Houai Xai
From Chiang Khong, it's only a short boat trip across the river into the Laos border town of Houa Xia. I've visited Laos before through work in 2004, and it was great to be back – I just love the Lao people. And the $1 big bottles of Beer Lao aren't bad, either... However, my ankle was getting worse – aggravated by lugging around my backpack – so I wasn't going anywhere for a few days. Lucky bugger that I am, there was a cancellation on the Gibbon Experience departing in 4 days time, so I had the chance to spend a few days recuperating in my US$5 hotel room while I waited.

Gibbon Experience (8-11 Feb)
This was an amazing, unforgettable experience, and one of the best things I've done in my life! If only it was a day longer...

The Gibbon Experience is an eco-tourism program, which involves travelling out to one of the jungles in the Bokeo province of Laos, living in massive treehouses perched around 40m above the jungle floor, and travelling between treehouses and various walking trails on ziplines/flying foxes which have you flying through the canopy. It can be a bit nerve-wracking if, like me, you have a mild fear of heights, but the double-carabiner harness system is very safe. This jungle is the habitat of black gibbons, as well as other exotic wildlife, that you might be lucky enough to see. While it was set up and is currently managed by young foreign ecologists/activists, the program employed locals to construct the treehouses and install ziplines. Now that it's running, it employs only locals to actually run the program on-site, which includes local rangers to prevent poaching. This justifies the relatively high cost (US$100) for the 2-night program. There are two programs; the Classic and the Waterfalls. We did the Classic, which everyone seems to rate highly. The Waterfalls has a bit of a mixed review; some people enjoy it (more water, more hiking opportunities), but some find it boring due to the lack of ziplines and the longer trek to/from the site – meaning they had to leave earlier on the final day. Since you're only on-site from early afternoon on day 1 until around lunch time on day 3 (so there's only one uninterrupted day, and two half-days), I think the Classic makes more sense. Most people in our group agreed that one more day, even with additional cost, would have made the experience perfect – although it's still fantastic as is!

We got off to a flier, with both front tyres puncturing simultaneously on our 4WD on the drive out to the site (near Ban Donchai). This was to be the first in a continuous string of transport problems in Laos for myself and Adam, an American who was the only other tourist in the 4WD (the others 11 members of the group travelled in another transport) – we spent the next few weeks trying to work out which one of us was the jinx! Using a combination of wood, a machete, screw-drivers, a spanner (this just to get the wheels off the rim), a puncture repair kit and eventually a passing truck's pump, we eventually made it to the drop-off an hour late. The number of locals we passed walking alongside the road on the two-hour drive along the under-construction highway (which will eventually provide a direct road link between Thailand and China), invariably hauling heavy loads of water or food for who knows how long, was surprising; it's hard to fathom how different their lives are compared to ours.

After a one-hour trek from the drop-off we arrived at the kitchen – home of one cheeky monkey and another affectionate one, who took an immediate liking to Silke and went to no-one else during our 3 days. After harnessing-up, we took our first zipline out to Treehouse 1. I was lucky enough to be the only male amongst 5 lovely ladies in the treehouse, so no complaints from me (I can't vouch for them)! We spent the daytime zipping through the canopy, and exploring some of the jungle paths in search of waterfalls without success. Night-time was spent relaxing in the complete quiet and darkness of the treehouses – broken only by the barking of deer in the jungle nearby, and the grunting of the pig beneath the drop-toilet of our treehouse waiting for its dinner to be served... best not to think too much about that. The view at dawn is breathtaking. Both mornings we woke early to go out in search of the elusive black gibbon. On the second morning we were lucky enough to hear them singing to one another, thanks to the tracking skills of our guide. Unfortunately we weren't stealthy enough slipping through the undergrowth, and sound really carries in the jungle, so we never got close enough to see them. But hearing their song was special enough. You can find a few videos of the ziplines and one of the gibbon song (ignore the visual, and just listen!) http://www.stage6.com/user/DiscomBob/" rel="nofollow">here.