We
knew Mondulkiri was supposed to have beautiful forests and be a more mountainous
area (which means cooler temperatures) than the rest of Cambodia, but when our
friend said 10 elephants lived in the village where his home was, we decided
this definitely had to be the next Hester adventure.
Our
adventure started with a 7-hour drive on a mostly paved, but very bumpy road
from Phnom Penh. We decided to take an SUV, so I drove and we took our chances.
We have gotten confident enough in our knowledge of the Khmer language to
venture out on our own! As we got close to Sen Monorom, the capital of
Mondulkiri we began to realize we were definitely in a part of the country that
was very different from everything we had seen in other parts of Cambodia.  |
| A homemade hydroelectric power plant |
When
we arrived in the provincial capital of Sen Monorom it was a small Cambodian
town. We were happy to be in a place where life moved at a slower pace. The
village where we were staying was 7 kilometers outside of the capital city.
Putang village is a traditional Bunong village. The Bunong are a tribal people
who historically have been the primary inhabitants of this part of Cambodia. While
the new road has brought an influx of Khmer businesspeople to the province many
of the villages are still primarily Bunong. They have their own spoken language
and culture. Our host, Vanny, was Bunong, but was also fluent in both Khmer and
English.
We
enjoyed a great holiday on a hilltop home overlooking the countryside. We would
wake up each cool morning to the sound of ringing cowbells as the herds of
cattle and water buffalo grazed just outside our window. Other than the
occasional rooster, that was the only sound we heard. It was amazingly peaceful
and restful.
On
our first morning I looked out my window to see an elephant and his “mahout”
(trainer) on their way to the forest and fields to work. The Bunong still use
elephants to forage for food and wood in the forest, or to work the rice fields
hidden away in the valleys.
Unfortunately
there are no more wild elephants in the area due to deforestation and hunting
for ivory. Elephants can live up to 45 years in captivity and up to 70 years in
the wild, so the elephants in the village had been tamed years ago before the
deforestation and drastic reduction of the number of elephants in the area.
This was a sad side to the trip realizing that the Asian elephant population is
disappearing along with the Bunong way of life.
Many
tourists ride the elephants on day-long treks which are very laborious for the
elephants. We decided this was not something we wanted to be a part of. Instead
we bought a few snoots of bananas from a villager and let the boys feed one of
the elephants. His mahout then insisted that the boys take a little ride for a
few minutes, which they were happy to get to do.
 |
| Tricia and I at the top of a small waterfall |
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| Tricia and the boys looking at a hillside banana plot |
Part
of our time in the village consisted of trekking through the hills and forest
where we found a beautiful waterfall and enjoyed idyllic views of rice fields
and banana plantations on the hillsides. We had quite an adventure when our
ninja, Reece, attacked and killed a bamboo shoot. Little did he know there was
a wasp nest inside the bamboo shoot and that the shoot containing the wasp nest
would fall over our trail, blocking our way home. Maybe I’ll share more on our
2 waterfall stories in another post!
The
rest of our village stay consisted of learning more about the village culture.
We were able to buy a handmade basket that villagers wear on their back and use
to carry food and wood they forage in the forest. We learned how to make
traditional jar wine (rice wine in a large ceramic pot), how to make a local
form of tobacco and enjoyed the fresh fruits available from the local trees.  |
| Kyler enjoying swinging in the vines |
It
was also great to be able to live in a Khmer village home and experience day to
day village life. We did have running water in the bathroom thanks to a
rainwater storage system! It was all a welcome retreat from Phnom Penh and a
great opportunity to experience a new part of Cambodia. I’ll share more on our
two waterfall adventures in another post. I’m thinking of calling it Ninjas,
wasps, waterfalls and scantily clad men!
