiwis used to camping and living outdoors, didn't worry a bit, and we all retired to bed after a thoroughly amazing day and a great night.