Muang Houayxay

By Andrew:

Laos is separated from Thailand by the mighty Mekong River. Near to Chiang Rai there's a relatively new crossing point efficiently named Friendship Bridge no. 4, and our local bus arrived there more or less on time. Here the Thai's quickly got rid of us, and we caught a separate bus across the very wide no-man's land to the Laos side. With the inefficiencies of our last Laos visit still fresh in our minds, we'd elected to get our visas online in the hope that this would speed things up. All the payment and processing would already be done, so what more could there be? A stamping fee, apparently! And funnily enough it didn't come with a receipt...welcome back to the developing world. But the Laotians weren't done with us yet, and we then met one of the most confusing touts that I've come across in my travels.

There was a Laotian who had been on the bus since Chiang Rai (about a 3-hour journey), and we met him again as we queued for a songtao (like a truck/tuk tuk lovechild) that would take us into the closest town. He finished chatting with the driver and then jumped in with us, even though he said that was only going to the bus station (which was on the way to town). We knew that our journey should be a standard 100baht fare, so we thought it might actually be helpful having a friendly local on board. We got chatting again and he eventually suggested that we tell the driver which hotel we were heading to, in case we needed his help translating before he reached the bus stop. We tapped on the roof and let the driver know which hotel to drop us at. He immediately stopped and said that we'd need to pay extra to get to town because he was only expecting to go to the bus station. We argued for a little while before our "friend" chimed in and advised that the extra was necessary. So we reluctantly agreed, and the songtao continued on to drop our "friend" at the bus station. Now he changed his mind and advised that he also wanted to go into town, so we suggested that he should also be paying the extra. He reluctantly forked out the same fare as we'd been asked for, rode into town, and then got out at our stop. Here, rather than waiting around to see if he was playing the world's longest and most confusing con, we decided to give him the slip instead. Given that his mate in the songtao had taken off, we took solace in the fact that he'd have a long walk back.

Huay Xai was very much a dusty border town, but it was the starting point to the excitingly named "Gibbon Experience", so it was a necessary stop. Sadly, in this case, "dusty" was interchangeable with "smoky", and the haze seemed to have followed us from Chiang Rai. We'd booked this particular tour months ago, and then planned the remainder of the trip around it, so we were feeling quite disheartened as we piled into the back on the songtao that would take us into the jungle. It didn't help that we'd need to traverse 2 hours of potholed highway and another 45 minutes of dusty mountain track to get there. Or maybe it did help...?

We arrived at a remote village, and we were immediately greeted by smiles and waves from the friendly locals. This served to reset my "first world problems", and began one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

I'd deliberately avoided doing too much research into what we should expect from the Gibbon Experience, but I think it would have exceeded them regardless. Situated within Nam Kan National Park the GE is set up as a kind of eco-tourism for adventure lovers. Here they have built the world's highest tree houses and connected them with kilometres of ziplines. When you're not zipping around, your guides explain natural foods and remedies that can be found in the jungle, as well as helping you spot wildlife. We were lucky enough to track down macaques, langurs and a giant squirrel. Each morning we were also treated to the fantastic songs of the gibbons, although they remained hidden from view.

The real highlights were the people looking after you. Every morning and evening, local ladies from the village would zipline into your treehouse carrying tasty meals in portions that would feed an army. We'd splashed out and booked the "honeymoon" treehouse, which we assumed would just give us a bit more privacy from the remainder of our group (which was already quite intimate, at only 5 other people). To our amazement, it turned out to be an entirely private tour, with our own two guides!

It was an unforgettable experience that we owe to our guides, Vong and Moua. In the end, we pretty much forgot about the smoke-filled sky...and the sweat...so much sweat!

By Mel:

Hands down this was the trip highlight for sure - for Andrew at least!
Being a little nervous about heights and historically known for NOT coping well with the heat and humidity of trekking through the tropical rainforest (ie fainting and/or heat stroke) I was cautiously hoping this would be one of mine also!
Ultimately, this experience all came down to our exceptional guides - Vong and his trainee guide Moua were incredible!
We had three days which were pretty much a private tour at our own pace, with Vong sharing stories, information about jungle plants and remedies - and plenty of laughs!
Being such a small party we saw a LOT more wildlife (see Andrew’s part) than some of the bigger groups and Vong has an amazing eye for what makes a good photo!
We felt incredibly lucky to have this experience and so thankful to have Vong and Moua lead us through this special part of the world.
The Gibbon experience was indeed an experience of a lifetime!!!Read more