"And here... We.... Go...!", as the Joker famously said. We have had a lot of anticipation in our little group regarding this Gibbon Experience adventure - some with excited anticipation, some with nerves.... Ok, Beth has been just a tad freaked out, but in my humble opinion, we have been extremely supportive!
And we're off! We met in the Gibbon Experience office in Houayxai at around 8:30. We met the other travellers briefly and went through a pretty good training video on how to use zip lines. I have to admit, I didn't really remember too much about what the whole adventure entailed - that is, usually when I find something I like, I do the research, check it out, book it, then forget about it. I had booked the thing about a year ago, and the details are long forgotten! Luckily, Beth has been, I may be selling this short, "well versed" in absolutely every detail of the Gibbon Experience. If there is a photo of someone's journal from Litchenstein who once mused about the trip, SHE HAS READ IT!
So, zip lines are a major feature! Cool! Or frightening if you're the matriarch of our gang.
After orientation, we got in the back of a covered pickup with 2 benches along each side of the back. There were six of us - we were with a nice couple from the Netherlan.... Sorry....Holland, Paul and Nadine. We zipped along the well paved main road towards the Bokeo Nature Reserve. It took about an hour and a half to get to the real start of our drive. The truck careened off the left side of the road, down a steep clay and rock path and across a river! For the next thirty minutes or so, we were tossed and turned, going up and down steep hills and sharp bends, right through some increasingly spectacular scenery.
The Gibbon Experience was created when some previously thought extinct gibbons were discovered. They designated the entire area as the Bokeo Nature Reserve both to create an area of protection for the gibbons, but also so stop the logging of the area by Chinese interests. The Experience created an income generator and employment opportunity for the surrounding villages - quite a cool model.
We stopped along the main road to drop some people off the for the Express option (1 night instead of the Classic we were doing that was two nights. At most stops, Robin quickly disappears to the washroom (she is quite the Asian washroom expert by now!) and by the time I found the washroom, she was nowhere to be seen. An English woman waiting in line turned to me and said "so is your wife the one that's afraid of heights?". I burst out laughing - I figured out later Robin had been chatting her up (something Robin is also expert at!).
We got to the end of the line - a small village with pigs, chickens and little naked and half naked kids running all over the place. We met our guides and started walking. At first we walked along a wide valley floor, part of the village's farmland I guess, but then we headed into the forest, gradually climbing steeper and steeper. After about a half hour, we were all pretty drenched, when we abruptly halted in a clearing with some benches. A guide came up and handed everyone chicken and vegetable baguettes wrapped in banana leaves (that you discarded). We destroyed those!
Another half hour of hiking, mainly up, and we arrived at a couple of wooden structures. The eleven of us were divided into two groups and asked what we wanted to do - start at treehouse 5 and walk three more hours today, or start at treehouse 1, walk 2 more hours tomorrow to TH5, then 2 hours back to this spot before walking home on day 3. I used my riding experience (always start a ride uphill and/or against the wind so the ride home is easier) and "influenced" our group to choose option 1. We were so glad we did!
Next, it was time to try out our harnesses - the guides helped us all out and the zip line equipment seemed to be in very good condition. I learned that Beth had done a ton of research into canvas thread count and stitching patterns (I assume) because she wasn't asking too many questions. I was trying to act like this was going to be a walk in the park for her, so I just kept watch on her out of the corner of my eye.
We started walking again, and were soon at the first zip line. Beth said she should probably go first (after the guide). She got clipped in, and quicker than I thought, she disappeared into the forest! Next up was Abby...
The kids were cool, calm and collected. Abby had quite a few questions on the purpose of the "brake" on the back, as she didn't get the gist of when to use it. The guide tried to explain to her that it was mainly to stop you from going backward if your forward progress near the end of the line stops - ie if you don't make it to the end because you are too light (the end of the line usually slopes up for safety), then you don't want to slide backwards. I thought it was a language barrier, but then she couldn't understand me either! Oh well, she would have to learn.... And learn she did! The next zip line, I was last to go, and Abby went before me... I heard some frantic calls (not quite screams) from the other side, but these lines always zip through the jungle so it's impossible to see! Turns out she hadn't made the other side, and slipped back to the middle of the line (about 100 meters from the platform), and she was dangling about 100 meters over the valley floor! All good in the end - a guide zipped down to her, grappled her with his legs and helped her hand bomb herself to the platform. This girl has no fear - she was back on the horse pretty quickly!
