There was no way we were getting on the slow boat after what we had just been through. The slow boat takes 2 days, ten hours or so each day, with a stopover at a sleepy little town where there's nothing at all going on. A cramped boat and a hard bench for 20 hours did not seem the right way to go. At least, that's what we convinced ourselves the night we got home from the Gibbon Experience. Six of us going south, and it was going to be the fast boat for us. The next morning, though, we started to have second thoughts. That is, until Brad and Liel came downstairs and revved us back up for the beauty of being in Luang Brapang in a mere 6 hours.

A short tuk-tuk ride later and we were at the dock handing over hundreds of thousands of kip (about $10 each), then donning lifejackets and strapping on crash helmets. Our bags were tied under a tarp on the bow of the boat and then once the rain passed, we were on our way. Fast. The boat was probably more uncomfortable than the slowboat. A small cushion for your ass. A hard board for your back. And then six of with our knees up tight to our chests, smashed into a longish, very thin, very light speedboat. The brown Mekong was only inches from me and we skittered across its surface. There were strange whirlpools of random debris, odd currents that crossed over one another, and long streams of crap that gathered in wide swaths in various parts of the river. We blasted along, the engine whining and grinding, too loud even to talk to the person next to you. High mountains appeared out of bands of clouds and around wide bends along this enormous river. Everything was lush and steep with a random hut or small village perched among the verdant hillsides. My eyes were wide and I held on tight as the Mekong sped by below, brown and soupy and sodden. It was going to be six hours of this, and once again I could not believe what we had gotten ourselves into. It was a feeling I knew well at this point. As we raced south I thought about everything we had just done, and whether or not I was pleased with how it had all gone.

There was so much of the Gibbon Experience that was absolutely amazing. There was some of it was okay. There was a bit of the whole thing that was questionable, and then there were a few tiny parts that absolutely sucked. Best to get right to the good stuff. My favorite was on Saturday, just after lunch when Lu and I were out on the wires, and I was waiting for her to zip across the valley. It had rained during lunch, but the sun was out, low in the sky, just over the mountains. But still some rain sprinkled into the Bokeo Forest Preserve and a few minutes earlier, on the other side, a few of us had discussed the possibility of a rainbow. Brad replied, "if I see a rainbow, this will definitely have been worth the hundred and thirty bucks." Both Lu and I agreed. So there I stood on the wooden platform, safety line attached and harness firmly gripping my hips and legs, when Lu comes ziiiipping out of the mist and patchy rain, right arm raised, fist to the sky, huge grin on her face. Lu sees me on the landing platform, shouts "Rainbow!" and pumps her arm in victory. On the next line I too saw the rainbow. It arched from the edge of a mountain and disappeared into a gray cloud at the other end. I was four hundred feet in the air, suspended from a thick cable blasting through the air as the forest raced by below me and to the sides and a rainbow above. It was awesome.

The treehouse we lived in for 2 nights was awesome, too. And the group of eleven that we were doing the Gibbon Experience with were all great. We knew it was going to be a fun trip when we spent the first third of the journey howling with laughter as we rode in the back of a "sanglaw" (converted pickup with padded benches under a cap in the back). As the trip progressed we became even better friends, which is I guess just what happens when you are literally putting your life in the hands of the people around you. We all helped each other on the long hikes in and out, and to check the safety and harnesses for one another out on the ziplines. It was interesting to become part of a group. That happened a little bit after the Elephant Nature Park, but the arduous and adventurous aspect of the Gibbon Experience drew it out even more. Which was why I was on that speedboat, in part. I trusted these people! And we were in it together! And it was more like a 6hour zipline ride south into Laos, and that's what we were used to, now.

The ziplines were exhilarating. You had to just step off the platform and go flying through the air, the rain stinging your face as you outran the mosquitoes and leeches. We got one full day of ziplining. It wasn't enough. For all the effort that went into getting there, a little more time on the lines would be right. And getting there was truly an effort. The truck we were in was able to ford the river and then we hit the dirt (mud) road. Only twenty minutes in and it was time to jump out and push. A little while after that the driver pulled out a big strap and it was time to tug. The group of us dragged a truck out of about four feet of mud as the driver rocked and rolled the vehicle back and forth. Eventually, though, the going got to be too tough. He had made it about half way, which meant we had about three hours of hiking ahead of us. We knew going in that the truck might not make it at all, and that would have meant a seven hour hike in. It seemed clear that the seven hour hike would be waiting for us on the way, out too. The road was very steep, very muddy and very slippery. For most of it we hiked barefoot because the soles of our shoes got covered in mounds of mud, repeatedly. And it was raining. Still, it wasn't that bad. I really didn't care about the conditions or the length of the hiking, but there was something about it that just didn't sit right with me. I didn't fully realize what concerned me about the trekking until we were on our way out. And that's the part that sucked about the Gibbon Experience. It's still not quite ready for public consumption. It would certainly never be allowed to operate the way it does in a Western country. But I've come to realize that's just sorta the way things are in Southeast Asia, in general, and in Laos in particular. You're just way out there when traveling in these countries, and anything goes. It's definitely a 'buyer beware' and 'a wing and a prayer' kinda situation at times. For example, that speedboat I was sitting in skimming down the Mekong at 60 knots an hour around rapids and rocks and floating trees. It was clear to me, though, that this driver knew his shit. He had probably been up and down that river many thousands of times. He had deliveries to make and places to stop. He went slow around the tough parts and opened it up for the flat, easy bits. I'd say it's far riskier to take a bus ride down I-95 in the rain. Still, the visceral immediacy of what we were riding in was enough to get the blood moving. As for the Gibbon Experience, though, I think it's a little different. There just doesn't seem like they have any kind of backup plan if things go wrong. If someone twists an ankle, or hits their head, or gets so sick they can't walk, then they are in serious trouble. From the first zipline to the road, it is a serious seven hour hike. They don't have walkie-talkies, there are no helicopters. They did have a truck that would have gotten us all the way to the village that's only an hour walk from the actual basecamp and ziplines. And I've decided that without that truck to be available for evacuation, the program just isn't ready.

