Our jungle trek began at about 8:20 am. We arrived at the Parrot Tours company, stored the stuff we weren't going to be using in their storage unit, and met our guide, Tommy. There were five other scooter drivers awaiting us as well.
Comically, each driver chose which of us would ride with them. I think they were all trying to avoid having to take Blake (due to his large, muscular stature). The guy who chose Sam later told him that he "knew" that Sam was going to be with him. I've found that these people are very superstitious. Tommy, our guide, chose me to ride with him.
The motorcycle ride to the village home-stay was frightening, to say the least. Not only were these small Cambodian drivers carrying us as their passengers, they were also carrying all of the food and water and gear we would be using throughout the trek, as well as the 70L backpacks we had on our backs. Imagine all of that on a tiny little motorized scooter driving down loose gravel and dirt roads! To see Blake on the back of one of these scooters with his enormous backpack sticking out was comical. The drive was about 2 1/2 hours long and was as adventurous as it gets. At certain parts of the drive, the dirt was so loose on the road that our drivers had to frantically kick their feet down in order to keep us from spinning out. Those guys, although they are of small stature, are unbelievably strong.
Finally, we arrived to the jungle. The plan was to trek from the edge of the jungle for about 1 1/2 hours to the small Khmer Kawat tribal village. We were forced to cross over a river via a sketchy log bridge. Dalton practically ran across. Arrio psyched himself out and ended up crawling across. Sam kept repeating to himself the phrase: "Mind over body" as he crossed. Blake slowly made his way over. I pretended I was a kung fu fighter from the Matrix and made it over fine.
The jungle was shaded, but was still hot and humid. Tommy told us about the cobras, giant spiders, giant birds, and monkeys that inhabit the area. The thought of a cobra striking at my angle kept me cautious as I made my way through.
When we arrived at the village there was a tiny indigenous woman to greet us. She was the smallest old lady I've ever seen. She had to of been shorter than 4 1/2 feet tall. She was pounding rice in a pot that was made out of a tree stump. 20 minutes later, we were eating that very same rice for lunch.
There was a small hut made of bamboo and leaves. Chickens and puppies were running around freely. There was corn, eggplant, potatoes, tobacco, and rice growing all over the place. It was a really beautiful setting.
After lunch, we met up with another indigenous tribal member who took us into the heart of the jungle. There was no path at this point. We went out looking for animals. We saw a massive bird called the Giant Ibis, which is the national bird of Cambodia. They are only found in northern Cambodia (although there have been a few sightings in extreme southern Laos and Western Vietnam). These things are massive! When flapping their wings it is akin to what I imagine a pterodactyl sounding like. We also spotted some eerie looking spiders and other curious insects.
Our indigenous guide taught us how to make a Gibbon (monkey-like creature that are incredibly intelligent) call with leaves. Essentially, you take two leaves and put your pointer fingers between the two leaves on each end. Then you suck your breath in. It really works! We didn't spot any Gibbons at this point, but later on in the jungle trek, we did.
Once we got back to the village camp, we decided to go bathe in a nearby creek. We used bio-degradable soap and bathed with the thousands of tadpoles that crowded the waters. For the 14th time on this trip, I felt like Indiana Jones.
After bathing, we headed back to the village. We were appalled when we saw that the entire place was swarming with cock roaches. The ground, our things, and especially the hut, were all covered with a crawling black mass of cock roaches. It was unnerving. Tommy and the indigenous people acted like they didn't even notice anything. In order to psychologically calm ourselves down, we told ourselves that these were clean jungle cock roaches and were different than the disgusting city ones. We dealt with it.
We set up our hammocks (courtesy of the U.S. army, which thankfully included built-in mosquito nets) under a tarp, and, after dinner, retired for the night.
I slept soundly and peacefully in that jungle a midst the eclectic sounds of nature.
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