A Day in the Life,  Attractions,  Cambodia

Elephant Trek in Sen Monorom, Mondulkiri

Besides the politics, we were very excited to embark on our elephant trek today. Mr. Tree drove us out to the local Bunong village where we met our guide at his house. His wife had just given birth four days ago. Their house was basic with an open fire inside.

We sat in there with him and his family.
We sat in there with him and his family.

Soon after we met our elephant and set off on our trek. For the most part it was narrow paths, sometimes they were really compact and hard making them very slippery, but the majority of them were very muddy and slippery as it had been raining for days.

It was impressive how well the elephant navigated the slippery slopes!
It was impressive how well the elephant navigated the slippery slopes!

Emma and our elephant

Every chance she got, she would go off the path and feed on some jungle goodies and our mahout would let her. Her favorite is bamboo. It was incredible to see her so happy and really in her element.

Walking through a farm

We saw a few areas which had been logged to make room for plantations and farming for the local people. These weren’t very large areas and we don’t think these are the ones contributing to the excessive habitat loss of the Mondulkiri elephants.

The local farmer cooked us some boiled eggplant in a broth with really chilly spice paste - so good!
The local farmer cooked us some boiled eggplant in a broth with really chilly spice paste – so good!

After about 2 hours, our elephant was released into the jungle to feed. We also got to eat our lunch, which was fried rice and egg. We met with another guide, his mahout and a nice American fellow, whom we joined for lunch. By this stage our guide had disappeared, however we knew this other guide, Mot, from Happy Elephant Lodge. He had organised some rice wine and a local delicacy, boiled eggplant with a very spicy spice paste. Yum!

After some serious jungle bashing, we found our friend feeding on some bamboo.
After some serious jungle bashing, we found our friend feeding on some bamboo.

After lunch we went to find our elephant and after some serious jungle bashing we did find her hidden among some bamboo, still eating! It was a great feeling. The mahout just spoke to her and she knew it was now time for her bath. The way there and back involved crossing a small river and it was impressive to see how well the elephant crossed this river. She also quenched her thirst here.

She crossed that river like a pro.
She crossed that river like a pro.

Then it was time to get in the water. Again, we were wondering how she would do the steep and slippery descent into the rapid river with brown water, but she managed no problem. We had a lot more trouble getting.

The lady is entering her bath

It was so great to see her bathing in the cool rapids.
It was so great to see her bathing in the cool rapids.

Emma washing our elephant

We both got into the cold river to help the mahout wash the elephant. You have to really scrub to get the dirt out, but it was a great experience and worth having totally wet clothes and what would become the worst smelling pairs of runners for the next few days. When we finished washing her, the mahout made motions for us to sit on her neck. It was tricky to reach because where the elephant was standing was a lot deeper and you could not see anything in the water. I finally managed to get on. Being on the elephant did feel wobbly and when she stepped out I wondered it I would fall and go face first into the mud.

The mahout indicated that it is ok to sit on her as she exits the rapids.
The mahout indicated that it is ok to sit on her as she exits the rapids.

The way back was very relaxing and we just followed the elephant back a different way to the village. The rain eased up a little so it was a nice walk.

It was very peaceful, just us, the elephant and its mahout.
It was very peaceful, just us, the elephant and its mahout.

The landscape is beautiful with deep and lush jungle and later the wide open ridge where we could see a few villages and the vast area that is occupied by these elephants and the Bunong people.

The landscape is very different here compared to the rest of Cambodia.
The landscape is very different here compared to the rest of Cambodia.

All in all a great day and if you come to Mundulkiri I highly recommend you have a good think about what you want to do with elephants.

Back at the village, it was goodbye.
Back at the village, it was goodbye.

2 Comments

  • Mary Sullivan - New Zealand

    Hi there thanks guys for the info re EVP. We will be there in mid Feb. So did you do the trek with the Mondulkiri Project as I see a Mr Tree owns this operation. $50 still seems very expensive??

    • emma

      Hi Mary, we didn’t do the trek with the Mondulkiri Project, I’ve just had a quick look at their website/facebook etc. and it looks like it was founded a few months after we were there. We did however, go through Mr. Tree and I’m sure it’s the same guy as he seemed very passionate about helping the local Bungong population and the elephants, despite not being from the area.

      While this organisation seems to be saying the right things, (and perhaps doing the right things), I would still take this organisation with a grain of salt. We, as tourists, will never know how much of our money actually goes into the local villages, or to the welfare of the elephants.

      We paid $60 USD and we were told this is how it was broken down. If this is the case, then I don’t think it is too expensive, as one would hope the money needs to be divided by the mahout, the elephant’s upkeep, the village, your food, your drink, the organiser etc. Up-keeping an animal, especially one so large (and magnificent!) that eats and drinks so much, is bound to cost money!

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