Once you get there, though, and before you leave, there is a period of time that is truly amazing. We got to play with baby monkeys, a baby gibbon, we got to meet and talk to some incredible people. The adrenaline rush of the ziplines was powerful and addictive. We got to play spades, we learned some new games, we hung out with the guides and learned some Lao from them. We saw huge spiders, a tame(ish) baby bear the camp saved from poachers came out to play. We learned the best way to get rid of leeches (burn them off w/ a lighter). Another powerful moment was deep in the first night, under the mosquito net, suddenly wide awake when I heard what seemed to be a waterfall move across the forest canopy and then begin soaking the treehouse we lived in. It was the rain, and it was torrential. On the last morning after a quick early morning, last zipline run, we sat and ate breakfast. And while we ate, we heard them, finally. OOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeee! Ohhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeee! They called from distant trees. It was the gibbons, singing to one another, the very reason we where there. The money we pay to play helps protect those animals, and gives the humans in the area another source of income instead of logging or poaching. The singing of the gibbons was a lot more pleasant than the blasting grind of the speedboat engine, that's for sure.

I realized suddenly that I had been asleep somehow. And then I turned around and saw my other Gibbon Exp friends had all fallen asleep, too. Brad beside me. Liel and Lu directly behind. Kate and Pete from the UK all the way back, everyone nodding off inside their crash helmets. I couldn't believe it! I couldn't believe I had even fallen asleep for a moment! But we were four hours in, the sun was getting low, lunch had just been devoured at the stop it would take the slow boat a full day to reach. Apparently, you can get used to anything! Every part of me was falling asleep anyway, why not the brain, too?

Only 2 hours left and we would be there. I was so psyched we had made the bold choice and opted for speed. I wouldn't recommend it in the dry season, but it seemed really just totally fine when the river is high. I don't know that I can recommend the Gibbon Experience, though. I'm utterly thrilled that we did it, and made it through it, but it was truly one of the hardest things I've ever done. Without a few more safety touches I just can't give it a complete thumbs up. If you think you can handle it, and want to, then by all means, go. Just don't go cursing my name when you fall on your ass for the third time, find a leech stuck to your nipple and walk barefoot in the rain for seven hours! The list of dangers they cite as 'including but not limited to' is really more a shopping list of exactly what you are going to face.

Going changed things a bit for us. We got a first hand look at just how different this country is, what's acceptable and allowed. We found out that we're actually pretty tough, and can handle a lot more than we might have expected. Lu was amazing up there. Although not fond of heights she rocked every zipline, and was often the one to insist we go hit the big lines a few more times. And if you are scared of heights, stepping off a platform two hundred feet in the air is no easy feat. It was really cool to make some good friends, too. It was only with them that we were brave enough to risk the speedboat, and I'm so happy we did.

It was getting dark fast when the speedboat finally pulled to the shore. Luang Prabang, Laos. There was a hot shower and good food waiting. Luang Prabang and Laos in general used to be under the control of the French. That meant there were a few things here we wouldn't find anywhere else. Baguette chicken sandwiches with lettuce, cheese, tomato and mayo. Wine. French cafes and interesting architecture. It was incredible to be there in only 6 hours. Our group spread out through the old city portion of town, found guestrooms and then reconvened for dinner. We hung out a few times over the next few days and one night all went out to the ex-pat/traveler/latenight joint called the Vietnam Bar. It was a scene and so much fun. Some guy rocked tunes with an acoustic guitar with only 3 strings. He even played us a special honeymoon tune, just for us. It was a Blind Melon song, but he didn't know all the words. There was a night market in Luang Prabang and all the sellers were very happy to see Lu appear. I think her shopping repuation preceded her! Went out to some really cool waterfalls and checked out a very dark cave. The next morning we were on the road again, but now we were down to three. Liel, Kate, Pete and Hagar who was also at the Gibbon Exp stayed on it the town while Lu, Brad and I took the VIP bus south to Vang Viene. Spent two hours in a tiny village as the bus people tried to fix one of the wheels, and when they finally got it back together, we continued on the craziest, curviest road I have ever been on. They even give you little plastic bags for motion sickness!

In Vang Viene we took bungalows by the river and then hit the town for some dinner and drinks. Yesterday we got up and got out, heading for the big attraction of this backpacker town: tubing. You rent a tractor tire tube and a ride for $3.50 and then spend the afternoon floating downstream. Of course, the Lao put their own little spin on things and know money when they see it. So what happens when you've got a good sized river with many deep parts and big trees? That's right, ropeswings. Lots of them. And all of them have a little bar attached so if you buy a Beer Lao, you've also just purchased unlimited swings off these fifty foot monsters. Talk about adrenaline!! For someone afraid of heights, Lu sure does end up swinging high in the air quite a lot. Today we rented a motorbike to go and check out some caves and it was really fun. A guide brought us in deep. We had to crawl through portions of it and I could feel the many thousands of tons piled up in the mountain above us. I think the crawling around deep underground scared me far more than the ziplines and speedboat and ropeswings combined! We've got one more night in Vang Viene (happening right now) and then we are off to the capital of Lao. Vientiane. It's only a VIP bus, no speedboat this time. But the roads are twisty enough to whiten the knuckles a few times, even as we gasp in wonder at the incredible views.