Mondulkiri

Mondulkiri, a formerly heavily forested and remote area in Eastern Cambodia. It was from the east that the Khmer Rouge began, but it would be unrecognizable to them now. What was formerly the preserve of hill tribes and small farmers, is now seemingly given over to large scale rubber plantations and rolling grassland. It looked like nothing else I have seen in Cambodia. 

 (Can you see the elephant. One advantage of the deforestation are the rolling grassy hills)

 (mountain tribe kids)

 (hiking behind the waterfall)

 (swimming hole)

 (falls)

 (big water fall)

 

There are pockets of jungle left though, and 10 of us from the court spent the weekend trekking through one of those. http://www.mondulkiriproject.org/ has teamed up with some villages, to basically pay them to stop chopping down their forests, and to stop using their elephants for tourist rides and to carry logs. In return, they get access to healthcare, money, and hippy tourists like myself, who enjoyed swimming with and feeding elephants, rather than make them walk in circles. After a half day walking through the jungle and swimming in a huge waterfall, the night was spent sleeping in hammocks. It was my first experience doing this, and they are amazingly comfortable, but get surprisingly cold!

Lots of driving again, but good company, and a great experience. Cambodia really is a nice place!