HUAY XAI & THE GIBBON EXP

9th - 11th August 2015

Our first Laos night bus ride was eventful. Firstly we were crammed in to a little two seat/bed compartment with people sitting and sleeping on sacks of rice in the aisle. As we were on the bottom bunk it felt pretty claustrophobic because there was only 10cm of window reaching down to our seats. About two hours in there was a massive bang which resulted in an hours break by the side of the road whilst the driver kept disappearing with an array of tools and parts behind the front wheel. Bodge job complete, we set off again at break neck speed. Round about three in the morning another bang resulted in more mechanics and hanging around. We hobbled into Hauy Xai at 7am, wide awake.

We checked into B.A.P guest house and cafe. It is run by this fiery old lady called Mrs Changpeng. She would take no shit when it came to haggling, but we did get a free noodle breakfast with the room after some fierce negotiation. Helen took an instant liking to her, I was less convinced but decided if we could make friends with her we might survive the night. When her little fluffy dog rounded the corner the decision to stay was made instantly. The rooms were wooden panelled and ensuite with a balcony down the hallway overlooking the Mekong and on the far bank Thailand (the river is the border). After a bite to eat and a bit of life admin we were ready to explore this little border town.

We decided to climb the steep steps to the temple that over looked town. The view from the top was fantastic and the temple shimmered in the sun light as it was clad with metallic tiles. We noticed a monk sat chatting to two westerners in the corner, he beckoned us over and introduced himself as Wat. Most evenings he sits and chats to the tourists to answer any questions about Buddhism and general monk life, in return he can practice his English. We chatted for a while and he invited us to join his English class later that evening with some of the younger monks at the temple.

We returned round half seven to a little classroom at the back of the temple with a handful of orange robed monks and a few westerners who had come along. The young monks were all at different levels and me and a Danish woman called Susan helped them with their pronunciation by reading various texts at the front of the class for the pupils to repeat. About an hour later we left in a flurry of smiles and thankyous. The night ended with a beer on the balcony.

At 7am sharp I was awoken by a large bang from the bathroom, I assumed Helen was having toilet seat issues but then suddenly she burst through the bathroom door in an explosion of balloons and "Happy Birthdays", the loud noise was her accidentally popping a ballon.

My gifts were a nice stripy bag, scarf and stringy bracelet that I bought with Helen the day before however the big surprise was saved for last. A NEW BLUE COLGATE TOOTHBRUSH ! 

We quickly devoured a birthday noodle soup breakfast, said our goodbyes to Mrs Changpeng and her dogs and within no time we were sipping coffee on the squishy sofas at the Gibbon Experience office. There were twenty or so people milling about and we were told we were going to watch a safety video. The lights went down, YouTube came up on the screen with a Happy Birthday song and before I could shoot Helen a disapproving look, a cake made its way across the room. Helen had to shout my name halfway through as at this point no one knew my name.

After the real safety video we piled into the back of something in between a jeep, tuk tuk and pick up truck, and headed for the drop off point an hour away on the edge of the jungle. Harness on, introductions said, names forgotten and we were off. We walked through a small village nearby then we came to our first cable. It was just a small one to get across the river to start a two hour trek high up into the jungle.

The path was small and windy. In many areas large clumps of bamboo had grown so tall it had snapped and fallen at various points and angles making you feel like a ball in a giant game of Kerplunk.

After a hot and sweaty ascent roughly 600m up we reached our first cable. Being birthday boy I got to go first. It was bloody brilliant sliding through the trees at great speed, then suddenly far above them with views across the lush valleys to the rolling blue and purple hills in the distance. If the first cable was anything to go by, this was going to be a great couple of days.

We spent the rest of the afternoon skimming through the treetops and across massive open valleys. The longest cable was 600 metres and the highest was 150 metres. After about ten cables we reached Laos' biggest tree, towering over the jungle. It was so big it was hard to take it all in from looking up from its base. After a spot of tree hugging we climbed the hillside near by and made for our final cable of the day that would drop us off in a treehouse, our home for the night.

As we arrived at the beginning of the cable we saw one of the guides sliding off to the house with one hand on the zipline device and one hanging down below with a kettle of boiling water. These guys are good. There was a small hut next to the start that must be the kitchen. You could kind of see the house through the foliage however as soon as you burst through the trees one the line you could see it in all its glory standing tall, proudly observing the forest below. It was an incredible piece of craftsmanship.

You entered on the bottom floor which had an open sided shower and loo - arguably the bathroom with the best view in the world. Then on the second floor was a massive open area surrounding the tree trunk with a sink and kitchen area in one corner, a table and chairs in another and some mattresses and bedding scattered about. The 360 view was stunning. Finally the third and third.5 floors had a few more mattresses scattered about with equally amazing views. These two floors were perched on two or three of the trees main branches. It really was a magical place, something out of a Disney film. We were greeted by a pet cat called Gale which came as a surprise. Apparently he was zip lined in to catch large bugs and tree rats. A large spread of coffee, tea, rice cakes, peanut brittle and big bowls of logan and rambutan fruits was waiting for us on the balcony, however a cold gin and tonic wouldn't have gone amiss.

After what was probably the most scenic shower in the world we sat on the balcony and drank a warm beer (we had one each) as the sun slid drown behind the distant hills. Dinner arrived via cable, consisting of sticky rice, chicken, beans, foraged mushrooms and a few other bits I forget. We all ate together in the twilight exchanging travel plans and stories as most were traveling a similar route to us either one way or in reverse. They were a great bunch, two from Italy, two from Spain, one from Israel, one from Switzerland, two from China and two from mother England.

Before it got dark we were warned to make sure all our stuff was off the floor incase Gale was having an off night with the tree rats.

After dinner we taught everyone a card game called elevens, which we were taught by the guys we trekked with in Nepal. It seemed fitting and went down really well. Whilst brushing our teeth Gale caught one of the largest bugs I'd ever seen, luckily he ate it. Me and H were the last to bed watching the night sky for ages on the balcony. We drifted off to the sounds of the jungle some noises I recognised others I didn't and was quite happy not knowing what they were or where they were coming from.

We awoke at sunrise to a misty landscape, yesterday's sun had been replaced by moody clouds that growled every now and then rumbling through the valleys. We hit the cables at 7am, deciding to double up to race the looming rain clouds. Going double turned out to be really fun as you went a lot quicker and spun round less. After four or five cables we zipped back into the treehouse just before the heavens opened. Whilst we were out breakfast had arrived, it consisted of omelet, various veg and sticky rice, washed down with tea and coffee. We waited for the rain to lighten, said our goodbyes to Gale who took no notice of us and glided away back into the jungle.

The sun decided to join us along the way which was nice and made the lush jungle sparkle.

Most of the ziplines I would end up falling short and would have to climb like a monkey to the end of the cable, however towards the end of the second day I was nailing the remaining lines. Some of the last lines were the best, you would fly through thick foliage then suddenly find yourself gliding high up over small villages and a mighty coco brown river. After some short hikes and about ten cables we arrived at a small village for lunch and a coolish beer, thanks to their river fed jungle fridge. After a plate of bamboo shoots and rice we had one of the most bumpy, out of control truck rides back to civilisation. We were back with just enough time to have a shower and grab a sandwich ready for our bus over the Mekong back into Thailand.