Days 113-115 -- Gibbon Experience

The Gibbon Experience: So where to begin? The group that arrived back from their trip the day we checked in all got sick from food poisoning or something similar so we were kind of unsure what to expect. All they did was complain, but at the end of it all they said would do it again in a heartbeat. Anyways, we woke up early and had some breakfast before reporting to the office. Watched a informational and safety video about the conservation project and then jumped in the back of a truck for the 2.5 hour drive into Bokeo Nature Reserve. I got stuck in the back of the truck with tons of luggage so nowhere to put my legs and it was freezing out. No big deal...all part of the experience right? We arrived and met the group leaving the reserve who gave me a machete with instructions to keep a tradition alive....really interesting guy who reminded me a lot of Daffy from the movie, The Beach.



So we decided to go with the Waterfall Experience since that is all they had available and am I glad we did. We started with a 2 hour trek to the waterfall...beautiful scenery but freezing water. Didn't want to waste the opportunity so had a quick swim. Had some snacks and then hiked further into the reserve to let the real fun begin. On the first day we probably hit about 6-7 ziplines and we stayed in Treehouse 6 which had a zipline going right into it...so much fun! You have to see the pics of these treehouses b/c they are too difficult to describe...amazing! The guides left us on our own and then we went on a zipline adventure around the area until sundown...it got dark fast! Had dinner, drank some whiskey and the guys decided to be brave and do the small triangle...with only our flashlights it probably wasn't the best idea to go zipping around, but we made it out alive and with no injuries. Time for bed and as soon as we hit the bed the rats were out. Had been warned about them before we got there...but didn't know they were that quick. They thuddered around chewing on our leftover food, rummaged through the trash...basically making enough noise to make you feel uncomfortable trying to sleep...all part of the experience is what I kept telling myself.


Day 2: Didn't get much sleep b/c of the overnight surprises. Forgot to mention the spiders that were the size of a hand that lingered around on the ceiling. Guides were there to fetch us at 7AM...had some tea and we were off. Moving treehouses today we again trekked in the jungle for about 2 hours with ziplines every little while to get us across long distances...so about these ziplines. I think the whole experience is not about seeing gibbons, but more about the zips. You have zips ranging from 50-400 meters and you're suspended about 200 feet above the treeline...talk about an incredible ride! Checked into Treehouse 4 @ about 1pm...had lunch and then went on an afternoon adventure on the zips without our bags. Long zips, short zips, visiting all the other treehouses...what an afternoon! That night we played drinking games and weren't up for another night adventure since we had such a big day.

Day 3: No rats to keep us up in Treehouse 4 so sleep was good...other than the occasional ant. Took off early again and went on an all morning zipping adventure. Did this real cool triangle of zips about 3 times before we had to take off. Made the trek back and said goodbye to the group...Luckily we ended up with a good, young group of people which made the whole trip that much better. 4 Australians, 2 Canadians and then Mike and I. The whole experience was amazing and I think they should consider a name change since its misleading to think you'll actually see gibbons (nobody we talked to saw any). Anyways, good 3 days that I'll never forget. I'll upload the zipline videos on Facebook since Picasa won't let me upload them for you to check out.

Tomorrow we're off on a 2 day slow boat to Luang Prabang....should be interesting!