Our second to last travel day! Phnom Penh was pretty much what I expected. It was crowded, chaotic, loud, and dirty. There are no sidewalks to speak of and walking in the road means dodging all manner of traffic and garbage. The stifling heat made the experience difficult to bear and Cindy and I were eager for our last rural excursion.

The destination was Sen Monorom, a small village in the Mondulkiri region of Cambodia. It’s a sparsely populated area of the country that’s more mountainous than the rest of the nation, which is mainly flat. Lush jungle covers most of Mondulkiri, making it home to much of Cambodia’s endangered wildlife, including elephants. Our plan was to stay over night in Sen Monorom before heading into the jungle with the Elephant Valley Project, a rescue/sanctuary NGO. We would stay one night with the Elephant Valley Project before returning to Sen Monorom for a night and, finally, back to Phnom Penh to end our trip.

A newly constructed road between Phnom Penh and Sen Monorom eased our travel greatly, cutting it to 5 hours from what would have been over 10. Our hostel picked us up from the bus station. Instead of a traditional hostel, the Indigenous People Lodge operated a collection of huts scattered along a small stream (above). It was lovely and peaceful, a perfect transition from Phnom Penh. We went to bed early. The Elephant Valley Project awaited us at 7:20 AM the next morning.