Sen Monorom

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DAY 4

Today was another travel day. I tried to plan this so we were not madly moving from place to place and thus wearing myself out. Cambodia does not have a passenger rail network. It barely has a freight rail network. There is a mini bus type thing you can take to the eastern part of Cambodia, to the mountains. It costs $12 per person but has a bad reputation for the bus conditions, road and driving. So we decided to hire a personal driver to take us to Sen Monorom. We left Phnom Penh at 9am and got here around 3pm. A distance of 370km.

Sen Monorom is in the Mondulkiri Provence and is a hilly area. We have come here to spend some time in the jungle with elephants and support elephant conservation in the area.

Our driver today spoke very little English. He had a Toyota Camry with air conditioning that worked and it was a very comfortable ride. I had the backseat to myself and Justin sat up front with Nuit the driver. Here they drive on the right side of the road with left side drive (like in the USA). Nuit never really went over 100km per hour but crossed to the other side of the road to pass on many occasions. It never felt unsafe and Justin was comfortable enough to nap on the way.

As we left Phnom Penh, there was a phone call from the hotel that I had left Justin’s wallet in the safe. We waited while someone brought it to us. I gave them a tip. Well deserved. As we left town the countryside was very flat, lots of rice paddies and farmers with ducks tending their fields. Everything is very green here. And so interesting to watch life on the side of the road. There are these little stands dotted about with a yellow liquid in used 1L soft drinks bottles. This is fuel and the old lady fills the motor bikes as they stop by. We passed many villages of varying sizes.

We stopped by the side of the road, kind of like a Cambodian roadhouse for lunch. Rice and two dish’s, chicken and ginger as well as mince pork and stir fry greens enough for the 3 of us for $4. It is certainly something we would never have done on our own. We were back on the road for the final couple of hours.

The landscape changed whilst I was napping and the road became more windy. Arriving into Sen Monorom the driver found our accommodation easily. We are staying at Tree lodge bungalows a little out of town. Accommodation with hot water for $7 per night. It is basic to say the least. It is so quiet here. On the side of a hill with a great outlook. It is definitely a younger backpacker crowd. I think I am the oldest person here ?.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in our new surroundings. So quiet. Great wifi in the common area and deck. There is electricity to the room but no fan. There is a mozzie net around the bed. The bathroom has to be seen to be believed. There are large stepping stones on the floor. The toilet seat is smaller than the bowl. You need to wait about 5 minutes before the hot water is warm enough to use. There is no basin.

DAY 5

Main theme of the day elephants! minor but recurring theme was me wishing I was 30 years younger to do this trek!

We were up and had breakfast of bacon and duck eggs for Justin and pancakes for me with coffee and juice $8.25. There were about 18 in our group and again I was the oldest. I was going to have to work hard to keep up with these kids. First time I wished I was 30 years younger. Justin rode up front with the driver and I rode in the back of the Ute with the kids. Nine of us piled in back. Such an experience. The road was paved for part of the way and then a bumpy dirt track. I can tick that one off the list.

The driver dropped us off in the middle of nowhere and pointed for us to walk 10minutes that way. My goodness it was a very steep hill walking down and I thought two things, 1: this is going to be uphill on the way back and 2. I wish I was 30years younger. It was quite a challenge and we hadn’t really started yet. Justin was taking things in his stride. It was annoying.

We arrived at the jungle base. People can sleep here in hammocks in the jungle when they do a 2 day trek. We sat down on this lovely deck overlooking the valley we would be walking in later. It was so peaceful, quiet with sounds of birds and very pretty outlook. Mr Tree runs the Mondulkiri project, an elephant sanctuary that rescues abused elephants and lets them roam free being elephants in land rented from local villages. It is eco tourism, allowing us to get close to these magnificent creatures and educating the local people about the ethical treatment of these animals and giving alternative sources of income to the villages. It was very interesting to listen to Mr Tree’s story and his hopes for the future of Cambodian captive elephants. There has not been one born in captivity for 32 years. And there are only 42 left in Cambodia. Each elephant costs about $30000 USD and he plans to buy one per year. He currently has 6 elephants, one male and 5 female. The male one is too aggressive so we would only be interacting with the 5 females today. I could go on more as I found it all fascinating but I will move on

We were each given a hand of bananas with about 12 to 14 bananas and told to ration them between the 5 elephants we would see. You had to feed one banana at a time. We took off down a track that had a very steep track downward and those thoughts were coming back again. It was going to be uphill on the way back and God I wish I was younger. My quads were aching already. We walked for about 15 minutes and the ground became flat again. We looked up and there were two large elephants right there in front of us, waiting to be feed some yummy bananas. Sophie, the first animal purchased in 2014, is 60 years old and passed child bearing and with her was Happy aged 37. They were so gentle and we were so close, walking around them, touching them, placing bananas in their trunks, watching them scratch against trees. It was beyond exciting. I felt so safe. Justin and I took turns feeding and photographing and being totally amazed. And we had only seen 2 elephants.

