Mondulkiri was muddy; we had clay-style red mud everywhere! We were apparently surrounded by jungle and the only way to get to Laos was to head back down south only to go back up North. Unless of course you were crazy enough to head to Laos on motorbike through Ratanakiri on the road that isn't really a road; through dried up rivers, remote villages and 'thick' jungle. When it was put like that to us we thought 'that sounds like great fun!'.
So after a few days exploring Mondulkiri Rich and I found ourselves the best guides available (the ride is too rough to do it on your own or to do it with inexperienced bike riders) and we were off. The bikes were loaded with our bags at the front and food&hammocks at the back. End result = being far too close to the conservative Cambodian man.
After 45 minutes I was groaning from cramp and we got our first rest. We soon hit the road at full speed (when we requested helmets we were told we wouldn't need them! Little did I know we'd be doing 100km p/h on paved roads for some of the way) and got half way to Ratanakiri after a few hours. Then came lunch (it looked like chicken livers but you can never be sure), and then came the bumpy road...
HUGE bumps, tree trunks, sand (worst terrain to drive on), dry riverbeds and a whole lot of dust. It was great fun and our guides' driving was impressive! I would call the jungle more of a forest but it was still pretty. After a few tough hours on our bums we ended up at the 3-hut village where we spent the night. No toilet facilities; no shower facilities; no electricity etc. We found a river where we washed off the dust; our guides cooked over a fire (this time it was definitely chicken but the only reason we're sure is coz we saw it being butchered into tiny unrecognisable pieces). The homestay family were lovely and welcomed us into their home; we showed them photos of our travels (they seemed a bit confused upon seeing a photo of a zebra) and they forced us onto their scales so they could gawp at our weights. When it got dark we got bored and climbed/fell into our hammocks to go to sleep. All in all it was a good experience.
The next day we arrived in Ratanakiri completely covered in red dust; i have never been so filthy before. We didn't even bother showering; we headed straight for the volcanic lake nearby and spent the afternoon swimming. It was perfect.
Aftter a good night's sleep we hopped on the bus to Laos; successfully argued my way out of paying the bribes at the Cambodian border, unsuccessfully argued the bribe at the Laos border and before we knew it we were back on a minibus in the direction of Laos' river island of Don Det.
More to follow soon.
Love S&R.
xxxx
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