We’ve just arrived in Mondulkiri. MDK is a large and
sparsely populated rural Province that borders Vietnam and
Ratanakiri/Kratie Provinces. Because the weather is unusually
colder than other provinces, Mondulkiri is the only province in all of
Cambodia that has coniferous trees. Can you believe it? -and we thought
that we had escaped the cold from Canada.
Still, we were pleasantly surprised to find that Saen Monorom
(capital city of Mondulkiri) is quite developed and picturesque. There
are a number of guesthouses, hotels, restaurants and market with plenty of
vegetables, fish and other yummy food.
My colleague came to meet us at the bus station and took us to a
guesthouse that over look lush vegetation and rolling hills. This
coming weekend we plan to go house hunting and hopefully we’ll quickly find somewhere to call home during our stay in Saen Monorom. After living out of
suitcases and backpacks for nearly 6 weeks, it’ll be a luxury to finally unpack and air out
our ‘moldy’ clothes –let alone to finally have the pleasure to cook our own
‘healthy’ food.
Today we’ve had heavy rains with thunderstorms -and yes we bought
a couple of heavy-duty ponchos to get through the 'remains' of the rainy
season.
At the market, the locals told us that we are indeed nearing the
end of the monsoon season -that heavy rains with thunderstorms and mist means
that frogs and fish that were born in small rivers (due to heavy rains)
instinctively know that it’s that time of the year for them to move to a bigger river (Preaek
Chhbaar/Preake Te Rivers that crosses Mondulkiri), before the small rivers
begin to dry up. The locals believe that this a common trend that happens every year.
More later ... :)
