the gibbon experiance

hi,
i am going to be in loas the end of october or the start of november this year as part of our 10 weeks travel and looking for some stuff todo. we plan on doing the gibbon experiance and tubing, has anyone on here done these? i have read alot about the tubing and how its alot safer and calmer now the swings etc are away. what can i expect from both of these?

there will be 3 of us going.

thanks in advanced

Hi,

The tubing is safe really, was just there and plenty of folk participating and enjoying. Would have been safe before if folks had used a little common sense. Lack of that and sheer bravado combined with huge amounts of alcohol do little to ensure safety. As for the Gibbon experience, never done that so cannot comment beyond - it looks expensive to me for what you actually get.

We visited Vang Vieng in mid January and saw almost no one tubing. With all of the swings/slides and almost all of the bars gone, the huge party groups were totally absent during our visit. Everyone seemed to prefer kayaking over the tubes. All 3 days we kayaked, we saw only 4 people tubing. We decided to do a 2 hour kayak with 2 hour tubing on our last day because we had never tubed in all our many visits to Vang Vieng and actually became bored after an hour of tubing. The scenery is lovely, but we enjoyed it more kayaking than tubing and so did most everyone else during our visit.

Gibbon Experience, way too expensive! It is a hassle to get there, the accommodation though unusual is very basic and the food terrible and too little. Add unfriendly staff and absolutely no gibbons and we payed way too much money for a zip-line outing.

Thrive- would you mind to post more information about your 3 days kayaking in Vang Vieng? it sounds like something we may enjoy, where did you go, who did you arrange kayaks with etc?
thank you

I honestly do not remember the name of the company we kayaked with. There are so many and most seemed to have similar pricing. I am sorry I cannot be more specific. Take a look at several. They all have a pricing book to look at and be sure to ask questions about where you go, how long the trip takes and how do you get to the start etc.

All of our kayak adventures were very enjoyable and the scenery gorgeous. Being mid-January the water was fairly low and calm. Our guide was friendly and spoke English well. He was even happy to let us stop at villages on the way and take a quick wander around.

Generally, on our trips there were no more than 6 other people and we only occasionally ran into other kayaks or tubers. On one trip it was just the two of us and the guide. We chose day trips only lasting 4-6 hours and discussed thoroughly where we would go. Some trips just meander down the river back into Vang Vieng. Others go to caves and even others combine kayaking with hiking or tubing. It seemed that all were quite willing to arrange custom itineraries. We had heard about a nearby waterfall and arrange a trip that had us going by truck to the waterfall and then to the river where we kayaked to a cave. They also do multi-day kayak trips involving overnight camping. One couple we went with had done a 3-day trip with them and loved it, if that is your thing. As I said there are so many companies it can be overwhelming, so stop at 3 or 4, ask questions and also ask people you meet at your accommodation or restaurants for recommendations. One company was very standoffish and almost rude when we asked questions. Obviously we did not choose to use them and that is why I say to look at several first before deciding.

Green Discovery seemed to be one of the most popular, but they were also a bit more expensive than what we paid and we had a bad experience with the same company in Luang Nam Tha. On the other hand, others we met raved about their trips with them.

thanks a lot for the feedback.

Out of those three days you did the kayaking there, which one was your favorite? we may not have that much time in Vang Vieng and I would like to make the best out of it.

I think I liked a trip where we were driven upriver and then paddled to a groups of 3 caves. It was just the 2 of us and our guide that day. To be honest the caves were not spectacular, some interesting formations and twinkling crystals, but nothing amazing. It was the walk to and between them that was interesting. The easy path meandered through above-the-head high grass, forest areas and villages.

This is one trip where we asked to stop at a village. As we were paddling a young woman waved down our guide who was in a two-person kayak. After a short conversation in Lao our guide asked if we would mind taking her downstream a bit. We said OK and she daintily climbed in the spare seat sitting on her heels the whole way. Off we went eventually getting to a series of stone steps up the high riverbank. She jumped off thanking us. We asked if we could see her village which was just down a short path at the top of the stairs and our guide agreed if we did not stay too long. The young woman seemed delighted and translating through our guide took us on a tour of the village. We stopped briefly at a small village stall that sold cold drinks, the village Wat and then headed back to the kayaks.

We then continued paddling back to Vang Vieng stopping at a mildly interesting organic farm called Mulberry Farm that is listed in all the guide books. Looking back, I could have easily skipped this since we were rushed through the place by the representative from the farm, a Dutch man that seemed to be annoyed at having to deal with tourists. I can understand this, but why agree to take tours? We saw absolutely no one working the fields. I mean, really no one else, anywhere. The plots were sparse since most had already been harvested (late December 2013). We got a seriously brief look at the eco-built accommodation of the volunteers; think cock bottles as windows embedded in plaster covered straw filled walls, then hurried back to the cafe. It gets fantastic reviews, but we were not hungry just then and our kayak guide seemed anxious to get back to the river. The Dutch man huffed, visibly exasperated, turned heels and left without even saying goodbye. In total, I think we were there 10 minutes. Even our guide mentioned his arrogant behavior. To be fair, others we talked to loved the place so maybe we just hit the guy on a bad day or they lucked out with a different representative and saw some actual crops in the plots.

The rest of the trip back into Vang Vieng was gorgeous as was most all of the river. It was just beginning to get dark as we paddled into Vang Vieng and the light of the setting sun on the river was magical. All in all, it took about 7.5 hours and we gave our guide a good tip for being so accommodating to our requests and slower than most pace. We have a tendency to get guides and other tourists slightly annoyed at our constant stopping to examine flowers, plants and insects or chat with locals. I really do not get the "let's walk as fast as we can" attitude of so many hardcore hikers. Anyway, that was our favorite day.

Now I really wish you would recall the name of the company and your guide, we too, like to stop and smell the flowers, take a photos of butterfly etc. and yours seemed to be just the right type of person who would suit us as well.

What other places in Laos did you visit, which would you recommend?
if you wish, we can continue this conversation via email.
boleslav80@hotmail.com

I am digging up my partner's journal to see if I can find more information and I will send an email.