Huay Xai serves as the less glamorous of two border towns, one in Laos, one on Thailand - of course in the former. It is little more than a couple of ferry landings, a customs office, a handful of sub-par guesthouses, and [most significantly to us] The Gibbon Experience headquarters. We checked in the day before our 'experience.'
The next morning we woke up and drove with our guides about two hours south, then hiked another 3 hours to our camp (including a stop at a waterfall for a swim). We were then amidst a network of ziplines, 2 of which were required en route to our camp (treehouse). 4 others zig zagged across the forest canopy, ranging from 100 to 500 meters (over 1/4 mile) long, most at least 200 feet off the forest floor. The guides zipped in food and coffee for us: 2 Americans, 2 French, 2 Danes, 1 Austrian, and 2 Swiss. We passed the rest of the day trying to remember card games and communicate them through any language barriers... and enjoying a terrible bottle of Lao wine. Surprisingly, we saw a troupe of monkeys about a hundred yards from our treehouse at dawn - one is not 'supposed' to see gibbons on the experience so we couldnt say with certainty they were gibbons.
Day 2 of the experience was just as amazing. We woke up to more zipped-in food (and the bantering of 3 obnoxious Lao 'guides') and spent the day hiking and zip-lining to the next treehouse. That night's location was even more spectacular. The treehouse was 2.5 stories (the lower level was a landing for an incoming zip line), and a series of even higher and longer zip lines were strewn high above the forest floor. More card games, more s***-talking the French (not by us of course).
The last day, not surprisingly, we hiked and utilized 6 long zip lines out of the jungle. 2 hours again in the back of the truck/Tuk tuk, and we were back in Huay Xai.
The next morning we boarded our fast boat with 3 other people - we decided against the 12 hour winding and bumpy and cramped ride in favor of the more expensive, 6 hour 'fast boat.' The ride was what I would expect from a 14 year-old who just found his father's Porsche keys (including the part where he picks up his friends and goes to buy a 25 lb freshwater stingray for the back seat)... a 12 foot long boat with 6 people and in-line 4 cylinder Toyota engine FLIES surprisingly. The trip was absolutely beautiful, dodging rock outcrops, weaving by fishing villages and clearing the wake of passing slow boats, all-the-while sandwiched between Thailand and Laos.
In no time we arrived in Luang Probang which had become serene and peacefull in the wake (absence) of Lao New Year. The next day we, along with a handful of ther people on a near-empty plane, flew to Hanoi, Vietnam (flying bypasses the inevitable boarder stops, bribing, and long bus ride to which land travelers are bound).

In Hanoi, we have spent two nights at the most hospitable Rising Dragon, a [budget] family-owned inn with excellent service and attitude. Our only full day was spent at Vietnam's first University, after paying a visit to the preserved Ho Chi Minh, at his mossaleum. We had to peruse the knock-off stores full of Gucci/Versaci/et.al. and we saw a traditional Water Puppet Show (lame and boring, regardless of tradition).

Now we are on a bus to Halong Bay City, to board our ship where we will be for the next 3 days - navigating the islands of beautiful Halong Bay.