Ah, the platform.... This was not Beth's favourite. After the first two zips, we were in the middle of a small platform on a lone tree that connected about 6 zip lines in various directions. She was not very comfortable, though I felt if was pretty safe as there was a safety cable that you would attach your safety line to before unlatching your roller wheels. But it was still way up in the air!
We continued to walk up and down paths for another couple of hours on our way to Treehouse 5. The terrain was pretty tough - while we were always on a thin path, there was a lot of steep up and down. Along the way we rode several more zip lines - a couple that were over 300 meters long and what must have been over 100 meters above the valley below.
Eventfully, we got to a zip line and our guide Bungleung said it was the last one to get in to TH5. It was weird because we were in the middle of the forest and there was a hole where the zip line went. Ok, here we go - wham - the view below (I had to get a google pic as I could only get a guide to take a pic with my real camera later in the day) was what we saw as we emerged from the dense growth - I will never forget that image and the feeling of sliding towards this awesome house in the clouds.
Treehouse 5 was certainly picturesque. The views from the camera do not do it justice.
After checking the place out, we realized the toilet was a bit of disaster as it was surrounded by wasps. There was a wasp nest as big as 3 king size pillows abut 50 meters from the tree house. Yikes. I grabbed a quick shower (wasps didn't really bother me, and I was really hot and sweaty after three hours in the forest). The shower experience was amazing. You stand on the far edge of the treehouse, with a low railing guarding against a fall and you look out onto a huge expansive valley and rolling mountains covered in dense growth. So refreshing!
We were served a fruit snack and then were essentialy left on our own for the afternoon. None of us felt like zip lining in the heat, so we taught the Dutch duo how to play A$$hole. We had a nice afternoon, taking in the view and chilling out.
Shortly after 5pm, we heard the buzz of an incoming zip liner, and a local woman arrived, flying through a window with our dinner! It was delicious as you can see....
We got settled in for the night before dusk so we could see what we were doing (there was just one light in the main area that ran off a solar charged battery). We took in an awesome sunset - the view is amazing like I said and even better around sundown. However, I did notice that the air was very still. I think we were in the lee of a larger mountain on one side that blocked the prevailing wind.
After sundown, we discovered a cockroach in the sink - we hadn't even thought of rinsing our dishes off (we didn't really know what the role was of the flying food delivery service). Ugh, I hate roaches. At that point, neither of the girls were willing to touch the floor... And it would get worse as the night went on.
Shortly after, Nadine shone her light up to the thatched roof and noticed a large spider staring back. The light reflected its eyes like bright white pinpoints. It's body was the size of a twonie and the legs were maybe 3 inches long and a little thick. I thought, hmmm, where there's one spider, there's probably more. So I shone my light around the ceiling and noticed hundreds of pairs of eyes staring back.... They were everywhere! Now, as a former arachnophobe (89% cured when I moved to Japan and learned the higher merits of becoming a cockroachaphobe), I can actually relate to the display of fear by the 3 women of my clan. So roaches, spiders and not being able to properly use the toilet because of wasps - Egad.
We headed to bed. Robin with Beth in a double, princess alone in what looked like the best setup (it wasn't) and I was alone in my double. The insect screens blocked out any cool air coming in, and with the lack of wind, the temperature in the little tent was probably above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. It was brutal - it took a long time to fall asleep.
In the middle of the night, I was woken up with what felt like a kick to the head....
"Craig! Robin and I have to go to the bathroom!!!"
"Ok, so go!"
"We can't! Help!"
Argh. So I flip up my mosquito net (I didn't tell them but a f$?@ing cockroach flew out!) and go wake Abby up for good measure to make it a true family trip to the bathroom! I of course had the toughest time (joke), but nobody else would go because of the wasps. Beth grabs my arm (I swear it reminded me of the scene from the Blair Witch Project where you see the selfie shot of the girl with tears dripping off her nose) and pleads "I haven't slept yet... OH MY GOD I HAVEN'T SLEPT YET!!!"... Thinking it must have been like 4am, I asked her what time it was and she said "MMMMMMIDNIGHT!!!". Now, Beth isn't exactly a night owl, so being up until midnight is pretty terrifying, but she obviously had a lot on her mind! I came up with an easier way for the three of them to pee which I probably shouldn't go into, and it was back to bed.
Miraculously, I did not hear from anyone until I rolled awake early the next morning. I pulled open the net and was staring out through the railings at a beautiful sight - the valley was filled with mist and the morning light gave everything a bit of haunted feel. Just what adventures would the next day bring us and would we get any more sleep :-)?
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