I know, I know, it's been a while and there is much to catch up on, so I'll get right to it. Matt and I had a two-week break at the beginning of October between semesters. We planned our trip to Chiang Mai and Laos for this break. Our tentative plan was Chiang Mai for one night, head to our 3-day Laos trip for the Gibbon Experience, and spend the rest of our vacay in Chiang Mai with a few days in Pai. Friday night we took an 10pm overnight sleeper train from Bangkok up north to Chiang Mai. Sleeper trains are the way to travel long distances, most definitely. Although it takes a bit more time than a bus, it was worth it. We arrived in Chiang Mai around 2pm, found a guesthouse, ate some dinner and booked a van for our all day drive to the Laos border. Sunday we got picked up in the morning and made it an hour before the border closed at 6pm. Once we got our paper worked checked and visa finished we headed to the Gibbon Experience headquarters to check-in.
Some background info: I heard about the Gibbon Experience through the program I came to teach through. They mentioned it during orientation and I had it set in my mind that I was going to do it before I left Southeast Asia. A few friends had done it as well during our summer vacation in March and April. They all raved about it. The Gibbon Experience is located in the north of Laos in a village called Ban The. The gist of it is that you spend 3 days and 2 nights living in treehouses and zip lining from tree to tree. You are on the lookout for Gibbons although it is very rare to actually see one. You can choose the Classic Experience, which is more zipping than hiking or the Waterfall Experience, which is more hiking, less zipping, but you get to swim in a waterfall and do more of the different zip courses. Matt and I both decided on the Waterfall Experience. This would come back to haunt us.
The Start of our Gibbon Experience:
Monday - Oct 12
We woke up, ate some breakfast and waited for our video introduction at the Gibbon office at 8am. We met the other 4 people in our group. We left for the jungle in a pick up truck and headed off. It was about an hour and a half ride to the village where we started our hike. The last half hour of the drive was across a river and through muddy, uneven roads to this village. When we arrived we met our two guides: Tcha-ya and Lu. They were both young guys who did this whole trek in flipflops! Before we started heading into the jungle, the other group from 3days before us were coming out of the jungle. Only to warn us about the many leeches we were about to encounter. Awesome.
It was about an hour hike to our first treehouse. The hike was brutal uphill climbs and by the end it was raining on us cause the ground to be muddy and slippery. And of course the leeches.. all over our shoes, inside our socks, making us bleed. Apparently these tricky little leeches give you anesthesia when they bite you so you don't know when you are being bitten. So we arrived at treehouse #6 wet and tired. We did some ziplining and once in the house Matt and I were dead tired. We showered and relaxed in the treehouse for the rest of the night. The guides brought us some delicious Loas food for dinner and then bed time.
A Leech on my shoe
Tuesday - Oct 13
The day I thought I was going to die. We woke up at 6:30am to our guides zipping into our treehouse with fruit and coffee. The guides told us we had an optional morning hike to look for animals. Knowing that we had a long hike ahead of us that day, Matt and I decided to stay behind and do some zip lining around the treehouse instead. When the other came back from their hike we packed our stuff and headed off for the next treehouse we were going to stay in. Part I of the hike was easy.. 30 mins to a waterfall. Not bad, I thought, easier than yesterday. The waterfall was amazing and felt so good. We ate some food after swimming and then headed off again. This hike, not so easy. This 2 hour brutal uphill hike was not for me. I was tired, I thought my legs were going to fall off and those damn leeches were making me feet uncontrollably bleed. Matt thankfully offered to trade backpacks with me to lighten my load. When we finally arrived at treehouse #5 all I wanted was my leechy sneakers off and to sit down. The rain for the second day in a row wasn't helping either. It got to the point where it was raining so hard we had to stay in the treehouse for the rest of the night. This treehouse was my favorite. It was 3 floors and had amazing views. Our amazing group stayed up all night playing cards, eating delicious food and talking.
Wednesday - Oct 14
The last day. Everyone woke up early to get some extra zipping in. After an hour zipping we packed our stuff and said goodbye to the treehouse. On the way back to the village where we started we made some pitstops at other treehouses to do some zipping which was awesome. When we reached the village we were muddy, bloody, and a bittersweet end to our journey. At least I thought it was the end of our journey. We all hoped into the pick up and headed off on the hour and a half ride back to the town when clouds started to move in. And then came the downpour. On muddy, uneven roads with holes all over our awesome pick up truck got stuck 3 times in the mud. All of us would have to get out of the truck, stand in the mud, and try and help. The Loas way of fixing truck that are stuck in the mud: go into the woods with a machete, chop down a part of a tree and lodge it under the truck to lift it out of the hole while someone else shoves a giant rock under the tire. Eventually, we made it to the paved roads and stopped for lunch. By the time we got back to the town, Matt and I just wanted to get clean and get a place to sleep.
The muddy, uneven road we drove on
Overall, an unforgettable experience. We met some amazing people who have traveled to some amazing places and hopefully we will get to see them again. Although the hiking was rigorous, we had a good time and enjoyed being able to sleep in treehouses and zip line through jungles. And spent the rest of our vacation in beautiful Chiang Mai. There are more pictures/videos of our trip on my photo website. Check them out!
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