Plan Your Trip Outdoor Adventures - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 67

Boat Trips
With the Mekong cutting a swathe through the heart of the region, it's hardly surprising to
find that boat trips are a major drawcard here. There are opportunities to explore small
jungled tributaries leading to remote minority villages in Cambodia and Laos. It is possible
to explore cave systems by boat in Vietnam, as well as experience the bustle of a floating
market in the Mekong Delta. Whole villages float on the waters of Tonlé Sap lake in Cam-
bodia. Cruising the waters of Vietnam's Halong Bay on a junk is one of the most iconic
boat trips in the region.
It is also possible to make some functional boat trips that offer beautiful scenery. The
two-day boat trip from Huay Xai and the Golden Triangle down to Luang Prabang includes
a stunning stretch of the Mekong. Travelling by boat from Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta
to Phnom Penh offers a tantalising glimpse of rural life, or go one better with a boat cruise
from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap.
ZIPLINING IN LAOS
Ziplining has, well, quite literally taken off in Laos. The Gibbon Experience ( Click here ) in Bokeo
Nature Reserve pioneered the use of ziplines to explore the jungle canopy. Visitors hang from a zipline
and glide through the forest where the gibbons roam. Overnight in treehouses and test-drive the new
Gibbon Spa for a massage in the most memorable of locations.
Ecotourism pioneer Green Discovery offers an alternative zipline experience for thrill-seekers in
southern Laos. Tree Top Explorer ( Click here ) is an exciting network of vertiginous ziplines passing
over the semi-evergreen canopy of the south's Don Hua Sao NPA. You can ride so close to a giant wa-
terfall you will taste the spray on your lips. Feel the wind on your face on its longest 450m ride, then
flop into bed in your comfortable 20m-high treehouse.