It
certainly wasn’t the most auspicious of starts to our holiday to be collected
by a motorcyclist whilst turning into the laneway that leads to our house, the
week before we were scheduled to depart! No bones were broken but a persistent
headache and stiff neck, lower back pain and a few scrapes and bruises resulted
from slamming down hard on the asphalt road after the front wheel of my bike
was clipped by a speeding motorcycle. I
promised myself that if I wasn’t considerably better I would consult a doctor
in the capital about the ringing in one ear, white noise in the other and still
tender to the touch spots on my head. We even researched which hospital was
best to go to. Ha!
Whether
the buzz of the traffic blocked out the internal symphony or whether it was the
sheer excitement of being back in the big smoke and heading off for a new
adventure, I don’t know but I felt better and we contented ourselves with a few
luxury meals and aimless wandering in Phnom Penh with the only urgent business
being to ascertain how our planned trip to Australia later in the year might
impact on our visa renewal process. Good news on that front as we were assured
it would all be resolved easily. We willingly believed the welcome news and
settled for relaxing into holiday mode, enjoying all the luxuries on offer in
the capital.
The
van trip to Mondulkiri Province was smooth sailing, once we had done battle to
convince the conductor to allow us to sit in the seats we had actually booked
three days earlier. That battle won, we settled in for a comfortable ride,
entertained by the changes in scenery we were passing. The escape from the city
saw the van fill to near capacity and the mountain of luggage and freight, pile
higher and higher between our seats and the door. Hopefully there would be no
need for an emergency exit. As we wound our way through the ever expanding
outskirts and the inevitable development, industrial parks and new luxury
residential communities I was amazed that we had never seen this side of PP
before.
Quickly
the scene changed to great expanses of banana and mango groves with scattered
settlements surrounding them. The traditional, Khmer-style, wooden stilt homes
we have long admired lined the road on either side and there were a many more
variations on the design and size than we see locally in the Kep/Kampot region.
It also pleased me that most of the new construction was in this beautiful
style and there seemed to be plenty of it. The concrete, new construction we predominantly
see and in fact live in, might be more convenient but it cannot complete with
the beauty of the classical wooden houses, which blend so well with the natural
environment. Some are high above the ground and no doubt have magnificent views
from the balconies, while others are up only a few steps from the dusty, chicken
and duck filled yards.
The
small towns along the route were also predominantly this style of architecture
and the roadside stalls and shops sold identical wares and services: clothes,
plastic goods, bakery items, fresh fruit, vegetables, and flyblown meat and
fish jumbled in with auto-repair workshops, electronics, bicycle and motorcycle
outlets, mobile phone agents and snack vendors. Had it not been for the
architecture, we could have been on a road trip in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand or
southern China and memories of similar trips in those locations flashed through
my mind. Purchasing a few sticks of bamboo filled with sticky rice and coconut
or beans heightened this feeling. We have eaten this exact snack at roadside
stops in the other Asian countries mentioned but this was the first time to
encounter it in Cambodia and we were happy to be reacquainted with it.
We
hurtled along passing everything possible at break-neck speed; the further from
the capital we ventured the more the agricultural practices diversified. Soon
rice paddies, obviously producing their second crop for the year and water
buffalos were visible in abundance. To
my surprise young pepper plantations also became more and more common. In my
ignorance I had thought this crop to be exclusively grown in Kampot and Kep, and
I couldn’t help but wonder if the continually falling prices we hear about from
growers, were the result of these new regions becoming producers. Another
surprise was the plantations full of trees all lined up in perfect rows. It
wasn’t until we saw one small grove with the circular cuts and white dishes
just below that I realised that these where rubber trees and only some of them
were currently old enough to be tapped. A fellow passenger informed us she was
the owner of an avocado farm just outside of Sen Monorom, Mondulkiri’s capital
but we didn’t see any evidence of these trees only their produce on roadside
stalls. 
Shortly
after crossing into Mondulkiri Province the roadsides boasted huge stands of
black sacred bamboo and appeared to be no more than jungle. The roads also
became steeper and we encountered the only rough road and repair work for the
whole trip. It was short stretch and as the road improved again and the
agricultural enterprise also reemerged making me wonder if this was a newly cut
section of the highway, which it must be said was in remarkably good repair and
very well trafficked.
A
mere six hours later, after a largely uneventful journey we arrived in Sen
Monoram and alighted to cooler weather and black clouds looming in the sky. By
the time we had off loaded our bags in our chosen budget accommodation and were
setting off on foot to explore the small scrappy township, thunder growled in
the sky and we thought it prudent to grab the umbrellas but we weren’t deterred
from walking the 2 kilometres back along the dusty red soil tracks. All that
beautiful architecture also has a downside I was clearly able to see. Large
stretches of land have been cleared and logging is obviously big business in
these parts.
As
the growling thunder intensified we made our way back to the Nature Lodge and
observed that these tracks could easily become quagmires in the wet season. Good
fortune favoured us and the skies opened up for hours of torrential downpours
just moments after we had wandered across the open space to our rather secluded
little hut on the expansive grounds. We settled into for a welcome cool evening
accompanied by the peaceful sounds of birdsong and rain on the roof.
