Jen and Ted in the SEA

Vang Vieng is a Laos town situated along the Nam Song River and is a destination of all young backpackers looking for a relaxing day tubing down the river drinking beer and swinging from these long ropes into the river. These "tubers" (get the joke from the title now?) take over the town every afternoon. There are a several businesses that are over-run by with young guys and girls dressed in skimpy bikinis and surfer shorts waiting in line for their tube and the 4 km ride to the starting point.

Ted and I have learned long ago that we aren't 21 any more. We like a few beers and even some good music but we are not touring around South East Asia seeking out the best party, Dude! So we were a little shell shocked when we left the quaint town of Luang Prabang to enter into Fort Lauderdale during Spring Break. The whole town has boomed with this this influx of young backpackers. The town is really in a gorgeous area but the some of the charm is lost on this "tubing scene!". Most people are more interested in how they look than meeting a local or enjoying good food.

Now you may think I'm a bit of an old fuddy-duddy but Ted and I did part take in the "Tubing experience" we stood in line, got to the river and while everyone else from our Tuk Tuk jumped in the water we waited while we applied sunscreen! After the first few "Tube up" bars it settled down a bit and we found a great guy that was very "free" with the Lao-Laos whiskey! We had a few good beers that loosened us up before going to a few more bars on the way back into town. The day was really awesome and Ted and I had a good time (Especially Ted, as I was still recovering from the worst car sickness ever the day before).

We topped off the day with a great Laos supper and more Sticky rice. Laos food has been one of the great secrets about Laos. The food is wonderful and so fresh. I am personally addicted to having Laap Pa - Fish spicy salad and sticky rice!

We left Vang Vieng after only a day so that we could "Kayak to Vientiane". So yesterday we broke up another windy Laos trip with some kayaking down the Nam Lik. It wasn't enough time in the boat for us (or my stomach) but it was fun none the less.

We are now safely in Vientiane for a few days before we leave for the Thai Islands of Ko Samui and Ko Phagan! We only have 2 weeks left of our trip (we arrive home the night of May 28th) and are of mixed feelings about going home...happy to see everyone but we aren't quite ready to give up this golden honeymoon! Thank goodness we don't go back to work until September!!

We are glad to say that we are safe and sound in Laos at the moment. Luckily we are far away from the horrible aftermath of Cyclone Nargis that has battered southern Myanmar last week. We have not heard anything from our friends and family there yet but are still trying to reach them. Our thoughts are with them and we hope that they are alright and safe.

As for us, we did not find out about the disaster until the morning we were heading out of Luang Prabang for a few days of moutain bike riding, learning to become a Mahout (elephant trainer) and kayaking. The ride out of Luang Prabang was a very nice following the Nam Khan river out to an elephant camp. We were able to get real mountain bikes in good shape so the low gears were much appreciated on the steep climbs.

We got there and were then taken across a river to an elephant refuge to spend some time observing the female elephants they have rescued from abuse and saved from hard work in the logging industry. They were outfitted with benches on their backs for tourists to ride on while the Mahout sits on their neck to control them. Jen and climbed aboard for what is normally about a 1 hour walk aroudn the reserve. After a few minutes, our mahout turned to us and asked who wants to drive. Ladies first! Jen climbed down and directed our elephant named Mae Kout through the jungle for awhile before letting me drive. After a few minutes of my driving, we started to decend a steep bank to the river to allow the animals to drink. There were a few other tourists riding other elephants but we were the only ones driving. Pretty exciting.

After the walk, we went for lunch while the elephants got ready to take back to the jungle for the night. We then climbed back on, just on the neck and rode with the mahout back to the jungle to let the elephants forage and eat their required diet of 250 kg of food a day! We then got to take the rest of the day off to relax and read in a remote lodge overlooking the river. This suited us just fine as we had an early morning the next day.

At 6:30 am, we were roused to hike into the jungle to get the elephants ready for the day. It was amazing to see how they had eaten a large area of jungle very clear overnight. They had also managed to their chains (only so they don't runoff in the night) all wrapped around trees, just like a cat or young pup might. The chains were very long and heavy so the Mahouts can't pull them clear around the trees. The elephants are so smart and strong, they effortlessly use their trunks to grab the chains and pull themsleves clear. If the chain gets stuck they even know how to hold the chain safely with their mouth, and wrap it extra tight with their runk to give it an extra yank to free themsleves. Very intelligent indeed!

Then Jen and I climbed aboard by ourselves and rode the elphants out of the jungle and down some very steep terrain. It would not have been so scary had the elephants not tried to stop on a very narrow, steep trail to turn around and grab trees that were as high as my head with their trunks to eat! It was amazing to see how these strong trees and branches are mastered by their strong trunks.

To head down to the river, the elephants had to head down some very tight stairs and then we were able to bathe them to get them cleaned up for the day. Sometimes, there is an oppotunity to brush their teeth too! Today, the elephants will have to do it later as there was an early group coming. We did see one though brushing her own teeth with a stick while the mahouts tied on her saddle/bench.

After spending alot of time riding, cleaning, and feeding the elephants, we had to say goodbye and headed back to Luang Prabang on a sit-on-top, tandem kayak. There were a quite a few rapids on the river but because it is the dry season, nothing too dangerous. We managed them all without capsizing once. We even had time for a cool dip in the river because it was very hot!