Once Sophie and Happy were satisfied there were no more bananas for them, they disappeared back into the forest. We moved on ourselves deeper into the jungle in search of Lucky, a 70 year old veteran, who is a bit of a loner and stays by herself. We found her and fed her full of her share of bananas. Another amazing experience.

We walked alongside the stream following Lucky as she walked away. We were stopped as we were watching her and something nudged my shoulder, it was a gentle nudge. I turned and it was an elephant ? looking for a banana of course. I happily obliged. This pair were Princess, about 35 years, I loved her, she was my favourite and with her was Comvine, the youngest at 32 years. It is hoped that Comvine will soon be pregnant. These pair are great friends and it was so obvious, they did everything together. We fed them our remaining bananas and took advantage of the wonderful photo opportunities.

During this whole time it was just us and the elephants. No one controlling them with them free to leave or stay as they wished. I cannot say how thrilled I was with the experience so far. We followed the elephants watching them interact with each other and soon it was time to return to the base lodge for lunch. That uphill climb was excruciating and my legs were like jelly. On the way up I thought to myself I wish I was 30 years younger.

Lunch was a tofu and pork dish, as well as a vegetarian option and rice. Justin tried it all but I stuck to the vegetarian. We all sat on the floor around a central mat. After lunch we took to the hammocks, it was nap time. Mr Tree left to return to the lodge. We are also staying in his tree bungalow lodge, further supporting his cause. I cannot recall ever being in a hammock and while it was difficult to get into it was super comfy. The person next to me must have thought so too, because he was softly snoring. Can you guess who?

Our new guide was Dunong, a local indigenous tribe man who lives in one room in Sen Monorom with wife and infant son for $50 per month. His English was good and he spent the afternoon explaining things about the jungle and the ways villagers can make money from it, as well as more about the elephants. Mr Tree had given us so much information during the morning and we soaked it all up.

We headed off down the same track we had earlier in the day and I was well and truly aware of what my fate would be on the way back. Damn these 20 year old backpackers. We had a new stash of bananas each and we were headed to a waterfall to bathe with the elephants. More amazement followed. Only three elephants would join us, Comvine, Princess and Happy.

Justin had decided not to get into the water, the bed of the stream was very rocky and uneven and he didn’t feel comfortable because he was going to need to remove his spectacles. But I was all in for this one. When we got to the place, we were told to get into the water with our bananas and wait. We were all looking around wondering where they would come from. First down the same track we came was Comvine, she stopped at the table where all our stuff was sitting and pinched a bunch of bananas out of the guide’s backpack. She knew the drill. As she walked passed Justin and his camera, she helped herself to his whole bunch of bananas, that were on the ground. Gotta be quick. Following soon behind her was Princess. Soon both were in the stream, taking bananas and being splashed and scrubbed with brushes by us. Such an experience. Comvine went completely under the water and rolled around and we were metres away from her. When they had had enough, they stood up and were on their way back into the jungle. Happy made an appearance next and we went through the same procedure with her. Whilst I was in the water, Justin was having a great chat with the guide.

We changed out of our wet things and went to check on the two older elephants. They don’t like bathing with people and usually take their bath in the morning. Lucky joined our group and walked in line with us for a while and Sophie came and crossed the stream while we watched.

The day was almost over but first we had to climb the hill one more time. I was last to arrive at the base, and again I thought to myself, I wish I was 30 years younger. As soon as I got to the base we headed off to walk the steepest hill back to where we would be picked up. I lagged greatly behind the others but they were still in sight. By the time I caught up, Justin had gone with his new friend and I waited with the second group to be collected. When we finally met up he said he thought I wouldn’t make it up the hill. I was kind of proud I mostly kept up with the others. I didn’t have a choice really

Returning to the lodge, we welcomed the warm water to clean ourselves. I cannot remember when I was last this dirty, or tired or satisfied. It was a great day. One of those special times to carry in my memory for a long time to come. Today was also great as there was no wifi in the jungle. But we are back relaxing on the deck of the lodge, bellies full, bodies clean, Justin back working and me writing. I thoroughly wore myself out today and am sure I will feel it for days to come. It’s already difficult sitting on the loo ? ( I know you can relate Rachel. Haha)

Tomorrow is another travel day, on the BUS to Siem Reap. A new experience awaits.


Sent from my iPad

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Photos

Justin feeding Lucky
Lucky is old and needed her food placed directly in her mouth. She is lazy. Justin with his hand in the elephant's mouth

Princess and Comvine
Princess is the smaller one.