Four days ago (now 8 days ago given lack of connectivity), Nico and I arrived in the sleepy Laotian town of Huang Xai. One of two river border crossings from Thailand that provides travel visas, Huang Xai is home to a transient population of young cash strapped travellers hoping to catch the 2-day slow boat down to Luang Probang. However, 4-8 people per day arrive to use the town as a launching platform for "The Gibbon Experience," a 3 day adventure into the Bokeo reserve. Or, a 3 day adventure into an untouched Laotian Jungle. The travellers pay 200 dollars for the trip, too high for those who don't appreciate the adventure, but far lower than Nico and I would have payed to recieve what we did.
On the morning of the 14th, Nico and I met our fellow trekkers - Ninca, Simona, Will, Rob, Dan, and Tess - at the small office in Huang Xai. We quickly got aquainted and hopped on the back of a pickup to drive two hours into what we thought was the middle of no-where. The driver stopped by a river and told us to hop on the small boat by the shore, we did, were dumped on the other side and then set off on a 2 hour walk. In the middle of this muddy uphill battle it started pouring. Damn. Luckily we knew we were meeting a Range Rover.
We were incorrect. After we arrived at the 1980s Toyota Land Cruiser in the middle of the untouched Laotian countryside (6 foot long grass, rolling hills, and the one dirt road we were on), we realized it was empty and the driver was about an hour behind us. We hung around, got soaked, but enjoyed the adventure. After hopping in the car we were relieved. Little did we know that over the course of the next hour we would get out of the car 4 times to push the damn thing up hill, while it splashed mud all over us, screaming and spitting diesel exhaust for all to feel. We finally arrived at a small town, to take a break, before embarking on a two hour trek into the jungle and uphill. Yes, this was hour 5 of the journey.
When we finished walking up makeshift jungle stairs - scooped out dirt near tree roots - we had arrived at "The Kitchen," a base camp for the treehouse system within the Bokeo reserve. You see, every day 4-8 tourists meet in Huang Xai with the goal of spending 3 days living in tree houses up to 200 meters (~650 feet) above the ground. To travel between the treehouses there have been a series of ziplines suspended between jungle peaks, up to half a kilometer in length, leaving the travelers feet dangling hundreds of meters in the air. This was what Nico and I came for. Dripping with sweat, hurting to the bone but too proud to admit it, we were re-invigorated and set off down with our group on the trail into the trees.
We trekked for a total of two hours to get to our treehouse, Treehouse Number 5 or "Kisi," and along the way experienced these ziplines over the canopy firsthand. It was outrageous. We could see everything for miles 20 seconds at a time. And everything was untouched, beautiful, and perfect. It took my breath away. One zip would have made the entire trip worthwhile. There truly is no better way to describe it than that - though we'll attempt to with photographs.
After arriving at the Treehouse on the afternoon of day 1 we were all exhausted. We showered, ate dinner (at 5PM!) and played cards, turning down another opportunity to hike. By the time we were ready to go to bed, we realized something very interesting. No, not that in the middle of the jungle at night, there are NO outside sources of light. And no, not that jungle sounds in the middle of the night are loud and somewhat ridiculous. What we realized is that the thatch roof of the treehouse was home to approximately a half dozen 7 inch long spiders. Despite the fact that there were girls around, I remained openly freaked out... luckily it was overshadowed by two of our fellow travellers terror (jumping about, screaming profanity, etc.) After an hour of getting used to the idea of the massive arachnids, Nico and I dropped the mosquito net (which was really just thick canvas and went to sleep).
On the morning of the 14th, Nico and I met our fellow trekkers - Ninca, Simona, Will, Rob, Dan, and Tess - at the small office in Huang Xai. We quickly got aquainted and hopped on the back of a pickup to drive two hours into what we thought was the middle of no-where. The driver stopped by a river and told us to hop on the small boat by the shore, we did, were dumped on the other side and then set off on a 2 hour walk. In the middle of this muddy uphill battle it started pouring. Damn. Luckily we knew we were meeting a Range Rover.
