We woke up early, around 7:00am to pack together the rest of our things and say bye to the kitten at our guesthouse to walk to the Green Discovery office five minutes away. When we got there it was 7:45 and our minibus was picking us up at 08:30 so we asked the man at the desk if we could dump our backpacks and grab some breakfast so Dan took our luggage up the spiral staircase and we headed to the same cafe on the corner for breakfast. We both ordered bacon, eggs sausage and a baguette with coffee, we would need the fuel! Once we had paid, we headed back to the green discovery office to meet the others on our trip and wait for the minibus.

There were two women and two couples also waiting, who all seemed friendly enough and when the minibus came we all piled into it ready for our Tree Top Experience! The journey wasn't too tedious to begin with, the last leg of the journey however was on a really bumpy and dusty road; if you can call it that, which wasn't very comfortable at all so i couldn't wait to get off. We arrived in a small village and parked up. We used the toilet which was next to an area where coffee beans were being laid out to dry in the sun. At first dan thought they were berries because they were slightly red in colour but it was later confirmed by our tour guide "pe" that they were arabica coffee beans. After a very short safety briefing on how to correctly wear our harnesses we were handed helmets and sticks of wood which we would later be using as a break when on the zip lines, we split into two separate groups, one of the people doing one night and the other of people doing two nights, which were dan and I as well as two women who both live in Amsterdam, their names are Florencia (fleur) and Aggy.

We began our trek by walking on the bumpy dirt road through the village, slowly getting closer to the jungle. My nike free runs got covered in the orange dust just after a few steps of walking but i suppose that was bound to happen. It was gradually getting hotter as the day went by but the tall exotic trees of the jungle provided some shade. We were walking with the girls and three of our tour guides for about half an hour until we came to our first obstacle. Two zip lines connected over a small stream, Pe talked us through the safety of our harnesses and how to use our break althoug we didn't need it for this. We each had to step onto one zip libe while using another just above our head for support and it was a lot harder than it looked. The balancing was the hardest bit as well as the rock hard metal of the wires digging into the rings on my fingers, i was glad for it to be over because it was then lunch time!

The youngest of our tour guides "Mr Roy" disappeared then came back with three huge banana leaves i think they were and he laid them down on the floor of the jungle and Pe was emptying out prepared food onto the leaves. On the menu for lunch was: spicy chilli, tomato and parsley sauce, sticky rice, fish, fishcakes, steamed fish, boiled eggs and bananas. The seven of us sat around the food and ate with our fingers; you can't get more stuck in than that! The food was yummy and i was hoping the chilli would sort out my cold! Once we had all finished eating, the banana leaf place mats were discarded of amongst the plants of the jungle and we began trekking to the zip lines.

The trekking wasn't easy at all but i knew it would only get harder. There were lots of climbing up rocks and climbing down tree trunks and roots covered in leaves, i'm not the most confident person when trekking especially when my nose is constantly running so i was delighted when we reached the first zip line. It was only a small one compared to what we would be conquering in our few days on the trip. After another quick safety brief on how to hook our harnesses over the wire and how to break, one by one we began zip lining to the other side. There was always at least one tour guide on the other end to catch us if we went too fast. When it was my turn i was still skeptical about the safety, although you can't blame me as i was pretty high up from the ground so if i was to fall, it wouldn't end nicely. I put my trust into the tour guide and once i was secured i kicked off and began swooping passed the trees, suspended over the natural jungle ground, taking it all it and before i knew it i was at the other end. Aggy had injured her arm on a motorbike the day before so she had to be extra careful when holding things and breaking.

The rest of the day consisted of trekking, more trekking, zip lining and absailing, not off a cliff, more like something out of mission impossible, we were gently lowered from the platform of the tree and onto the ground, VERY mission impossible and i savoured every second of feeling like a bond girl. The zip lines slowly got longer and higher which was so breathtaking once you were up, the adrenaline rush was epic and i tried to film the journey on the wire but kept spinning round quickly, plus it got difficult holding a camera when you had to break. After hours of trekking and zip lining around the jungle we headed to camp. As we approached i caught glimpses of some of the tree houses, they were massive and set up high in the old, sturdy trees. As we walked into camp we saw a room filled with women of all ages preparing dinner and in the main camp area were a group of tour guides sat around a fire with pots of green tea and coffee on the go. There were loads of other travellers as well, aluminium mug in hand, conversing about their days expedition.

