Laos / The Gibbon Experience

Photos

We hadn't planned to go to Laos. But while we were waiting at DFW for our flight to Tokyo a few weeks ago, a feature on CNN appeared: the world's highest treehouses, zip lining, and wildlife. Sounded like something we might want to do. I checked the map and it didn't seem too far away (relatively) from where we'd be in Chiang Mai. So, we booked it.

Getting there turned out to be a little more complicated than we expected. Several buses, tuk tuks, a migraine, and a border crossing shakedown later, we made it to Huay Xai, Laos, where the adventure would begin.

We weren't there yet. In Huay Xai, we were packed into pick-up trucks and driven another 3 hours (1hr off road, through a river) to a small village. We were grateful to have snagged a seat inside the truck rather than in the pickup bed. On arrival to the village we meet some people who had just finished the 3 day trek. The assured us it was amazing and gave us a recommendation for the best treehouse.

From the village we hiked up and up and up… we stopped in a small encampment to pick up our harnesses and further up we went until finally we reached the ziplines.

I had been nervous about this endeavor, especially since it was clear that safely and hygiene are not huge priorities in southeast Asia. (Mom, Cheryl, and Twyla: you would be horrified at some of our modes of transport this month. I promise we're staying as safe as we can!) But, the equipment, oversight, and rigging for the ziplines seemed as reliable as what we'd used in California a few months earlier, from what I could tell.

After all the worrying and travel to get this far, it paid off. The ziplines were exhilarating and the views gorgeous. We didn't get our first choice treehouse, but we got the one with the best sunsets.

Though we never spotted any gibbons on the trip, we got to watch a family of smaller monkeys munching on some leaves. And a strange looking squirrel, which I was sure was dinner kind of monkey. We heard the gibbons on the second morning—their call is an eerie, high pitched, almost birdlike but beautiful song.

We shared our treehouse with a retired French couple and a lone Dutchman who was on a trip to reflect on his pending divorce. Ours was the oldest group of the three houses but we were relieved to not have been paid with the younger, gap-year backpackers who would surely be up late partying. (Lao “happy water” was shared with each of the houses.)

The accommodations were a little nicer than camping but still somewhat primitive. We slept on hard mattresses on the floor, surrounded by mosquito netting to keep out both bugs and tree rats (ew) who we could hear scrabbling around the house in the middle of the night. The bathroom had a shower with a gorgeous view, but much to Kyle's disappointment, no hot water. The toilet was our first unavoidable encounter with a squat toilet. I'm sure Kyle will have more to say about this...

Despite the rough lodging, we had so much fun hiking and zipping though the jungle, searching for wildlife and attempting to communicate with our Lao guides and European housemates.

Chiang Mai

We fared much better on our second stop. Chiang Mai is a smaller city than Bangkok, our hotel was in a more central location, and the food was so good!

We decided to take a trip up to the mountains about an hour out of town to take a bamboo river raft trip and to some elephants. Though the sanctuary bills itself as an “ethical” one, some of the conditions seemed potentially inhumane. We talked with some of the workers there and it seems like a complicated issue — left in the wild the elephants will be hunted. Kept in a sanctuary, they have to be chained up at night and whenever their handler isn’t nearby because fences that will hold an elephant (i.e. t-rex strong) are difficult and expensive to build. Nevertheless, it was an experience getting to be so close to the animals, and the sanctuary was built on a beautiful, shady, riverside retreat.

The highlight of our visit for me, which wasn’t until the last night (we should have started with this!) was a street food tour. The food in Bangkok had been a bit disappointing, but probably because we didn’t know where to look. Our Chiang Mai tourguide took us to several stalls in the Friday night market where we tried foods we’d otherwise never have known to order.

Kyle Here: For West Coast liberals that I include myself as a member: Question: Are elephant “rights” to free roaming/zoo breeding superior to helping sex trafficked workers? Basically, this elephant ‘sanctuary’ is a zoo, breeding other elephants, chaining them at night to prevent them from escaping, und using the profits to employ saved sex trafficked workers. Is this ok?

Photos

Bangkok

We arrived in Bankok after a 14 hour flight to Tokyo, then another 7 hour connection, to sensory overload. A crowded, sprawling, noisy, dirty and smelly city. Our hotel was situated on a canal that was sort of quaint (and probably a more “authentic” part of the city) but also strewn with trash and inhabited by many stray cats and dogs. We were a little worried about our first impressions of Southeast Asia.

But . . . I think that was mostly the jet lag talking. With only 2 nights here before we flew north to Chiang Mai, we decided to make the best of it: dirt cheap (and painful) Thai massages to undo the long hours cramped in an airplane seat, exploring Wat Pho, one of the main temples in Bangkok, and a little pool time at our hotel.

Here’s a link to some more photos (wifi is slow here so it’s not easy to upload from the laptop!)

Kyle here: I’ll be a little more blunt-Bangkok is just gross; It is essentially an above ground-cesspool formed from a flow of dragon diarrhea on the Chao Phraya River that feeds dumb tourists like us.