The race is on!

After some pretty hearty research about how to get the bus to the Laos border, we missed one key point .... It had slipped through our knowledge net that we needed to purchase tickets ahead of time. Word on the street before we went to bed was there was little chance of getting to chiang kong that day with out a pre purchased ticket. Aaaggghhh

The problem for us was that we had to check in at thevGibbon experience office by 7pm and be ready to leave at 8.am the next morning. If we didn't make thre boarder crossing when they closed at 5pm, our Gibbon dreams were sunk !

6.30am- Up at crack of dawn ready for the challenge .
First stop Chiang Mai bus station- hive of scum and villainy , except for a small area roped off specifically for monks to sit. We split up to figure out the system, and see what we could work out. we figured that we needed to be on a bus by 9.30 at the latest , or we'd have to hitch/ hike/ hijack

8.00 After a bit of negotiation we scored tickets for a 9.00am bus. The quest was on...first stop Chiang Rai.

12.30 We seemed to be making good time and getting quietly cocky only to find that Chuang Rai has 2 bus stops. The one we needed to get us to chiang khong was apparently, over the other side of town. Unsure if we were being scammed as no one or no guidebook had mentioned this , we took a leap of faith and commandeered a waiting tuk tuk, chucked our bcd packs in and legged it across town.

1:00 god of travelers must have been smiling on us as we walked straight on to a chicken bus for Chiang Khong scheduled to leave at 1.30. Estimated travel time 2 hours. Cutting it a little fine, but starting to feel a little more confident. The bus made it's merry way north, picking uo and dropping of villagers/ monks/ school kids finally pulling into Chiang Khong at 4.00. We raced down the hill to the river- the boarder crossing between Thailand and Laos. Best boarder crossing ever, a small fishing boat that moves farmers, tourists, goats etc across the river.

4.30 - Negotiate Laos immigration and stumble up the steep hill to the main drag of HuayXai and the gibbon experience office-
"Dibs and Jack- you are team #1!"