THE GIBBON EXPERIENCE

Of all the trips Nicole and Jesse had dreamed of prior to our departure from Canada, none excited them as much as the Gibbon Experience - a trek into the jungles of Northern Laos to live like, and hopefully see, some of these rare primates.

The descriptions and stories about this excursion were varied.  Some people loved the experience of living in a jungle tree house, other complained about insects, noises, and other jungle unpleasantries (more to come).  With so much written about the experience, it was difficult to go in with an open mind.  Nevertheless, after checking in to the Gibbon Experience's humble office in Huay Xai, there was no turning back.

For this leg of the journey, Nicole, Jesse, and Karen were joined by their friends Lyndsay (perennial costar of this blog), and Kora - another Canadian exchange student in HK.  Lyndsay and Kora had been in Southern Laos on travels of their own and had taken the slow boat up the Mekong river for two full days to meet up with the rest of the group in Huay Xai.




Day One

Leaving our duffle bags and backpacks at the offices, the group took off with small hiking packs and however much water they could carry for the three-day trip.

Kora, Lyndsay and Karen in the back of the trusty Toyota.

The first leg of the Gibbon Experience is a 3+ hour ride in the back of a pick-up truck from Huay Xai into the Bokeo Nam Ha Nature Reserve.  The truck is the real McCoy, outfitted for off-roading in the most extreme sense of the word.  Leaving the relative ease of the two-lane road behind, after two hours of travel, the truck took a sharp left, fording a broad and swift river and embarked on the second leg of the journey - the road to the end of the road.
Though it did not rain when Jesse and Nicole were in Laos, it had been raining for several days (if not weeks) prior to their arrival.  The road into the jungle went from asphalt to gravel to stone to mud - thick, fetid mud.  Mud so thick and greasy that it conjured up images of trenches in WW1.

It was inevitable, but after cresting several muddy hills, eventually our truck could take no more, and we were forced to walk up a particularly treacherous section of road that was too much for the truck to handle.  While Nicole and the girls struggled up the path, Jesse was left with the fun job: pushing the truck up the with the fleet of local guides we had brought for this very purpose.  Some time later, a bedraggled and filthy man joined the girls at the top of the hill.  Fortunately, this was the only instance of pushing - though the rest of the ride took some expert driving to negotiate the steep ascents and descents on the path.

When the going gets tough, the tough get pushing, and then get dirty.

 Eventually, the road spat us out in tiny jungle village that is the staging point for the jungle trek on foot.  Villagers picked up supplies from the incoming trucks, while groups of children played tag, and all manner of live stock walked amid the dozen or so huts scattered throughout the jungle clearing.  This was truly a scene from National Geographic. 

Despite its claims of zip-lining, tree houses, and jungle fauna, one thing the Gibbon Experience website did not mention was the extent of hardcore jungle hiking involved in this trip.  Our group opted for the "Waterfall Experience," which involved more than three hours of hiking on the first day before we started zip-lining.  Having climbed Mt. Kinabalu several weeks before, we felt that we could handle a bit of hiking.  We soon learned that jungle hiking was another beast altogether.

Not only were there uphill sections as steep as in Kinabalu (although mercifully shorter), these hills were covered in mud, and very slippery.  We crossed four rivers on our first day in the jungle, soaking our shoes and socks, and washing away whatever bug repellent we had applied, mostly to our feet.

Trying to avoid leeches, and one of the many river crossings.

 Why did we apply repellent to our feet, you may ask?  The answer is simple and disgusting: LEECHES.  Lots of leeches.  Nicole and Jesse had been warned about these blood-suckers that litter the jungle floor, but there was no escaping them.    These tiny creatures wriggled into your boots through the smallest holes, and could go right through your socks to get at your sweet sweet skin.

While Jesse and Nicole each had to remove a few leeches at the end of the day, by far the winner in the group was Lyndsay, who found a leech burrowed deep inside her bellybutton [INSERT ROOM FOR VOMITING].  If there is an upside to all of this it's that leech bites don't really hurt, although they bleed for quite some time.

Fortunately, just when spirits were low and nerves were on edge from the constant vigilance against leeches, we came to our first zip line, and the whole experience changed for the better.  Steel cables had been rigged throughout the park creating a network of spectacular zip-lines.  Instead of going from canopy-to-canopy, as Jesse had originally though, the zip-lines crossed entire valleys, providing spectacular views from heights more than 100 meters in the air.  The thrill of zipping along above the jungle, dangling from nothing more than a harness, was exhilarating - and was a much-needed break from hiking.

 Sweet relief from hiking!  By far the best part :)

 Not our treehouse, but they all look the same.

Eventually, the group hiked up to a zip-line that spanned some 75 meters - a very short trip - but ended in our home for the night, Tree House 5.  These tree houses are really something to behold.  Tree house 5 is a two-storey structure in the canopy of a massive tree, some 90 or so feet in the air.  The top floor was the living/sleeping area (complete with a kitchen sink, table and chairs, and bedding) while the bottom floor was the toilet and shower.  Nicole and Jesse both agreed that it was a thrill to shower in the buff while enjoying an amazing view of the jungle sprawled out below.  This was pure heaven to wash away the sweat, mud, and other detritus from the day's grueling toils.  Oh!  As a bonus, Jesse also found two more leeches feasting on his knee!

Pretty decent fare for a jungle, no?

