Derniere ville avant le Laos. Une journee ‘remplie’ d’evenements dans la somnolente Kratie. The perfect sunset, the perfect crime ( un rouleau papier volé de la guesthouse pour anticiper le Laos ), the perfect bug tasting ( on s’est fait offrir les criquets et autres delicatesses par le gentil marchant, avec un grand sourire en prime). Enfin, c’est que Mihai qui a gouté, moi j’avais mal au ventre, mais le pauvre il a malheureusement peu apprecié le ‘jus’ des blattes frites.
Astazi am ajuns in Kratie, un orasel calm si linistit pe marginea Mekongului. N-am facut mare lucru in afara de a ne uita la apus, incerca sa ne lamurim cum trecem in Laos, gusta lacuste si gandaci (Mihai in orice caz, eu am fost scutita ca deja ma durea stomacul dar dupa reactia la gandaci, n-am ratat mare lucru) si fura un sul de hartie igienica pentru zile negre (anticipam Laosul si stocurile scad). Pentru gandaci, apreciem curajul.

Deja pour commencer, ces 2 filles sont trop cool. Elles sont hyper belles, elles sont gentilles, elles ont des beaux yeux, elles sont intelligentes et elles aiment les accessoires.Princess aime egalement les longs bains au centre de l’attention mais elle aime pas trop la compagnie des autres et elle est plutot solitaire, pas trop copine avec Sophie. Puis le repas ne se passe pas n’importe comment, elle est plutot delicate. Elle a deja eu un bebe garcon mais il a ete placé malgré les bons soins de sa maman ( a Phnom Penh ).
Sophie est plus grande et un peu plus agée mais elle est pleine de charme et calineuse. Elle essaye tout le temps de faire des bisous a Princess. Elle est aussi un peu plus pudique pour le bain, elle aime pas se baigner avec les touristes..mais elle adore les bananes qu’on lui offre.
Toutes les 2 ont été recuperees par mondulkiri project pour sauver les elephants et la jungle. Pour l’instant elles sont que toutes les 2 mais au moins elles ne transportent plus du bois ou des touristes et elles se font soigner quand elles sont malades. Et elles sont trop intelligentes et elles font gaffe au troupeau de singes bizarres avec des appareils photos.
A doua zi in jungla am fost sa le vedem pe Sophie si Princess, 2 elefantele geniale, super dragute si blande. Fiecare are personalitatea ei si felul ei de a interactiona. Princess mananca numai daca ii pui bananele direct in gura, nu-si bate capul, in schimb isi face vant tacticos cu evantaiul ei de frunze si pozeaza frumos pentru turisti ( cand nu-si arunca pamant pe spate si se scarpina de vreun trunchi de copac). Sophie e mai mare, mai in varsta si mai prietenoasa inclusiv cu Princess dar care nu prea ii raspunde la pupici.
Amandoua au fost recuperate de la munci obositoare de mondulkiri project in ideea de a mai salva ultimii elefanti din Cambogia. Deocamdata au doar doua elefantele dar poate intr-o zi, spera ei, or sa aiba copii.

After chilled Kep and its Crabs, we took an uneventful 9 hours bus journey to Sen Monorom. The most fun was waiting in Kep at 7:30 for a bus we had booked by telephone and hoping it would stop and have available seats. It did and it had. 4 hours of karaoke videos later we’re in Phnom Pehn. Change buses and 5 and a half hours of jumpy crammed travel later, Moldukiri, Sen Monorom the wild east.

One day resting at the Tree Lodge, aptly named after Mr. Tree, the owner, and some waterfall swimming.

Then we are off for a two day jungle trek and elephant encounters.First day, a morning 5 km trek followed by lunch andswimming at a 30m waterfall. Cold water but who cares. Free spa water massages. Everybody manages to overcome their natural aversion to cold (more on that later).

 
More jungle trekking in the afternoon. We walk through the hilly forest, pass by manioc, pineapple and cashew plantations, make chance encounters with a snake and take in the scenery.

