This past weekend we hopped on a bus and headed northeast to Mondulkiri Province for some elephant riding and jungle trekking. Shortly after leaving the hot, sweaty, and chaotic city, we entered flooded Cambodia. There was water covering fields as far as the eye could see. Locals used long boats to get themselves around and I suppose fish in their rice fields, maneuvering their boats around the tops of trees. Houses were moved to random dry patches or along the highway, and mini shacks were built as temporary housing.
Flooded fields about an hour north of Phnom Penh*
Eight hours later, we reached the town of Sen Monorom in Mondulkiri Province! With an average elevation of 800m above sea level, the cool jungle air and natural green landscape was exactly what we needed. 80% of Mondulkiri's population is made up of ten tribal minorities, with the majority of them being Pnong. The population lives off the land, planting rice, fruit trees, and a variety of vegetables. Others grow strawberries, coffee, rubber, and cashew nuts.
We stayed at the Nature Lodge, completely submerged in the natural landscape and surrounded by the fantastic views and misty hills of the Mondulkiri highlands.
Our Bungalow aka little piece of heaven for our time in Sen Monorom*
Inside the Nature Lodge main lobby where we sat and ate dinner each night*
Without wasting any time, we woke up the next morning jumping off the walls at our chance to ride elephants. We were picked up from the Lodge at 8:30am, stopped in town to buy banana's for the elephants and headed straight to the jungle! On the way there and back, we passed through police road check's to prevent animal poaching and trafficking. It took us about half an hour of road driving and 15 minutes of off-roading to get to our parking spot... which really was just in the middle of shrubbery on the side of a large hill. From here we walked for another half hour into the jungle to meet our elephants! We got the chance to meet and great with them and then feed them banana's which they went crazy for! There were two elephants (one female and one male) so Cathy and I shared the female and Jenny sat on the male.
We rode the elephants for about an hour through the jungle then stopped for lunch along a river. The elephants ate the whole morning trek, but also ate some more. After resting and hanging out for about an hour, the elephants went and gave themselves a mud bath. They were covered from head to foot in mud! We then had the chance to wash them in the river which was awesome!!!! Our elephant walked into the water and instantly dropped and laid on her side - she looked like she was in heaven!!!! We scrubbed the mud off her skin as she bobbed and floated around. Must have been nice for her!
It was amazing to see the connection the elephants had with their trainers. While going through the jungle, her trainer walked behind us. Every few steps she would look behind her to make sure he was still there. If he wasn't there, she wouldn't move despite the fact Jenny on her elephant and another trainer was in front of us. She was also absolutely brilliant! When we were crossing the rivers, the trainer and his little brother would hop on the elephant with us. They would climb into a tree and she would lift her head right against the tree so they could climb on. She would also pick up branches on the pathway with her trunk and throw them out of the way. Although it was slightly terrifying because she would go off the path and down these steep hills, she would grab huge bamboo trees, pull them down and then step on them to break herself off a piece. I was surprised at how quickly I started to trust her and her defying gravity ways.
Elephant riding tip: If you aren't using a seat, sitting on the back is horrifically painful! Sitting on the head is amazing - every movement they make you feel (and move with them), and it's some-what comfortable. Sitting on the back is a completely different story. They are 120% muscle and you are sitting directly on their hunched spine - or a metal pole. It's excruciating pain from the moment you get on to the moment you get off. The epic factor of you riding an elephant some-what makes this tolerable (me and Cathy did stick it out on our turns on the back) but you have been warned!
After lunch and our river bath, we hopped back on the elephants and walked for about another hour to the small village where the elephants and their trainers live. It was a beautiful little place on a hill just outside the jungle.
The two elephants for the most part were kept separated. We later found out this was because the male was scared of the female. Apparently the female likes to touch the male, which terrifies him! He is only 13 though so he might still be in the "girls have cooties" faze. They are such brilliant and beautiful animals with individual personalities. It was such a fantastic experience getting to spend so much time with them.
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