Into the jungle

We leave early in the morning, still in the dark. Jame, our contact here in Chi Phat, picks us up at 5.30am. We walk to the river where a small motor boat is waiting for us to go upriver. I dress in my mosquito repellent-soaked 'safari' shirt, my hiking boots and a backpack that could be better but it is still OK. I feel well prepared. As we walk along the main dirt road, whose red colour appears even darker in the twilight, we find the village starting to wake up. A packed breakfast awaits us from an old lady selling food along the road: rice, dried pork (fish for me) and omelettes, all accompanied by a spicy sauce made from fermented fish. And then the fried bananas, I love them! These, however, have seeds because they are semi-wild, so watch your teeth! When we arrive at the river, we meet Mr. Sue, the expert guide who will accompany us into the jungle. Mr. Sue uses a rice sack as a backpack to which he has attached two kitchen towels as braces. To complete are a hat, plastic flip-flops, and a machete. I feel totally unprepared! We walk up the river, which at the first morning light is covered by a layer of mist that makes the atmosphere mystical. It is chilly because it is winter anyway, but the coffee that Jame has brought in the thermos is mixed with ice because that is how it works in South East Asia. Full stop. After about an hour, we change boats and take a small rowing boat to increase our chances of spotting the local fauna. In the silence of the jungle, we can admire Kingfishers and Hornbills until we reach the mooring point where our walk begins. The path winding through the dense vegetation is difficult to see, but Mr. Sue has experienced eyes and knows exactly where to go. Jame explains that originally that path was created by the elephants that regularly move through this jungle. And as we walk, we can see signs of them: fresh footprints (about 1 month old), some demolished trees and mountains of droppings that are also fresh. But the real surprises of the jungle are hidden among the vegetation. Every now and then Mr. Sue uses the machete to cut branches that all look the same to me, but in reality one hides a deep yellow colour reminiscent of turmeric, another contains fresh water to drink (it can save your life in the jungle), yet another hides red and fragrant wood, very valuable, Jame explains. For lunch, we stop at the banks of the 'butterfly river'. While Mr. Sue prepares rice, sautéed vegetables and roast pork, we have time to admire the countless butterflies, from the small yellow ones that seem to be settling on the rocks like a carpet of primroses, to the blue, black and orange ones ... some of them truly gigantic. After lunch we set off again to reach the camp where we are to spend the night. The humidity and sweat impregnate our clothes, and it is a constant battle with the leeches that manage to get into our shoes and under our trousers, and even manage to bite through our socks. After a few hours we arrive at the camp. Expecting a fairly isolated situation, we are surprised by the number of people present: some rangers armed with machetes, some local police (armed with firearms), the village chief and others. After a long conversation between some of these and our guide, we learn of a misunderstanding related to our registration in the village. Because of this we are not allowed to sleep in the jungle but have to return to the village. The disappointment is huge of course!!! We have walked for hours and it is not thinkable to return to the village on foot before sunset, in fact we are told that we have to return by motorbike. At that point we are loaded onto motorbikes, along with our backpacks, and we set off on what was surely the craziest motorbike experience of my life! Exactly the same kind of small, winding and barely visible paths that we had been walking on during the day we now travel at full speed on motorbikes that screech under the weight of two (minimum) people and equipment. The motorbike Peter is on punctures the rear tyre so he is repositioned with me (and the ranger who is driving) and we finish the journey in three. After two hours of jumping, sliding in the mud, and whipping branches in the face we leave the jungle and return home. Disappointed but also inebrihated by the surprise ending. And how to end such a disappointing but fun day? By doing what the locals do: karaoke!!! And so the night ends with a long karaoke session in which Indonesian songs prevail and during which we witness a real fight for the microphone (Cambodians love karaoke!!) ... all accompanied by the pungent rice wine produced locally and sold in reused plastic bottles: headache assured for the following day!!! Friendliest person: Jame, for having taken care of us, for having organized a beautiful trip in the jungle and for the beautiful evenings we spent together.

Food: A Cambodian dish called Nom Banh Chok prepared with rice noodles in a coconut milk and curry broth, with fresh sprouts and a fish paste Music: This song reminds me a lot of the Karaoke!!!! Highlights of the trip: while we were in Chi Phat it was Peter's birthday. That morning, without much hope, I asked the lady who ran the guesthouse if she knew where I could get a cake. Without hesitation she jumped on the motorbike and waved me to go with her. She explained to me that until a few years earlier there was no one making birthday cakes in the village, so they had to order them from a village a few kilometres away. They were very expensive and because of the terrible condition of the roads they always arrived destroyed. But recently a woman from the village started making cakes! So we went to her house. She asked me how big I wanted the cake and what to write on it. I then expected a question like "what flavour?" Hoping that I could at least choose between fruit or chocolate. Instead he asked me "what colour?". Well, I wouldn't know what flavour it was, but the yellow cake for Peter's birthday was certainly very good!!! Highlights of the trip (2): in Cambodia we saw the most impressive (in terms of size) bugs I have ever seen – huge leave-insects and stick-insects, very fat frogs, enormous Tokay geckos … every evening sitting out on the porch was a little night safari displayed in front of us!! Lowlights of the trip: we couldn't sleep in the jungle