We grabbed a cup of coffee, served to us by the another groups guide and sat on the row of wooden benches and tables and began chatting. We got speaking to a woman from manchester who advised us to hang our bags on top of the zip wire because at night there will be animals who will bite through the bag looking for food. This scared the s*** out of me but had the comfort of knowing there would be four of us sharing the tree house. The camp area sits right next to a massive waterfall where we all changed into our swimwear and headed out to before sunset. There were large boulders in between camp and the stream so we began climbing up, over, under and around the massive grey coloured rocks. We were called over by fleur and Aggy who said they found a good spot to swim in so we headed towards them. After dipping our toes in, it was confirmed that the water was cold so i gradually got in, waist high and sat on the rock in the pool of water. I expected Dan to take the plunge as always and jump in but, it was too cold even for him. Nonetheless, it was truly beautiful being under the waterfall in the middle of the jungle with the sun gleaming out. After around an hour by the waterfall, we headed back to camp to dry off and have dinner.

The tables were moved all beside each other in a very royal tudor manner and the food began flying out of the kitchen. Those who's second day it was got something else for dinner but i didn't peak as i wanted it to be a surprise, although, i did overhear the words "pumpkin soup" which made me feel all warm on the inside. Fresh spring rolls were brought out to us served with a peanut and chilli dip on the side. They were so yummy, they tasted a lot healthier than the ordinary fried spring rolls, they were light yet still filled a hole. Then onto the mains; chicken with steamed rice and tomato and cucumber. This was also delicious but because the cat was lingering around me meowing, i felt inclined to sneak it a few bits of chicken, that i wouldn't have eaten anyway. Watermelon was brought out for dessert which is one of my favourite fruits. After dinner i got up from the table to smoke, tilted my head back and was stunned. Literally speechless. I have never seen so many stars in the sky before ever. To prevent a sore neck, Fleur and i both decided to lay side by side on our backs on the decking by the dinner table and watch the stars. We spotted two stars which were clearly moving, pretty quickly as well. I'm sure they were UFOs but Fleur reckoned they were satellites, but how would a satellite shine to brightly and move so quickly? The sky was so breathtaking and i would have happily paid the $280 just to witness it, minus the whole tree top experience.

After laying on the decking for almost 30 minutes we all decided to head to our treehouse. We all put on our harnesses that were hanging up, along with our helmets and break sticks and followed our guide to our room for the night. We ended up at a platform at the zip line and i could see our treehouse and how big it was! Certainly nothing like the tree houses rich american fathers would build for their kids. One by one we zip lined into the house. When i first landed i was shocked at the amount of moths there were fluttering about by the lamp, a few almost flew straight into my mouth! There were four beds around the outside of the trunk of the tree and a pretty spacious toilet and sink area. All four beds were covered with a mosquito net, mine was littered with moths, massive ones, baby ones and one gigantic yellow one which seemed to follow me wherever i went. Dan and i sat on the chairs and the coffee table by his bed and smoked a joint as we watched fleur frantically blowing air onto Aggy's graze on her elbow, it really did look hysterical, not just because we were high. I got a bit weirded out by the moths so i was the first to literally leap into bed and under the mosquito net, Dan tucked me in bless him. The others sat round the table chatting, the girls with their head lamps on, when suddenly the lights switched off, this means bedtime. So everyone else climbed into bed and into the very warm, fleece-lined sleeping bags. It was pitch black for everyone, except for me, lucky enough there was a break in the branches and i could see the stars if i tilted my head back; we were engulfed in the pitch black jungle of Laos. But we didn't sleep just yet, on no. How could we? There were strange noises coming from inside and around our treehouse which terrified me, all i could think of was how much i wished i was in my bed at home and the only sound i can hear is lola purring into my ear next to me. The noises got louder and more frequent, strange, strange noises; probably belonging to an insect. And then it came, the loud thud and wuick scurrying on the floor of the treehouse, close to mine and Dan's bed. Everyone reaction was "what the f*** was that". After i heard that in particular it was inevitable i would be getting very little sleep, the fact i needed to wee didn't help either because there was no way i was creeping out from under my mosquito net and into the deep unknown for a wee so i had to hold it in. It seemed like i had been awake for hours, staring at the pitch black surroundings and quivering with fear, and when i checked the time on my phone i wasn't pleased to find out that it wasn't even midnight. Every time i would almost drift off to bed, something around me would make a noise which would stop me sleeping. In the end, i remember the last time i checked the time was 03:00 and i woke up at 05:00 to go back to bed to wake up again at 07:00.