Towns and cities

Sen Monorom

Sen Monorom, founded in the 19^th century, is the capital of the Province of Mondulkiri, sometimes called Cambodia’s "Wild East". Provincial capitals don't get more remote or inaccessible than Sen Monorom , 420km from Phnom Penh. The town extends for a short way down either side of a low hill, atop which is an airport.

Mondulkiri is the largest province of Cambodia but it has a low population with about 40,000 inhabitants. 80 percent of Mondulkiri's population is made up of ten tribal minorities, with the majority if them being Phnong. The remaining 20 percent are Khmer, Chinese and Muslim Cham.

Most highlanders still rely on traditional farming methods, each family clearing and planting a small forest plot with dozens of varieties of crops before shifting to a new site and letting the forest reclaim the old one. Although this kind of slash-and-burn agriculture is often frowned upon, it has been used wisely and in a sustainable way by the highlanders for hundreds of years.

Hill tribes practice bloody animal sacrifices for better harvests, to cure the ill, to banish bad spirits and attract the good. This is the Kap Krabei Pheok Sra (literally, Cut the Buffalo and Drink Wine) feasting ritual. The Kap Krabei Pheok Sra ceremony is performed by the Phnong, Kreung, Breov, Tampuan, Jarai, Lunn and Steang tribes.

Phnong are traditional good elephant catchers. In their animist religion, Phnong pray to elephant gods for good health, abundant harvests and safe journeys and it's forbidden to kill or eat the animals. A domestic elephant is honored in death with the same traditional funeral burial as a human. The following legend tells about the elephant's origin.

Once upon a time, two young Phnong boys sat by a river fishing. After a successful capture, the older boy grilled and ate the fish. Soon he felt his body break out in a rash and began to scratch agitatedly. His skin suddenly turned hard and grey and the boy began to grow and grow quickly. When he reached an enormous size and stopped growing, he said to his brother, "Please run to the village and tell the others what has happened. I don't want to be the only one who looks like this."

The younger brother followed the elephant's instructions, and soon the villagers all grilled their catches and ate with great joy. The villagers all began to itch and scratch. And after a short while, they all turned into elephants. The young boy had to prepare food for these giants who refused to eat anything but cooked rice.

One day, the boy jumped up in protest, "I can't cook this much rice anymore," he said and threw the bowl of boiled rice to the ground. Everywhere the rice fell, abundant vegetation sprung up from the dry soil and elephant grass soon covered an area as far as the eye could see.

The remaining people trained the elephants to carry huge loads and it wasn't long until the elephants complained about their work. But the men countered, "Your bodies are so enormous, you should be able to carry anything."

One day, a giant called Nut arrived and turned the elephants tongues upside down, then pulled their lips away from their faces, stretching them longer and longer until the elephants could complain no more.

Bou Sra Waterfall

Bou Sra is located at Pich Chinda District, 43 kilometers from Sen Monorom by a very difficult road that is promised to be upgraded in 2005. One of the most spectacular waterfalls in the country, Bou Sra has three stages.

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