Wow!!! The Gibbon Experience was one of the best things I’ve ever done!!! We were deep into the jungle (amazing surrounding!!! great experience!!! maybe apart from the leeches…), slept in tree houses sometimes 54 meters above the ground… and zip lines… of course there were the zip lines…You have to see it! 🙂
*** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvjLLsbsbAQ
But seriously… Apart from being so much fun it is amazing project. I’m really impressed!!! I love the idea behind it – to help locals “make a non-destructive living from their unique environment”. It did question my view on a charity I must admit… I will put some information directly from their site.
“Poaching, logging and slash-and-burn farming are destroying primary forest and its inhabitants in South East Asia. The team at Animo have long been looking for innovative methods to solve this problem.
A concept emerged; with the local people we build tree houses and a network of zip lines through the canopy of Bokeo Nature Reserve. We provide accommodation in the treetops and local guides ‘fly’ you over the forest to meet the wildlife. The funds received are reinvested to protect the forest.
At present, Lao National Parks have no forest guards for day-to-day protection. Only the forest guards in the Bokeo Nature Reserve receive a salary; fully funded by The Gibbon Experience. They work 24 hrs a day and presently monitor 25% of the 123,000 hectare reserve.
Once The Gibbon Experience’s infrastructure is fully developed, full ownership of the project will be handed over to the Lao people.”
Once again… such an amazing idea!!! But enough of Gibbons… As soon as I came back from the jungle I took a ferry and cross the border to Thailand. Very easy… I just had to pay the border guys about 1 dollar for working on Saturday. Overtime fee they called it. Fine by me.
Anyway I wanted to go to Chang Mai in the North of Thailand. There was no direct buses at that time so I decided… kind of had to because I was so tired… to stop for one night in Chang Rai. I found a guest house, had a dinner and went for 2 hours Thai masage. So good after trekking… I should have pay more attention to my surrounding… At some point I saw a group of people singing “Happy Birthday King” near the Kings Portrait (King is so important here!!!) but I ignored it. Next day I got a bus and went to Chang Mai. On a station there I decided to go to Pai straight away (it’s a little hippie town in the mountains). I wasn’t aware that on the 5th of December there is a national holiday here – King’s Birthday and thousands of Thai people go to Pai at that time… Apparently 5 years ago there was a movie which made a town so popular. Finding accommodation was so almost impossible. I ended up in a semi-finished bungalow near the river with two German girls. Next day to escape the crowd I went to for a trekking tour and spend a night in a tribe village. I’m still in Pai now. Kind of stuck here. It is a very relaxing place. Will write so more in the next post.
Good fortune cookies 