Sen Monorom – The Elephant Man!
3 March 2007
The reason for our epic journey to Sen Monorom which is tucked in the hills of Mondulkiri Province was quite simply – Elephants!
Elephant trekking was something we were both keen to do at somepoint on this trip and apart from the option for a short ride around Angkor Wat which we had not taken up it had eluded us. We had heard that Sen Monorom was one of the few places we could go Elephant trekking in Cambodia so we were quick to add the stop to our itinery…and we are glad we did!
Mondulkiri is known in Cambodia for its hills, tribes, jungle and waterfalls; the scenery was quite simply beautiful and worlds apart from that which we had seen of Cambodia to date.
In order to meet up with our Elephant we were taken to one of the minority villages of the area, where the Pnong people, who speak their own tribal language, live. The village was small consisting of about 8-10 houses which were unlike the traditional Khmer house which is built on stilts to combat the rainy season. Here, the houses were low to the ground and contained three families in each – we could not work out how the adults managed to get themselves any privaacy!. On oneside of the house was the sleeping area and the other was the kitchen. The house is also shared with pigs, ducks, dogs and chickens.
Shortly after our arrival we were introduced to our elephant, Nying Shal, who was colossal! At 50 years old Nying was positively middle aged as most of the elephants of the village live to about 100.
To board Nying we climbed up some steps and clambered across her head/neck into the bamboo basket on her back – sounds harsh but she didn’t flinch a muscle.
The next couple of hours were spent wandering slowly through the jungle taking in the various fruits growing, from cashew nuts to jack fruit which can weigh in at a massive 20kg per fruit!. After an hour our driver for the day hopped of his spot riding bareback on Nying’s head and gestured for Chris to take his place…..well Chris (who from this day forth shall be know to me as ‘The Elephant Man’) jumped at the chance and took pole position on Nying’s rather hairy head!
Now I don’t know why we were surprise, judging by the size on Nying, but Elephants sure can eat! Every few paces Nying set about devouring anything that was in her path (or to the side of it!). Our guide was telling us that Nying like pineapple plant and bamboo plant but it soon became apparent that Nying just simply likes to eat! But I am not sure Nying liked to chew her food perhaps as well as she should because boy did she suffer from flatulence afterwards!
Watching her use her trunk to grasp food and through water over herself (and us) to cool off was definately my highlight of the day!
Before we reached our lunch stop Chris and I swapped places at the helm (so technically that would make me ‘Elephant Woman’ but I will not hear that spoken OK!) and I enjoyed the view from above.
We stopped by a lovely little waterfall for a swim and some lunch and the elephants were set free to rome on their own. The Pnong people do not feed the elephant they prefer to let them wander and fend for themselves. In order that they can relocate the animals they simply attach a long chain (not heavy) to the elephant which makes tracks which they then follow.
Before we made our way back to the village we watched Nying take a bath in the stream.
We were both completely in awe of Nying the whole day, partly because we were relying on her to be well tempered, but mainly because she was a fantastic and beautiful animal with a healthy appetite – the latter being something we can both relate to!
Tags: Cambodia, Chile, Elephants
Chris and Charl
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