 
We arrive at the Nature Lodge at 4 pm and immediately crash into its comfy hammocks waiting for our dinner to be ready.  Bamboo soup and pineapple pork. We round up the evening with some Truth Macao(Romanian uno combined with the truth part of truth or dare), a large bottle of rice wine and some unexpected soul searching with our trek friends answering questions like what is  your greatest desire and what is your greatest fear. Everybody is in a good mood, we all joke how it’s warmer than we expected.

 
9 pm, time to hit the sack. Pretty literally. We settle in into our hammocks overlooking the valley and surrounded by jungle sounds. Sleeping in a hammock under the open air while various night insects and animals practice their calls can be intimidating at first but the rice wine and the trek prove to be reliable helpers of the sandman.

3 am, everybody is freezing. I realize that Cristina had the right approach, she has brought her winter jacket to sleep in. The temperature dropped to 13C and most of us are not ready. Everybody stirs and turns in their cocoon, i resolve to watch the beautiful moonlight filled valley below and listen to the jungle. The tree next to my hammock stirs, I don’t want to find out why.

Sunrise comes at around 6 am and not a moment to soon. We start to get out of our pupas one by one. We hunt the sun and the hot tea. Breakfast is ready. We all need a good night sleep and every one hugs whoever he or she can for the warmth.

Dupa 9 ore de autobuz ieri din Kep pana in Sen Monorom in conditii de spatiu minimalist, am ajuns in sfarsit la Tree Lodge-ul nostru unde ne-am primit ultimul bingalow cu apa calda, un bungalow de 6 persoane intr-o camera de 2. Bungalow-urile sunt facute de mana de proprietar care a facut treaba buna mai putin ca n-ar fi stricat sa puna ceva mai mult material la pereti. Somnul a fost ca si cum am fi dormit afara cu sunetul vantului suierand si multe zgomote neidentificate ( defapt era si unul clar identificat, o matza care cersea mancare pe care n-am vazut-o dar pe care o auzeam de parca era in pat cu noi).Fara sa mai vorbim ca am impartit patul cu cel putin o furnica, dar banuiesc ca e normal doar era bungalow de 6, platise si ea probabil camera.pe ceilalti 3 colocatari nu i-am vazut dar cu siguranta erau acolo. Dar nu ma plang prea tare ca maine mergem in trekking si dormim in hamac, in jungla.

Intre timp, poza cu vederea din sala de unde am luat micul dejun.

Apres 9 heures de bus (bien tassés contre les voisins) de Kep a Sen Monorom, nous sommes enfin arrivés hier soir dans notre bungalow pour un repos bien merité mais..comme tous les eco lodges, pas de vrais murs. Tres joli mais le vent nous a fait des calins et a chanté toute la nuit ainsi que les autres bruits de la jungle adjacente. Finalement on a eu de la chance car on a juste partagé le lit avec quelques fourmis. Mais bon, demain ca sera encore mieux, on va dormir dans un hamac dans la jungle.
Ce matin, petit dej avec vue dans la salle commune.

Update camera: mult mai bine in camera de un singur pat dublu.

Siem Reap e altfel. Centrul e un fel de Vama Veche pe steroizi combinat cu riviera franceza. Pub street este plin de oameni care danseaza in strada si isi impart generos alcoolul. Muzica la maxim si o multime de occidentali veniti pentru ‘a good time’, orice ar insemna asta, muzica, dans, localnice, droguri si alcool.

Templele sunt altceva. Pozele o sa vorbeasca de la sine. Raman cu o idee, cea a Zeitei Natura care ii infrange pe toti ceilalti zei, oricat de de piatra ar fi. Țipetele rugatoare ale zeilor pe masura ce casele li se naruie. Noi preoti, albi, inalti si invingatori raspandindu-si radacinile.

Siem Reap is different. An eclectic mix between a hippie seaside resort and the french riviera. Pub street full of people dancing and sharing their alcohol. All westerners, all looking for a good time whatever that might mean, music, dance, alcohol, drugs, the local girls. Plenty of fancy restaurants full of tourists. The locals provide the services.

The Ankgor temples are a different world. The pictures speak for themselves but I have one image stuck in my mind: the stone goods screaming their agony as God Nature takes over, its tall and whitish monks spreading their roots.