On Monday morning we we embarked on our jungle experience (2 days 1 night). We all gathered together at the head office and were talked through safety and equipment use. A thunderstorm was forecast for our second day so we were told what we might have to do when leaving the treehouse in an emergency at night (you can only get to and from the treehouse by zip line as it’s so high up). We then jumped on the back of trucks and started our one hour drive to the departure point. It was here we got our harnesses and were handed water and green tea Oreos. Our dream team was made up of absolute legends from Germany, Australia, Austria, France, Singapore, and Canada. Our two guides – Kee and Tavan – were Laos natives and provided so much entertainment and fun throughout the trip.
We set off and headed to our first zip line, a small one over the river which acted as a bit of a test and opportunity to practice with the equipment. We then started the hike. Not going to lie the hike was challenging – going up hill for an extended period in the sweltering heat with a backpack full of water bottles is HARD. After the trip I read the website and it said in bold you needed to be in good physical shape. Oops haha. “I’m a celebrity-oh wait”. We did stop every now and then for a break and to hear some jokes from Kee.
After some sarnies wrapped in banana leaves we then got to the first zip line and OH MY GOD it was insane. Zip lining for a whole minute above the forest was just everything. The smells, sights and feelings you get as you’re flying is just UNREAL. I’ve done Go Ape in the UK before but this was like Go Ape on steroids! And there were another 11 lines ahead of us! Each time the group cheered one another on, shared tips for going faster, and made many video recordings.
Every now and then we’d stop at a significant point in the forest (e.g largest tree in SE Asia) or to watch Kee perform a magic trick. We also smelled the aniseed plant, ate ‘jungle ginger’ and made hats out of leaves. I must mention that for the entire duration of the zip lining on the first day, Tavan was carrying a bag of eggs for our breakfast and he never broke any! What a hero!
Eventually we arrived at our last zip line for day 1 which took us straight into the treehouse we were sleeping in. It was like something of a childhood dream come true. A three storey treehouse with the most incredible view was our home for the night. The guides instantly got us sorted with snacks and drinks and then we had time to shower (cold, mind) before rejoining for dinner. The outdoor shower is so crazy because it’s just open to the jungle! Beth dropped a sock in all the excitement – haha. Local women from the village zip lined the food to us which included fries, KETCHUP, pad Thai, mushrooms, chicken dish, and rice. It was fabulous.
Shortly after dinner we started playing games accompanied by Laos whiskey (or ‘happy water’) that Kee had brought for us to try. It was strong. We saw a caterpillar, rats, and many flying insects as the darkness came upon us but none were bothering us directly.
For sleeping, we had camping matresses and a mosquito net to keep out any animals during the night. You could hear rats scuttling around but none were out to bother us, they just search for food.
We both slept very well and were woken by the Jungle Symphony Orchestra. We gathered for a quick cuppa before zip lining in search of the sunrise. Sadly, it was too cloudy so we returned for breakfast. This included rice, the eggs, chicken, bread, and vegetables.
We then left the treehouse to continue our trek, and experienced the longest zip line in the jungle at 570m long. It started raining heavily during the trek and most of us got soaked (and Beth forgot her raincoat). This meant that whilst flying you felt the rain and wind hit you in the face and you felt that bit more vulnerable flying 200m above ground.
Our penultimate zip line was the ‘oh wow’ moment as we saw the river, animals, farmhouse, and colours before starting our descent.
Lunch was prepared for us by the lake and we were absolutely made up to see beer and food waiting for us.
The journey back to the office was probably the most dangerous part of the whole thing as we dodged more pot holes than Leeds after snow and overtook cars whilst going round a corner.
Overall, it was definitely one of the best experiences ever and we were so lucky to have an awesome group.
Happier than happy water.
