Mondulkiri Adventure
Part 1 - Sludge Mountain
March 2009
We had been on the road to Mondulkiri for 9 hours. Things were going well until it started to rain just as we hit some of the most mountainous terrain in Cambodia. The slippery dirt roads and the weight of the 30-seater bus meant we were faced with the thought of sleeping the night on the bus, in the middle of the jungle, with wild tigers, bears and leopards. But, thanks to Khmer ingenuity, they tied some chains around the tyres which got us up the first ascent.
The second ascent was somewhat steeper though so we all had to get out and trudge our way up the mountain through the mud.
We got back on the bus, trampling it in mud that had the distinct smell of sewage. We still had another 30 or so kilometres to go and were only travelling at around 15km/hr but spirits were still high and everyone was enjoying the sense of adventure. When the bus stopped for the second time, forcing us to get out and walk down the other side of yet another mountain of mud, the novelty began to wear off. On the other hand, Journ (CCT’s Khmer teacher) was revelling in the unfortunate situation, taking in the breathtaking view of the jungle just as a lightning storm was putting on a spectacular show overhead. “Wow” he said. “This is amazing! In my whole life I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s so beautiful!” His cheery outlook lifted the team’s spirits once again and we all took the opportunity to take in the awe inspiring landscape. The kids were having a ball slipping and sliding down the mountain, feeding off the natural electricity in the air.
We had walked about one kilometre ahead of the bus, expecting it to meet us at the bottom but it never came. It was getting dark and all the beauty of the jungle was getting lost in silhouettes. Thoughts started turning to what wild animals might come out to hunt in the still of the night. The CCT team had spread out by this stage. The little ones, packed with energy, had run on ahead with Rouet (CCT’s house mother). So when word was sent out to turn back, as the bus was not going anywhere, the over ambitious little ones never got the message. The notion of sleeping on the bus for the night, which initially was a joke, quickly became an all too likely possibility.
Jedtha was certain he’d be able to find a bus from Mondulkiri to come and pick us all up. He hailed down a pick-up truck to hitch a ride out of the jungle into town where he’d have phone reception to call for help. Just as the pick-up truck was about to leave he called me and Meah (CCT’s security guard) out of the bus and asked us to come with him as we also needed to find the little kids who were still up ahead. So before I knew it, I was standing in the tray of the truck holding on tight as it skidded somewhat uncontrollably down the slope. It started raining heavily which only made matters worse. At one point, the pick-up truck seemed to be getting washed down the mountain in a river of mud almost pushing it over the edge of the cliff that dropped off to one side. The other men in the back all jumped out of the tray and hung on to the rim, in case it went over the edge. I followed suit. I gripped on to that rim as tight as I possibly could while the pick-up truck swerved all the way down until it finally got bogged at the bottom. With huge relief I jumped off. The three of us then started making our way toward the lights from the chain of trucks attempting to climb “Sludge Mountain”.
As we approached the foot of the mountain we found our five youngest huddled together with Rouet looking very cold, dishevelled and scared. They embraced me with as much desire for comfort as for warmth. The temperature in the Jungle had dropped several degrees. We were sodden to the bone and the rain showed no signs of stopping. For the first time in a long time I also started to shiver with cold. Together, we trekked up another leg of Sludge Mountain, Jendah, who was particularly distraught, wrapped herself around my torso like a frightened Koala bear. When we reached the top, we came across another truck that looked as though it was making progress. Jedtha hustled us a ride and we hopped in the back. At this point, the kids were reaching their breaking point; shivering, whimpering, and near tears. I fought back my own urge to cry and forced an air of confidence. To soothe the children, I sang their favourite song, “Stand by Me”. While I may have seemed in control, the truck made no such efforts. The spinning tyres, fiercely searching for solid ground, occasionally caught a rock, propelling it in whatever direction was least convenient. The sporadic explosions of motion further alarmed the children and even forced a hiatus on my singing. The children seemed more alarmed by my own sudden concern and begged me to resume the song. I did, like a broken record. One of these forward jolts was so powerful that it managed to kick open the back gate, leaving the children and I at risk of falling out and being gobbled up in the wrath of Sludge Mountain!! I barricaded the kids in with my body, securing one hand on the side of the truck and the other on the ankle of a stranger. Just as I thought I could hold on no longer, the tyres began to spin and our driver became aware of our situation and, thankfully, stopped. We were then forced to walk the next few kilometres up the mountain, in the pitch black night, through the torrential rain, in knee deep mud. The kids were struggling. I carried Jendar up that mountain while the other kids cried, shivered and exclaimed the whole way up - “I’m stiff”, “I’m so cold I’ve gone stiff.” We finally, and by finally I mean an entire hour later, reached the top of the mountain. We found the sole truck that had succeeded in ploughing through the worst sludge mountain had to offer. The driver was not with his vehicle but further down the hill trying to help another truck that was bogged in Sludge Mountain’s quagmire. We were forced to wait for him, exposed to the elements, in hope that, when he returned he’d be nice enough to give us a lift into town. While the current situation was nearly unbearable, we were covered from head to toe in mud and shivering in our drenched clothing, the ride into town seemed more dreadful. The wind chill factor would surely put us all at risk of hypothermia...
