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Mekong
Off the Beaten Path; My Cambodia Travel Log
Dekila is the WWF US leader for the Greater Mekong Program. The Greater Mekong Program consists of three Global 200 ecoregions; the Mekong river, the Lower Mekong Dry Forests and the Greater Annamites and covers six countries; China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. This ecoregion complex is one of WWF US's priorities due to the incredible endemic biodiversity found there; whether it is the Mekong Giant Catfish, the largest freshwater fish in the world, or the Douc Langur, possibly the most charismatic primate in the world.
Dekila is from Sikkim, a tiny northeastern state in India the size of Rhode Island which is squished between Nepal and Bhutan. Like every other person from the Himalayas, she is convinced that her homeland is the original Shangrila. Her family is Bhutia, of Tibetan origin and she speaks Sikkimese, the local language, as well as Tibetan, Hindi and Nepali fluently. She worked in the WWF Eastern Himalayas Program for five years prior to working on the Greater Mekong. Her areas of expertise include strategic conservation planning, community based conservation and sustainable livelihoods. Among her most prized skills is the ability to eat anything remotely edible.
Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 14 and 15 | Last Day
Ever since I began working on the Greater Mekong Program, I've struggled with languages. Do I even try to learn a language when each country has several and none of the major ones overlap? If so, which one do I pick; should it be in terms of learning ease, number of people who use it or availability of lessons back in Washington, DC? So of course, what I've done is effectively master the most basic greetings in all. I can greet someone and thank them in Vietnamese, Khmer, Thai and Laotian. But, in Khmer, I've made a larger effort. We bump and jolt our way through the dark forest, with every turn promising to overturn the truck. The roads are slippery due to the rains and we get stuck several times. I decide to review my list of useful Khmer words, those integral for survival. You know, just in case.Soom: Please
Bon dtub: Bathroom
Mahob: Food
Dtuk: Water
Bia: Beer
I turn to Teak and ask him, "how do you say 'Help!" in Khmer?" "Je knom poong", he replies.
I can just see myself lost in the dark forest on my way back from the restroom, yelling out "Je knom poong!" meanwhile obsessing over whether the emphasis is on knom or poong?
"Isn't there anything shorter?" I ask him.
After a minute, he suggests I just yell. As in, "Aaaa" from the universal language of pain. Someone will answer. Or something will.
We are inside the Mondulkiri forest, parallel to the forest corridor that connects Phnom Prich
Wildlife Sanctuary and Srepok Wilderness Area. This is the Lower Mekong Dry Forests, an incredible topography that changes dramatically during the wet and dry seasons. In the dry season, the Forests are, well, dry - most of the trees are withered and the ground remains bare. In the wet season, it is exactly the opposite, verdant green, with heavy foliage and lush undergrowth. The incredible thing is that the species that survive in this habitat have to be perfectly adaptable to these extreme reverse conditions. In case you're struggling to imagine what these would be, the answer is wild cattle! This region was known as the Serengeti of Asia; it contained massive herds of Kouprey, Gaur, Banteng, and Wild Water Buffalo. Unfortunately, koupreys haven't been seen in the wild since 1957. Half a century of conflict and over-hunting has taken its toll. Other species that have suffered include tigers, elephants, leopards and birds like the Bengal Florican and Giant Ibis. However, in the past few years, WWF's work in the Dry Forests has encouraged strict protection zones and we can see results already. More and more tiger cubs are showing up on our camera traps as well as other species making a swift comeback.After taking my fair share of bumps from the road, we reach Mereuch, the headquarters for the Srepok Wildness Area by evening.
Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 14 and 15 | Last Day
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