My Mum

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“I am travelling through South-East Asia for four weeks” “Cool” “… with my Mum.” “…………..are you having a good time?!?”
Yep, in deeed, you people who have doubtfully been asking me those question, (I am not referring to the ones who were still interested in talking to me!) don’t have a f****** clue what you’re missing out on!

Of course travelling is about exploring all these beauties in the world, meeting people, living without restrictions and responsibilities, feeling free and being far away from the restricting daily life….and all this seems contradictory to taking your Mum along (impersonating all those things you are fleeing from).
It started off a little different for me as I hadn’t seen mine for more than 4 months and was looking forward to see her. (Although the thought of 4 weeks did sound a little scary to me…)
It’s been a few weeks since I got back, but I can say without the slightest doubt that I had one of the best times of my life, ever!

Nina and her Mum had left and it didn’t start off as easy as I had assumed (if I can say I had pictured anything at all).
We only had one night in VTE before the plane, taking us to Huay Xai, took off. But having my Mum in “my” life slowed my actions enormously. Dropping a bag at Mel’s house (a 7- minute-return trip) nearly developed into minor disaster. The soi/dirt road is bad and me no good with someone sitting on the back of my bike...”but I want to coooome!” It was a mother-daughter-swap-situation-feeling and therefore my turn to give in!
That was it. The only time I got pissed off or had an argument with my Mum. (And I suppose you can call it a minor incident as there were no screams, insults or hurt feelings-up to now!?!? Sorry, Mum!)

And off, we went to find the gibbons that no one ever seem to get a sight on.
I had told my Mum to be prepared for freezing nights & days in the jungle. She had brought over her fleece and a pair long stockings for each of us.
We turned out to be the only people on the trip with a full backpack rather than the suggested day pack every single one brought along for the trip. And I paid for my misjudgement.
The weather was beautiful and I nearly collapsed under the weight while walking (or rather climbing) uphill and on the zip wires, when I had to pull myself in, feeling the 15kg(?I may be exaggerating) difference to my own weight.
Whatsoever, the three days were amazing. Zipping through the forest, getting meals delivered to your “house”, getting picked up early in the morning for bush walks, zipping over to meet people, being totally left on your own in the middle of nature (the closest house was four zipps and 10 min walking distance away!).
It was pure, adventurous, a real experience! And I was proud of my Mum. Others in her early 30s were crying and screaming out of fear, but she stuck out her legs (in the straightest and funniest way…) and let go. I loved it that she loved it (especially after the tracking part got her a little).

No gibbons, only their (beautiful???) singing, but definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

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Comments

[Jealous]

Wow
Great adventure and pictures! Big thumbs up to your mum for showing the other ladies how to have fun. After viewing your picture, I think we all need bit of a cold shower. Beautiful!!