Well really for me The Gibbons Experience started with our bus trip from Luang Namtha...we knew it was going to be a long haul...about 7 hours, but we were not prepared for the day ahead of us.
*the bus was supposed to leave at 9:30am...it left at 10:30am
*about 1 hour into the trip over the bumpy roads the bus slammed on the brakes about a foot from a truck and the driver cursed and spun the steering wheel round and round. Everyone off the bus the steering column is broken.
*an hour later we are all back on the bus and moving along. Until we arrive at a huge hill...where it is once again everyone off the bus, climb to the top of the hill and even then all the men on the bus had to pull on a rope and help the bus up the hill. Everyone back on the bus.
* oh...everyone off the bus. This time the steering column is really broken. Bus driver hops in another car and goes off to the next village. We wait and wait on the side of the road right next to a construction site...red dust flying everywhere, sun beating down. Here we sat for 4 hours.
*part arrives, they fix it...back on the bus. Until the next hill where the road is single lane and a truck coming down the hill charges towards us...the bus backs up until part of the bus is hanging over a precipice. I am off the bus with Deb in tow in a matter of minutes. Climb the hill and back on the bus.
*several hours later we arrive in the village where The Gibbons Experience is going to pick us up...we were told there were 2 guesthouses in town. It is 8ish in the evening...the town is lights out and quiet. Not guesthouses, but homestays which is ok. Sleep on the floor in a communal room, outdoor washroom, et.
*next day, they pick us up, we hike into the forest (gorgeous), have our orientation and off we go to the first zipline. Incredible. You jump off the platform and whip 100's of metres in the air and sometimes you are so high above the canopy of the trees that you can't even see the forest floor.
The first day is awesome...about a 3-4 hour hike with about 6 different ziplines. It is an incredible way to see the forest from a different perspective
*arrive at teh first treehouse which is actually quite lovely (treehouse #5). Gorgeous views, bathroom where you stand over a slated floor and shower while looking at the sheer drop below. Deb didn't like this feature. The features i didn't like was there was no door so the guides could clearly see into the washroom. We hung up a towel and a sarong to provide some privacy, but that didn't stop them from sticking their faces up against the bamboo slats trying to see in, or even just poking their heads right inside as if they are looking for something other than your naked body. Argghhh.
* next day we go for a nice long hike...I get wicked blisters in my hiking boots and of course they have no first aid kit and we forgot ours. In the end I have to hike for over 4 hours in 2 days in just my socks. End result is that the bottom of my feet are bruised and swollen and I walk like a gimp...this is where you all sigh and say poor Chris. Come on, let me hear it.
*we ask for lunch and they bring us sticky rice and say there is no other food, even though we have seen the guides stuffing their faces (conclusion here is that they eat all the good food in the kitchen and then bring what they don't want up to the tree house). Finally got fed, but none of us were impressed.
*at the next tree house it is even worse. There is no real washroom in the treehouse so you have to zipline out for #2's...and then hike downhill for 5 minutes. not a problem in the day, but at night could be problematic...ziplining in the pitch black does not sound fun to me. There is a little place you can do #1, but it is out in the open...no privacy at all, so seriously you might as well just hang your ass over the edge of the treehouse and say good bye to privacy.
It seriously just goes on like this. The positive is that the ziplining is incredible. What a rush. Flying through the sky so high up...seeing the scenery, sleeping in a treehouse about 80 metres above ground. The experience was amazing...the service was horrible.
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