After my overnight bus into Chiang Kong, 3 hours of sleep, a small boat over the Mekong River which separates Thailand from Laos, a hectic pile of people at the border waiting for visas to be processed, I finally made it into Houay Xai, Laos. There is not much to do in Houay Xai except the Gibbons experience which I booked for the following week and to get the boat or the bus the other destinations in Laos. I chose to take the slow boat down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang (LP). The boat was full of about 70 tourists of all different ages and a few local Laotians. Armed with my “slow boat pillow” (a worthwhile $1.50 investment) and a few beers, I hopped abroad. It turned out to be amazing! The scenery was spectacular! Just miles and miles of jungle with a few small villages here and there. It took 7 hours to get to Pak Beng where the slow boaters spend the night and then another 7 to get to LP on the 2nd day. I met a lot of new people on the boat so had good conversation as we boated in a picturesque setting. Got in LP in the evening so was able to explore around a bit and check out the night market they have with lots of hand made goods. I met two people Beth and Adreas on the boat and proceeded to hang out with them for the time I was in LP. We did all the sights: wats (temples) and the grand palace, eating baguettes and drinking coffee (Laos was under rule by the French for a while), watching sunset on Phi Su hill, walking over the communist bridge, getting up early to see the Alms for the Monks (offering food to the monks), checking out the coolest bar in the world Utopia (riverside with lounge area and a volleyball court) , going to a Laos disco, having a Laos steam bath at the Red Cross , and topping it off by seeing the Khung Si Falls that are crystal blue falls. All in all Luang Prabang was a great time. Of course as Beth and Andreas moved on to Vang Vieng, I took the 12 hour bus (it was actually 15 in total) back to Houay Xai to do the Gibbons. The bus was interesting in the fact that they had to change the tire, the roads are paved in sections and other not, the driver is constantly honking the horn to let others know he is rounding tight corners or coming through village and even though 2 stops is what it said, the bus stopped way more than that. The scenery was nice but of course it was an overnight bus so only saw the final leg of it in the morning. So after having done both now, which one would I chose to recommend or do again if I had the option? Answer: the slow boat. It’s more social, more beautiful and more enjoyable than the bus. Unfortunately, as I say that I know that I will be taking the bus past LP to Vang Vieng and Vientiane as the bus is the quicker method of travel and my time in Laos is limited with Halong Bay for New Years now booked.
So the whole point backtracking from LP was to do the Gibbons Experience (GE) and the backtrack was totally worthwhile. We did the waterfall tour and it was out of this world!! Zip-lining to our hearts content in the middle of the jungle was so fun and so spectacular. I loved it!! The first day, my group of 9 meet up to take the truck 3 hours up to the village where we would start our trek. My group consisted of couples; Arnout and Yet from Holland, Murielle and Stan from Holland, Susan and Derk from Holland, and Joe and Viv from Ireland and Australia. They all were so lovely and nice and great fun to hang out with. The experience wouldn’t have been the same without them. On our way up to the village we encountered a baby Asiatic Black Bear on the side of the road. We all ran out to see it but a local who was hitching a ride with us started to hit. Very sad and upsetting. The guides and we tried to stop but thankfully the bear away. The explanation for the hitting the bear was that he wanted to take to the village to show everyone. Not the best start to the trip that is supposed to be about helping the environment. Once at the village, we trekked about an hour to the first zip-line where many in the group had their first ever zip. Many over the course of the 3 days overcame fear of heights where they looked so at ease zipping on 380m long lines, over 100m off the ground. We did about 7 zip lines to get to the first tree house (tree house 5) that was 150m off the ground and our home for the night. Dinner was zipped into us and after dinner we zipped around freely till dark and then played a group game of yahtzee before all passing out. The second day, we woke up to Nouan, our guide, zipping into take us on a morning trek. We heard gibbons in the far distance but didn’t see any. We did see a very large black jungle squirrel though. After breaky, we packed up and trekked and zipped to the tree house 6. We picked up towels and then took the longest zip line they have at 380m to the waterfall for lunch and a lovely swim the pool. For the rest of the afternoon we just did laps of the zip lines and probably the reason we didn’t see any gibbons is because all you could hear was us yelling “Yahoooo! Woooo! Yippeee!” I felt very dehydrated and ended one lap early so went back to the tree house. By dinner time, I didn’t feel hungry at all and actually ended being sick for a good portion of the evening. Thankfully it was the evening and it didn’t affect the zippy or the trip experience at all. After a nap, I stilled managed to be able to play yahtzee with the group and by morning I was better but not 100%. Two other in my group were ill as well 3 from the other group which we all find very weird. Could be the food, the water, the heat, dehydrations, the exercise, who knows. All of us who were sick or not, did agree that it didn’t take away from the GE at all and we would all do it again in a heartbeat. For the last day, we did a short little trek before breakfast and than a few last zips before hiking out 2 hours back to the village for the waiting trucks. A tame monkey followed us back to the village and caused quite a commotion as he had to be caught and to be re-released deep into the jungle. The truck ride out was quiet as all us were sad to leave the jungle and zip lines behind. We meet up later that night for a group dinner and final goodbyes but hopefully we will meet up again in the future. Overall, the Gibbons Experience is just fantastic and I would recommend that everyone do it. It is just so much fun and once in a lifetime zipping the jungle of Laos.
I am now in Vientiane after a 24 hours bus ride that included 36 stops (I counted because I was cored and curious). I was the lone falang (tourist) on the bus so it was interesting when the whole bus stopped for group road side pee breaks. I will be in Vientiane for 2 days to get my visa for Vietnam and then I will go to Vang Vieng for tubing and make my way to Vietnam. Hope all is well with everyone. Much love from Laos xoxox
P.S. - Tried to post photos with this but they wouldn't upload so will try again soon.
Tubing!
Buckets!