We were incorrect. After we arrived at the 1980s Toyota Land Cruiser in the middle of the untouched Laotian countryside (6 foot long grass, rolling hills, and the one dirt road we were on), we realized it was empty and the driver was about an hour behind us. We hung around, got soaked, but enjoyed the adventure. After hopping in the car we were relieved. Little did we know that over the course of the next hour we would get out of the car 4 times to push the damn thing up hill, while it splashed mud all over us, screaming and spitting diesel exhaust for all to feel. We finally arrived at a small town, to take a break, before embarking on a two hour trek into the jungle and uphill. Yes, this was hour 5 of the journey.
When we finished walking up makeshift jungle stairs - scooped out dirt near tree roots - we had arrived at "The Kitchen," a base camp for the treehouse system within the Bokeo reserve. You see, every day 4-8 tourists meet in Huang Xai with the goal of spending 3 days living in tree houses up to 200 meters (~650 feet) above the ground. To travel between the treehouses there have been a series of ziplines suspended between jungle peaks, up to half a kilometer in length, leaving the travelers feet dangling hundreds of meters in the air. This was what Nico and I came for. Dripping with sweat, hurting to the bone but too proud to admit it, we were re-invigorated and set off down with our group on the trail into the trees.
We trekked for a total of two hours to get to our treehouse, Treehouse Number 5 or "Kisi," and along the way experienced these ziplines over the canopy firsthand. It was outrageous. We could see everything for miles 20 seconds at a time. And everything was untouched, beautiful, and perfect. It took my breath away. One zip would have made the entire trip worthwhile. There truly is no better way to describe it than that - though we'll attempt to with photographs.
After arriving at the Treehouse on the afternoon of day 1 we were all exhausted. We showered, ate dinner (at 5PM!) and played cards, turning down another opportunity to hike. By the time we were ready to go to bed, we realized something very interesting. No, not that in the middle of the jungle at night, there are NO outside sources of light. And no, not that jungle sounds in the middle of the night are loud and somewhat ridiculous. What we realized is that the thatch roof of the treehouse was home to approximately a half dozen 7 inch long spiders. Despite the fact that there were girls around, I remained openly freaked out... luckily it was overshadowed by two of our fellow travellers terror (jumping about, screaming profanity, etc.) After an hour of getting used to the idea of the massive arachnids, Nico and I dropped the mosquito net (which was really just thick canvas and went to sleep).
At 5 in the morning we were awoken by a THUNK THUNK THUNK ZIIIIIIIIIIIIP THUNK. After pulling up the net, we realized that our guides had already whipped into the house and were rousing everyone. It was time to go on a morning wild-life trek. Well, I was shit tired, had slept poorly, but realized you're only deep in the jungle a few times in your life, so I threw on my gear and got ready to roll. The trek was muddy, difficult, and yielded little wildlife display - but that said, it was incredible to head off into parts of the jungle distant from even a trail. Wow. Unfortunately, no Gibbons were seen, but we headed back to the treehouse for breakfast anyways.After a two hour break we hit the ziplines again, this time for a trek to a treehouse with a spectacular canopy view.
We ended up hiking and zipping for most of the day, and Nico and I also decided it was worth dangling in the middle of the 300-400 foot high zipline entrance to our treehouse for some photo-ops. Let me tell you something, zipping is amazing. The wind rushes through your hair, you feel like youre flying, etc., hanging is terrifying. I got out into the middle of the line, took some unreal photographs, but all the while kept thinking to myself, "Shit, I am 300 feet off the ground. Shit. If I fall, thats it. Shit. Shit. SHIT!" It was worth it though.On day three, we had breakfast in the morning and embarked on the 2 hour journey to base-camp. It was sad to be departing the jungle, but we were equally as motivated to take advantage of our last opportunity to hang above the jungle canopy. We managed to make it to base camp and trek down the mountain to the jeep, beating the rain. After lunch and a drive home, we took naps and the 8 of us met up for a final drunken dinner spectacle farewell.This time, I expect Nico and I might keep in touch with these friends. Hopefully, I mean, I did promise Rob to meet him in Vegas for his 21st on February 8th 2011.
Note: Let me say this, if any of you are considering a trip to Southeast Asia and are adventurous/outdoors-y, passing on this 3-day opportunity cannot happen. Passing on this would have been my biggest travel regret from a lifetime of trans-continental travel.
Note: Let me say this, if any of you are considering a trip to Southeast Asia and are adventurous/outdoors-y, passing on this 3-day opportunity cannot happen. Passing on this would have been my biggest travel regret from a lifetime of trans-continental travel.
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