It was an awesome experience and were able to enjoy it and have developed a new fondness for elephants. There are still lots more things to see and do but we do hope to hear good news soon from our family and friends in Myanmar.

The Official Gibbon Experience account
Written by Jen
Edited by Ted

The Gibbon Experience is a really cool program that happens in the forests between Huay Xai and Luang Namtha in Laos. The National Protection Area is an enmorous area that is inhabited by many villages and species of animals. The project was created in conjuction with local tribes to protect the forest, help pay for rangers to watch and protect the area (with AK-47 machine guns), increase awareness and decrease slash and burn farming. oh and also protect the rare Gibbon Monkey! This was definitely appealing to Ted and I...plus you can take zip lines through the canopy of the forest and stay overnight in a tree house!! This was definitely something we wanted to check out!

The experience is not for the faint of heart! There are limited amenities and lots of hiking but it is well worth it! The experience starts with a truck ride up the highway and then a 4X4 adventure into a small village to begin our hike. We were in a group of 8 people and we had two guides. This is low season and so it was easy to get a spot but apparently it's a lot harder during high season. We chose the Waterfall Experience...a bit more hiking but it included a waterfall - we are always suckers for a watering hole!

The trek was beautiful but hard. Lots of climbing and it is very hot and humid. In the truck we overheard that there are leeches on the trail this time of year. That freaked Ted and I out a bit but we are tough and decided just to wear our long pants. It was approximatey a 1/2 hour in before our guide pulled the first leech off his foot. I wasn't worried because he only had flip flops on (everyone in Asia wears flip flops to hike). I didn't think I would get a leech. Moments after that another girl on our trip screamed and started shaking her leg. She had a leech on her ankle. Her boyfriend struggled to pull it off while she was dancing all over the place. I'd like to say that the leeches were 8 feet long and had mouthes the size of humans, but they actuallly looked like earthworms! They were however, very ambitious and hungry. As you walked over them they would stand up to jump on you! I'm not kidding!!!! - they were out for blood! It wasn't long before Ted and I had leeches on us too!

It took an hour or so to hit our first zip line - a nice relief from leeches!! We zipped all the way to the treehouse! The lines were long and the views were spectacular! Absolutely amazing. The treehouse was really neat - two levels with a little cooking area and everything! And no leeches! Ted and I were especially excited because we reserved the "private tree house" for the night and were anxious to get over there. After a swim in the "waterfall" - more like some rapids into a pool (remember it is apparently dry season), we were escorted by our guides to our treehouse. The guides are funny - they are true Laotian - so easy going that they forgot to tell us most things! Ted and I zipped into our treehouse without really knowing when we would see everyone again!

The view was awesome and we savoured this alone time! We ate a great sticky rice dinner and spent most of our evening shoeing away cockroaches and other bugs! We fell asleep to the sound of rain!

It rained the next morning so Ted and I enjoyed a leisurely coffee and leftovers! We finally met up with everyone when we were called down for breakfast at 9:30 when the rain stopped. This began our 3 hour mud hike through the leech forest. The leeches were everywhere and so you were always foused on your feet and not stopping (as they were really fast when you weren't moving). We were pretty exhuasted by the time we got to the second Tree house. It was beautiful though and we had a great afternoon visiting, playing cards and zipping with everyone.

It rained again that night and so in the morning we plodded our way back to the village through a lot of mud. We were rewarded with a few awesome zips which lifted our wet spirits! We were done! Smelly, sticky and tired!

We must say this was an experience. ....no gibbons but lots of stories and some good leech welts!! (I found two on my upper thigh after several hours of them feasting!).

The long and short of it is....the forest and experience are super cool and if it was actually the "dry season" it would be really fun! but we enjoyed it and kept smiling and now I will always ask when I begin a trek "Are there leeches on the trail?"

It's been awhile since our last update. We arrived at the Thai-Laos border on April 25th and crossed the Mekong to Huay Xai, where we met the Gibbon Experience (see an entry dedicated to this adventure to come shortly to a computer near you!), after this heroing adventure we headed up to a lovely northern town called Luang Namtha. This country is flipping gorgeous - green and mountainous!! It makes trekking and biking more tricky though - especially since Ted and I are out of shape! We hung out there for a day and enjoyed cheap beer and great biking. We spent the next day on a long and arduous bus ride (we were really only ever travellling 20-30 km/h due to car sized potholes). The ride took 9 hours (partly because of a flat tire). However, at the end of the ride we were still an hour from our destination, Non Khiaw. So we hopped on a Sawngthaw (a pick up with seats in the back) for the last leg of the journey. We ended up in the little town late and tired. Ted and I were sick of travelling and really just wanted to get to Luang Prabang!! Although this little town is beautiful we decided to head south instead of stay - all of the Guest Houses have a lot of big bugs too!

We jumped on a long boat for the 6 hour beautiful journey down the Nam Ou river! It was a photographer's delight. Little villages, fisherman and gold prospectors lined parts of the trip! We enjoyed the sprays of water and the great views. This country is very sparsely populated and so it really feels quiet and peaceful, just what we've been looking for!

We arrived last night in Luang Prabang. It is beautiful old town that is filled with temples and it lines the Mekong and another little river. We did a big search to find the "right" guest house - this town is a little over-run with travellers! We plan to hang out as most people do when they get here!!! We may stay for awhile and do some short trips - we'll keep you updated! Today we started some shopping but the most exciting thing we have found is some new flip flops for me - I made a big hole in the bottom of mine!