Mondulkiri is also known for her robust coffee. Due to heavy afternoon showers, however, our tour to a coffee plantation was abruptly shortened. After a coffee/tea break there, our group headed back to Sen Monorom, and we said our goodbyes at the Green House Bar and Restaurant. The minivan then took me to another Bunong community Putong Village where I stayed the night and had dinner.
The community at Putong Village seemed larger than Pulong Village. In addition to several garden plots, I saw plenty of farm animals: pigs, chickens, ducks, goats, dogs, and buffaloes. After dinner and jar wine with the host family, a few inebriated fellow travelers and I walked to a different community nearby to join in at a party. The night walk there was rather treacherous as there were no street lamps save for our headlights. I was relieved that we made it; there was music, dancing, and drinking at the party. It reminded me of the dance I participated in at Amantani Island in Lago Titicaca in Peru several years ago. Unlike the indigenous people in Lago Titicaca, the Bunongs have modernized their attire. None of them were in their traditional costumes. Most men wore t-shirts and jeans, and some even sport a baseball hat, while the women mostly wore buttoned-shirts or t-shirts and cotton pants. They looked like any Khmer person to me. When I asked the guide how they could tell if someone was a Bunong, he answered, "Language". The Bunong people speak a local dialect that is different from Khmer. And so I digress. Anyway, the Bunong dance seemed rather prosaic - it was a mix of cha-cha and line dancing, and they danced in circles. It was a good thing that the party ended early at 9 P.M., and we got a ride back to Putong Village (from the owner of Green House Bar and Restaurant who came to the party as well) as I was dreading the walk back in the dark and wary of angry dogs.
I slept rather well in a hammock inside a traditional Bunong house made of rattan, bamboo, elephant straw, and wood. However, the temperature dropped tremendously between one and five in the morning, and the thin blanket they provided was not thick enough to keep me warm. It was good foresight that I wore my jacket to sleep. I was also glad that I put on ear plugs for the night as I heard none of the snoring that went on under the same roof.
Above right: These village boys were playing soccer/football with slippers or flipflops
Above left: This boy on the left had torn long pants held up with strings tied around his knees
Above right: A village convenience store
Above right: My male host ~ he has 10 children and 40 grand kids; they all live in the same community
Above left: My female host; Above right: Dinner at the host family
Above left: Our guides and hosts said a quick prayer before they offered us the jar wine; Above right: The hammock I slept in in a traditional Bunong house
Above left: Bunong women dancing at a party; Above right: Good morning from Putong Village!
Above right (from left): Aaron (from Australia), Mateo (from Italy), Vincent (from Switzerland), and our host
Above: A primary school near Putong Village. The new school season begins Nov 1st. The building of this school was funded by AusCam Freedom Project from Australia.
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