Meanwhile, back at the bus everyone was settling in for the night. After 11pm came and went, the remaining CCT team realised that we weren’t coming back for them that night. The kids, staff and Dan tried their best to get comfortable sleeping in chairs and in the smelly, mud trampled aisles. Lying in the dark, trying to ignore the pangs of hunger and listening to the disconcerting sounds coming from the jungle, some of the staff began to cry and none of them managed to sleep a wink.
...Up on Sludge Mountain the driver eventually returned, took pity on us and agreed to let us ride on the back of his truck into town. The truck took off with Jedtha, Meah and I perched on the back fully exposed to the bitter sting of the icy wind. I was utterly exhausted and so cold I couldn’t stop my whole body from shaking. I wrapped Jendar up tightly in my arms and bent over her to shield her from the wind. Sroh, Heang, and Somnung were curled up in the tiniest of balls behind the cab of the truck to shield themselves from the biting wind. The 50 minute ride into town could not have been more painful. Jendar passed out in my arms with exhaustion while Sroh was travel sick and vomited several times, which collected in a pool around my left foot. I was too cold and traumatised to care; I never even lifted my head.
We finally arrived at some guesthouse where I rushed the 5 near-hypothermic kids into the first open room, started washing the mud off of their shivering bodies and wrapping them up in blankets. I was already up to child number 3 when I was informed that we couldn’t actually stay at that particular guesthouse and had to move to a different one down the road.
At the second guesthouse, I was able to finally get the kids showered, warm and in bed. After that was finished, I stood there, still shivering, wondering what I was going to do with myself. Unlike the kids I could not just strip off my clothes and get into bed wearing nothing but my birthday suit. I went to reception, looking like a drowned rat, covered from head to toe in mud and tried, through tears I could no longer hold back, to explain my situation. They kindly found me and all the kids a clean, dry pair of Khmer pyjamas. We then ate a huge dinner and put the kids back to bed. By this time it was far too late to attempt to get a vehicle to drive back into the jungle for the rest of the CCT team. I barely slept a wink the rest of the night worrying about what would befall them.
Early the next morning, I got hold of Jack (aka Mr. Bananas) and we set out to rescue the rest of the kids, staff and Dan from the jungle. We piled them all in and made it back into town in time for showers and 2 servings of breakfast. We then set out for a day at the elephant sanctuary.
Part 2 - Elephants!
We spent the rest of that day meeting the elephants and feeding them. The rain still persisted though, which made it difficult to begin any other activities. We were all also very tired so we finished early and went back to the guesthouse to watch movies, have an early dinner and get some much needed rest.
Princess
Fun in the back of the truck!
Cooee!
Some of the girls with Jack
What a view!
The following day was much more fun! We went out to the elephant sanctuary early and got to feed and ride all the elephants through the lush green jungle. The kids had a blast! Even the most timid of the bunch, Somnung, was not afraid to ride, several times, up on the head of the biggest elephant there! In the afternoon we rode the elephants further into the jungle to a beautiful waterfall. We all swam and played in the waterfall until it was time to get the elephants back to the sanctuary and head home for dinner.
Tara and Heang with Princess
Jendar
On the last day, we spent the morning out at the sanctuary. This time we walked beside the elephants through the jungle, watching them interact with each other as they would in the wild, swimming and bathing in the streams. That afternoon we went out to see the famous Bousraa Waterfalls in Mondulkiri.
Amazing jungle vines
bathing in the river
Sineit and Tara on a jungle swing!
CCT at Bou Sraa Falls
Part 3 - In the end...
We all learnt a lot about Mondulkiri, its people and the plight of the local elephants during our short but action-packed stay. Mondulkiri is one of the most beautiful places in the world to experience unkempt, wild nature. It’s name aptly means ‘meeting of the hills’. Its scenery and climate make it a completely different world within Cambodia. It is home to 35,000 people who come from the Pnong minority group.
Despite all the challenges, we all feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to experience Mondulkiri while it still remains fairly isolated from the rest of Cambodia. They’re currently building a sealed road all the way from Phnom Penh to Mondulkiri. This will make it much easier to get to but will also expedite the rate of deforestation and bring Phnom Penh’s debauchery to corrupt the simple and harmonious lifestyle of the Khmer and Pnong people. This was definitely a trip none of us will ever forget.
For more information on the ELIE organisation in Mondulkiri click here
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