catch our ride a few hours away to our starting point of the trek.The people in my group wound up consisting of four American guys from the east coast, and two Dutch couples. I rode shotgun in the front seat of the truck, with our Laos driver, with three people in the backseat and the other four stuffed in the back with all of the food and luggage- I was definitely in the most comfortable seat for this two hour bumpy dirt-road ride!
We stopped along the way to grab a few snacks at a small shop, where people started introducing themselves a bit, and I tried my best to use some of the little Lao I know to talk to the locals running the shop. During the truck ride to our final destination, I found a Lao phrasebook and used it to strike up a somewhat contrived and thus amusing conversation with the driver- he appreciated both of these aspects, and we both laughed at my beginner-language questions.
We were dropped off into a small village, where we began our trek. The locals watched us as we got geared up, and we began walking. Our very first minute included walking across a shallow riverbed, and while everyone hesitated to have wet feet for the rest of the day, this was the last time we thought about such things.
We hiked at a steady pace into the jungle, when after a bit we reached another stop, where we were given harnesses for the ziplining. Here we all started to exchange nervous smiles and raised eyebrows at the prospect of the ziplining that was just around the corner. Nobody had done any serious ziplining before, and none of us really knew what to expect.
A few minutes down the road, we were put to the challenge. Each of our individual harnesses hang from a series of wheels in a small metal compartment, with a piece of rubber tire on top to use as a hand brake. We lined up, and when it was time for each person's turn, they had to climb up onto a small wooden platform about five or six feet off the ground, and latch the safety caribbeaner around a big wire loop while waiting for the 'OKAY!!' shout from the other side of the zipline that stretched across a massive valley, so far that the other side could not be seen (hence, the 'OKAY!!' call being necessary). The final step is to clip the wheel contraption around the half-inch thick zipline wire, and when it is time, hold on to the rope that hangs between the wheels and my waist, with the other hand ready on the brake.
When my turn came, I was a bit nervous, but not as bad as I thought I would be! That said, it took a little bit of urging on my own part to take the final step off of the platform (and, eventually, some vocal 'encouragement' of one of the guides. . .'C'mon! Go! Go!') and off I went. I stepped off the platform and zipped across the valley. There was something surreal about it, and it was difficult to fathom how high up I was, or that the quickly passing scenery around me was real. I felt strangely removed from the reality of the experience, but was definitely enjoying it.
When I got to the end of the line and saw the receiving platform attached to a large tree, I started to brake. I wish I hadn't done this, as it meant stopping about 20 feet from the platform, and thus I had to turn around, and drag myself hand-to-hand along the wire, which, was quite exhausting! I didn't really get the hang of making it to the very end until the next day, as I was still a bit nervous, and it was difficult to gauge distance and keep instinctive fear in check. :)
On the other side, everyone chatted about whether or not they made it all the way, offering advice and tips and exchanging feelings of excitement and exhilaration. The rest of the day consisted of about 6 more ziplines, and lots more hiking, when we finally arrived by zipline into our treehouse accommodation for the night around 3 or 4pm, where our guides left us and said 'Have fun ziplining! We'll be back later with dinner!' and off they zipped, into the great unknown of the jungle, reminding me ever so much of Superman.
All of the guys (6 in total) went off ziplining once we had dropped all our stuff off and gotten settled in, but the 3 of us ladies took the opportunity to shower and relax on our mat-beds and read and journaled. It was a fun day, but I was exhausted, and was happy to take a break from more adventuring until the next day!
That evening, around 5:30pm, our Superhero guides zipped into the treehouse, with a 4-leveled Tiffin that carried our hot dinner, as well as a large kettle full of boiling water! We all laughed and remarked on how amazing it was that they were carrying kettles of boiling hot water, when we felt barely equipped to just get to the other side of the ziplines successfully.
We had a good dinner, and spent the rest of the evening chatting, joking around, drinking tea and coffee, and I went to bed early, and fell asleep to the sound of the east coast guys playing cards and joking around in their ever-present banter that was a great source of entertainment for the rest of us throughout the whole trip.
We had a big day ahead of us, and the real question was: were we going to see Gibbons on this trip? Only time would tell...
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