Pai - Chang Mai - Houay Xai

Hi everyone,

Pai

So the next day we headed off to Pai. The minibus took 3,5 hours to get there but the road was really nice as it was thru a beautiful mountainious terrain. We got some advice about where to stay and so booked ourselves into a small bamboo hut along the Pai river. After we had some dinner we explored the town centre and settled down for some Cupa Libres at a place where they were playing amzing live music. A guitarist, bassist, drummer, saxophonist, fluitist and trompetist were playing really nice jazz, soul and blues music. The town was a bit more crowded than I would have thought but one the other hand it was Saturday night. After the place closed shop we decided to go back to our hut and relax a bit on the small veranda before we went to bed.
The next day we hired some motorbikes and explored the town's surroundings which were really amazing. Pai is situated in a small valley and surrounded by higher mountains which makes it feel secluded from the rest of the world. We stopped at a waterfall where we had a swim and relaxed a bit in the sun. At the end of the day we drove over to a temple situated on a hill side to see the sunset. After that we enjoyed another nice dinner in town before we went back to the same place as last night to see a Dutch girl singing. The music was again very entertaining and we spent the rest of the night there. Today Pai was also a bit more quiet and even though it is not the town it probably used to be, it still has a very relaxed feel to it. The countryside around the town is really beautiful and there is literally nothing happening there. After we got home we went to bed and because winter has come (which means it is still between 25-30 degrees during the day but is does get quite cold at night) I was sleeping with my close on. Just as I was falling asleep I felt something on my leg and moved my hand to find out what it was. As soon as I touched it I could feel it was really cold and slippery..... I jumped up and screemed. Tim and Joe, who I was sharing the 2pers hut with, also freaked out because of me. We went looking for whatever crawled up my pants and eventually found a huge (30cm) Lizzard. Luckily not very harmful but nonetheless very scary.
The next day we took a bus back to Chang Mai where Tim and Joe would spend some more time because of some festival. I however had to get to Laos the next day to confirm my participation in the Gibbons Experience. I booked a local bus for the next day.

Houay Xai.

It took me about half a day (0630am - 1400pm) to get to Houay Xai. I booked myself into a guesthouse and went to the Gibbons Expreience office to confirm my participation and get some instructions. I had to buy gloves, shoes and some other supplies which I did. I also met the Brittish Tim again in town and we had dinner together. I went to bed early as the next 3 days were going to be really demanding.

The Gibbons Experience (GE) (3 days, 2 nights)

The GE is a program in the Bokeo Natural Reserve that allows you to explore the flora and fauna in a unique way. They have got ziplines thru the jungle so that you can explore parts of the park with a bird's eye view. The starting point of the tour was one hour out of Houay Xai and another hour on dirt roads into the park. From the base camp we hiked for about three hours before we got to tree house 6 where we would spend the first night. Because all the zipping is downhill, all the walking is uphill and therefore quiet demanding. The treehouse was amazing (150m above the ground) and the ziplines we used on the first day were a bit frightning but mostly loads of fun. The second day involved a trek to the next treehouse which took another 3 hours or so and an afternoon of zipping. I had heard the most terrifying stories about the nights at the tree houses (snakes, rats, spiders, etc) but I was so tired on both nights that I fell straight asleep eventhough there were quiet a lot of really big spiders and rats. On the last day we hiked back to the base comp and were driven back to civilization. It is hard to describe in words or even in photo's and movies what the experience was like but I loved it and it was truly breathtaking.

Houay Xai.

Back in Houay Xai I mainly ate and slept. The next day I used to write in my journal and read in my book. I also booked a 2 day river trip to Luan Prabang which is supposed to be one of the nicest city's in Laos.

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