Mar 22- Flight of the Gibbons

Jessie and I started the morning at a temple located just around the corner from our hotel. It was beautifully constructed and we took time to walk around it and take in the intricate details around every corner. There was only one woman there and she seemed to welcome us in, so it was very comfortable.

At one point, there was a beautiful temple like structure, but there was a sign saying “Forbid Women Inside”… fairly odd for the 21st century, but I guess we have to respect other cultures (Jessie and I did not go inside).

After the temple, we went into town to get a big brunch. The afternoon would be filled with a long tour, so we knew we had to fuel up. For this reason, we each had steak and stir-fried veggies for brunch… delicious and very filling!

Jessie and I returned to our hotel afterwards, got packed up and soon we were picked up for our tour. It was an hour long journey to the rain forest where we would begin our adventure. We soon arrived and were suited up in our harnesses and hard hats.

Then it was off to the treetops. The rainforest’s ecosystem is said to be 1500 years old and the size of some of the trees really displayed that. To be quite honest, I was very nervous to leap off the podium and begin my ‘flight’.

Before we knew it, we were told to jump off the platform and let the harness and cables do the work. This is easier said than done. When you look down and see the great distance between yourself and the ground, it’s not so easy to jump.

Jessie opted to go first and she soon was gliding between the giant trees in the rainforest… wow, what an experience! The guides were very knowledgeable and helpful. They took extreme measures to ensure safety at all times, and apart from a few instances where they joked around for a laugh, we both felt very safe.

After the first few zip lines, I began to feel more comfortable with the activity and went from enduiring it, to enjoying it. It’s a totally different feeling when you’re weightless and zooming through the trees in the rainforest… very surreal.

Throughout the afternoon, we had the opportunity to spot a gibbon family. The father was dark brown, while the mother was cream coloured. They had a little baby who was very active and cute. It was fascinating to watch them swing through the trees. They were so agile and smooth, I can understand why this company picked the name “Flight of the Gibbon” because it looks like they’re flying.

After the 3 hour long zipline course, we were taken back to the main station and we had a delicious dinner with live music. It was a nice opportunity to come off of the adrenaline high and refuel with some delicious Thai food.

Following our meal, we were taken to a waterfall that’s also in this mountain. We only had about 30 minutes at the waterfall, but it was so breathtaking, you could spend a whole day there. Jessie and I pushed ourselves to hike up to the top and the views were definitely rewarding. It was stunning being up so high, watching water cascading down a waterfall and looking out over vast amounts of rainforest… we live in such a beautiful world!

The hike down the waterfall was a little scary because some of the steps were steep and were covered in wet leaves. In the end, we made it back safely with some great photos and amazing memories.

The long drive home went quite quickly because I was once again asleep. The rest of our night was very low key, we were spent!