Not getting eaten by tigers in the jungles of Mondulkiri

Aurelia and I got off the beaten path in Cambodia by heading to Mondulkiri, a province in the east with mountains, waterfalls, jungles, hill tribes, and the dustiest red dirt roads you've ever seen.

We went trekking for 2 days in the jungle on an elephant which was really incredible, but not exactly the most comfortable when you're squished in a bamboo basket on top...(note to self about short elephant treks in the future). The scenery was gorgeous, rolling green mountains, exotic flowers and trees abound, and waterfalls all over the place. There are about 2 people who live in this province per square km, so you really got the feeling that it was just you and the jungle. We slept over with a Phnom hill tribe in their bamboo hut, it was great to see how they lived and even tried some of their traditional soup (which tasted..like...well...leaves and water), and stole some honey out of trees from unborn baby bees (cruel i know, but it sure was yummy). We were not feeling too adventurous to try massive bugs that they roasted on the fire. 'm not gonna lie, i was a bit hesitant to go out there in the middle of the night to go to the washroom, our guide said most animals sleep during the day and are awake at night...and there's everything from tigers to wild boars to cougars in the jungle...eek! But i survived it alright, but you better believe i ran back to the hut and closed the bamboo weaved door shut behind me as fast as i could.

The next day on the trek back, we had a picnic and afternoon nap by one of the waterfalls, after falling in the river and soaking my shoes and pants...which meant i wore my pj's back which was fine in the jungle, no one was around to laugh at me, but kinda funny heading back into town with bare feet and pink pj bottoms...ah well, the locals regularly wear their pj's out too, except they usually are matching (no joke).

off to Laos soon, the land of relaxation!