The
real reason for venturing this far north for us and almost every other
traveller too I suspect, was the prospect of spending a day with the elephants
in one of the fiercely competitive elephant sanctuaries scattered around the
town. We did our research and settled for what we thought was the most viable
operation at a reasonable price. There are many operators and all offer similar
experiences though annoyingly they seem to feel the need to undermine and
denigrate each other.
This
was the birthday treat I had dialed up from afar and I was not disappointed. We
were collected from our lodge at 8:15am promptly and driven to a collection
point in town where more companions for the day quickly jumped into the back of
the pickup. We having been collected first were able to occupy the cabin space
and for this we were grateful.
After
the payment of our US$50 per head at the headquarters of the Mondulkiri Project
office we set off in two vehicles with both the cabins and the tray backs
loaded with expectant adventurers. The ride was short and we all hiked the final
leg into the base camp, where it was possible to stay overnight if you had
chosen the longer elephant experience and jungle hike option, as some of our
companions had. It was the first of several such uphill and down dale hikes for
the day and the cooler weather and often-shady conditions were a delight.
mahout
Our group was larger than I expected with 24 people and a guide who we soon discovered was the founder of the organization: the charismatic Mr. Tree. We were briefed about what to expect for the day and the history, objectives and mission of the Mondulkiri Elephant Rescue Organization as well as specific elephants we might encounter and how they had come to be part of the project. In total there were 6 elephants in the valley: five females and one elusive male, who were told we would not see as his mahout had the specific brief to prevent him from coming in contact with tourists. They had all been rescued from working lives in the tourist or logging industry and no-one including the mahouts rode any of them. This was part of our prerequisite and I was impressed that the emphasis of the organization was to allow them to lead the kind of lives that they should have enjoyed in the wild even though they had all been captive for their entire lives. It was continually emphasized that we were to allow the elephants to come and go as they pleased and to either join us or not in both the jungle or river settings. These intelligent creatures however could not resist the lure of bananas and we were all generously provided with copious quantities of them.
Less
than 20 minutes after setting off from the base camp we saw out first pair of
pachyderms. Sophie
and Happy were obviously well used to the arrival of banana toting tourists and
immediately trunks started searching for our cache. We all did our best to
retain some supplies for the remainder of the elephants, as we had been
instructed but it is difficult to resist the enquiring trunk and nudging of a 2
ton beast determined to persuade you to give up your treats. We had to be
instructed to walk away or while we still had bananas they would never leave.
Soon Princess and Lucky were vying for our attention and we all traded
allegiance. Princess for some reason
wouldn’t take bananas with her trunk but had to be fed directly into her mouth
but this did not make her any less persistent than the others. Last but not least
came Comvine the largest of the pack. She too received her fair share and
wandered off to uproot bamboo only after ensuring all supplies had dried up.
All the elephants stayed remarkably close and were totally unconcerned about
our presence and unaware of their own bulk it seemed as they approached. It was
incredible to see them roaming freely, hanging with friends and even feeding each
other, whilst also turning their back on those they didn’t like and wandering
away. Bamboo is their main diet and they
were relentless in their search for more and more of it.
OK hand over the bananas!
Elephant happy Face
When we climbed back up to the base camp for the supplied lunch, which contained both fish and vegetarian options, everyone was totally elated that we had by luck seen all the elephants and been able to interact with them on their own terms.
A
brief rest period after lunch ended with the afternoon guide taking the reins
and leading us through the jungle over a rickety (one person at a time)
makeshift bridge to a favoured watering hole. There were no promises of elephants
arriving at anytime but in due course two of the three expected wandered down
to the river to join the well-prepared banana offering travellers, already
armed with brushes and dippers to assist them to bathe. They arrived separately
in their own good time and obviously enjoyed the scrubbing and splashing as
well as the bananas. One even raided the supplies of those changing to get into
the water as she wandered through backpacks and clothing without once touching
anything that wasn’t a banana! Whole bunches disappeared in seconds and that
ever inquisitive trunk was searching frantically for more before eventually
entering the water. Although we chose to be the only two not to enter the water
at this point we thoroughly enjoyed watching the escapades and frivolity. With
my compromised balance and bouts of dizziness since my accident, the rocky
riverbed seemed to me to be an unnecessary risk.
Once
more through the jungle and over the bridge and we were headed for another
watering hole where the two remaining elephants preferred to bathe. We were
informed that they liked to be alone and were not friends. They also preferred
to bathe without the assistance of travellers so this was to be a watching only
experience. Unfortunately we arrived too late to see them in the water but we
did see them and how they reacted to each other by heading off in opposite
directions. These were the oldest two and apparently they like their
independence and solitude. They
separated but stayed not far off in the hope of also receiving bananas and were
rewarded for their patience and persistence.
So
another remarkable encounter ended and we climbed our way back to the base camp
and onward to the awaiting vehicles. It was a much quieter and contemplative
group that returned to Sen Monorom digesting the magnitude of the magical
experience we had all had. We were dropped back at our lodge and despite how
exhausted and elated we were it was impossible to consider what the birthday
banquet might consist of, without first downloading the nearly 150 photos I had
taken that day.
Certainly
this birthday adventure and trip was a far cry from the luxuries and sights of
New York City last year but it was a Cambodian highlight and a welcome and
fitting celebration of another milestone.
