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We meet up at 6am to go get tickets for the bus at 9.30, for Ban Don Chai, a tiny village that acts as the jumping off point for the Gibbons experience. While me and Jim are waiting for the ticket booth to open we're joined by Graham and Rob who are also on the same Gibbons. They manage to squeeze to the front while me and Jim are squeezed back by a determined 5 foot old lady and a monk. 7 tickets bought and Rob, Graham and Hanah disappear off to the bank - open on Sundays in Laos, but you have to wait for the branch in the capital to turn their machines on 600km away.

Jungle VIP's

Gareth Penpraze
2007-04-21 20:32:45

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which is really going to give him more grip!!! The lunch stop gives me and Rob some reprieve as we basically sit on the fire in a food hut and savor a hot coffee. The rest of the journey is pretty uneventful except for Mary trying to get Graham to sit on her knee.

We arrive in Ban Don Chai and the majority of the village stop working to see the falang roll in. We find My Boon's guest house but Mr My Boon isn't around, he was at a wedding. He rolls by soon after and explains that he's going to the market (although we're not sure as he doesn't speak any English). We all jump on the back of his pick up with his kids and slowly drive off. He takes us to the tourist sights in the village - a bridge - and then into an other small village where the people are equally shocked to see 7 foreigners wander in. We're treated to a show in the chiefs house of some local bamboo flute like thing and then its passed around for the locals to laugh at the stupid falang. We then go and see the local blacksmith and his wife as she makes some silk. My Boon picks up some rice and we head back to the pickup. On route back to the guesthouse we stop at where they are building a new place for the gibbons drop offs. My Boon takes Graham, puts his arm round his shoulder (probably to hold himself up), but then slowly drops his arm down his back and onto his arse!! He shows us round then picks up a half bottle of Lao Lao and gets the shots passed round not before having a couple himself. The penny drops that the wedding he was at started early and god knows how much Lao Lao he's put away before he takes us on his guided pick up tour. For the remainder of the trip back I join My Boon in the cab and our conversation decends into animal noises as we pass a new one on either side. We get some food and a few beers but with no electricity bed time looms early.

Next morning we're picked up for the 45 minute off road adventure into ...

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