Getting food into the tree house is a somewhat complicated procedure.  Each tree house is serviced by a rudimentary kitchen that is generally within a kilometer or so.  Our guides, Pia and Jerga, left us with some delicious jungle fruits to eat, then zipped off to prepare a more substantial meal.  Some time later they returned with a massive portion of sticky rice (a staple at every Laotian meal) and four different simple dishes of steamed vegetables and some sort of meat stew.  Jesse was the only one who ate the stew.

At this point, it is of note that the group of 5 had been joined by three more travelers to round out the pack.  Three twenty-something British girls celebrating the completion of their undergrad degrees were paired up with the plucky Canadians to share the Gibbon Experience and their tree houses.  These girls were lovely, and their complete lack of any jungle-worthy attire made for some good laughs - especially when the Brits had to clambor up the muddy hills in their slip-on boat shoes!

After dinner and a few games of cards (none of which Jesse won - as usual Nicole was very successful) the motley crew ran out of steam and it was time for bed...but not before a visit from our other roommates, the massive spiders that lived in the thatched roof of our tree house.  These were big, well-fed, hairy critters whose eyes glowed in the dark.  Thankfully they were harmless to humans.  Nevertheless, everyone made sure their mosquito nets were tucked tightly under their mattresses before bedding down for the night.

 CREEPY!

 Not a bad view to wake up to :)

Day 2

 Nicole, Jesse and Lyndsay getting ready to zip out.

The second day in the jungle started early, with Pia and Jerga zipping in with a light breakfast and instructions to pack up everything and get ready to move out.  In their rudimentary English skills, the guides told us we would spend the morning hiking to and from the waterfall, where we would stop for lunch, and then make our way to our second tree house - a trip they estimated at maybe two hours, mostly downhill.  It was at this point that our naive trust of our guides began to melt away as they turned out to be abject liars.

The trek to the waterfall was great - which is to say mostly downhill with a couple sweet zip-lines.  On arriving, we were somewhat disappointed with the waterfall itself.  Tucked far back behind a murky lagoon in a position that prevented all photographic opportunities, the waterfall was maybe 10-15 feet in height.  Some fun was to be had trying to climb it, but the rocks were slippery and the current was quite strong.  In the end, the waterfall ended up being a very refreshing shower and a good chance to take a load off of our weary feet.

 Outdoor meal before swimming at the waterfall.

 After lunch, we began our "easy hike" according to our motherless, double-talking, quacks of guides, Pia and Jerga.  We slogged through the rainforest for hours, seeing no monkeys but lots more mud and leeches.  Hiking in the late morning, we bore the full brunt of the jungle's humidity and our clothes were saturated with sweat in no time.

Highlights of this leg, however, included a ride on the longest zip-line in the whole park - an extremely fast flight of more than one kilometer in length.  By this point, Nicole and Jesse were much more comfortable on the zip lines, and were able to reach higher speeds and come in with graceful landings.  Again, when spirits were lowest, we reached our next home, Tree House #6 several hours later.

 Nicole zipping out of Treehouse #6

 With a few hours of sunlight left, the group left their heavy packs in the tree house and zipped away for some unfettered flights on the zip lines.  Tree House #6 is situated in the middle of a network of many zip lines, so the group really enjoyed their afternoon with flight after flight.

 By dinner time on the second night, the group was beginning to tire of their rations of steamed or fried vegetables and white rice.  Although the taste was mundane, the carbs and simple salts were what our bodies were craving after long hours of hiking.

Tree house life!

 The rest of the night was spent playing cards, discussing nuances of British accents, and dreaming of cheeseburgers, well-cooked steaks, and basically anything other than cooked vegetables and rice.

 View from Treehouse #6

 Stinging ants!

 On this night, Jesse and Nicole took a small bunk on an upper level of the tree house.  The view of the jungle was amazing, but it came at a cost.  A horde of large yellow ants also called the upper bunk home, and despite his earlier lies, Jerga assured us these ants were aggressive and packed a walloping sting.  Fortunately, Nicole and Jesse made it through the night unmolested.

Day 3

Leaving Tree House #6 for the long journey back to "civilization" was bittersweet, as we expected.  The travelers genuinely loved roughing it in the trees for a couple nights, but the hard living was just that - hard.  The group was not fortunate enough to have seen any gibbons.  The monkeys are rare, and the combination of a huge jungle for them to hide in and very loud zip lines, makes sightings a very fortunate event.

Our pig-dog, untruthful guides, Pia and Jerga, told us the hike back out would be about an hour or two of hiking and zipping, then another two hours of just hiking, mostly downhill back to the village where it all began.

As it turns out, our outstanding guides, Pia and Jerga, were mostly right about this one.  Day 3 was dry, and the leeches had either shriveled up, or returned to whatever cesspool that came from.  The hike was actually mostly downhill (after a few massive climbs to start the day), and the promise of a hot shower put some fire under our heels as we hiked out of the jungle.

Our guide Jerga with our ride home, one of the many village pigs, and some of the village children.

 We arrived back in the village just as the trucks arrived to pick us up.  On leaving the village we spotted the new crew of Gibbon adventurers who had just arrived on the jeeps.  Wide-eyes and clean-clothed, these n00bs had no idea what they were in for.  Instead of scaring them with tales of arachnids and blood loss, we simply told them that the Gibbon Experience was an amazing adventure and that they should put their game-faces on and get ready to have a great time.