Mondulkiri Mountain Madness

Yes, unfortunately it seems that I like alliteration in my titles. Sorry.
Last weekend was a holiday weekend (the king's birthday Friday, Buddha's Tuesday), so two of the roommates and I went to Mondulkiri, one of the mountain provinces. We took three other French people, and met half a dozen more, so my French is slowly getting better (whether I like it or not). We did trekking (the guide clearly thought we were more prepared than we were), rode elephants, and spent the night in a Pnong tribal village. I took a ton of pictures, until my camera died the last day. Have a look.
This is what it looks like to wash an elephant. We have Benji, Ranie, and one of the guides. Look at how much it's raining.
You could get under the small waterfall and hang out in the air pocket. It's a great alternative to a shower, and the water was warmer than the rain. These are two of the guides.
This scene is all too common in the area. The people think that the forest is more valuable as farm land, so they're cutting tracts like this one at an alarming rate. It's a shame to see it.
These were our elephants. Mine is the one with the guide on it. His name was Po, and he was 10 years old (and looked about six). But it's okay, his older brother was also guiding us. The brother was 15.
Piggies. Sleeping pile of cuteness.
This was where we stayed Saturday night. The child was adorable, as was the puppy (not pictured). The puppy cried all through dinner because no one was playing with him. Dinner was amazing, and I had 12 of the best hours of sleep ever.
Dinner. Also, our guide, Nat, in the pink shorts. No electricity here, and the water was from the well (or bottles, for drinking). They still had a TV, though, in case they ever fixed the generator.
Baby ducklings. Because this blog needs more cuteness.
When you jump off a waterfall wearing sunglasses, you have to hold your face when you land. When I swam up, one of the French girls was practicing her Khmer with her guide. I heard her say "He is from America," in Khmer. Was it the sunglasses or the camera that gave it away?
Finally, an update on the cooking situation. This was my first yogurt cake. The second was equally successful. The oatmeal cookies (or cookie, really, a big one in the bottom of the rice cooker), weren't as photogenic, but were quite delicious. I'm trying again tonight. I even bought cinnamon.
It was a great weekend. I'd forgotten how much I love just walking through the woods, looking at flowers and spiders, or throwing sticks in a river just to watch them float through the little waves. Also, it's nice not to worry about poison ivy. Ticks aren't a problem either, but leeches can be (even away from the river, they hold onto the grass). And in case you were wondering, Chaco flip-flops do great in the rain, but when it stops they collect mud and become difficult to walk in. I still defend my choice to take them on the trek.