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| Yep. Perfect time for karaoke. |
We started out on Tuesday morning at about a quarter to six, I'd been up since three. So, you could imagine that I snuggled down into my nice air-conditioned seat, with my neck pillow blown up and my eye mask in place to catch a good 7 hours of z's. Yeah, well... my fellow busmates decided differently. There's no time like the present to sing Khmer karaoke, right? Wrong. And, what makes it worse, I barely got a drop of sleep, because they just kept the goodtimes(karoake) going.
It was a beatiful ride through the country side. What started out as expansive rice fields, soon turned into miles and miles of rubber trees. And while I'm on the subject, since when does rubber grow on trees? Did. Not. Know. This. At. All. Anyways, after 7, maybe 8, long hours, we reached our hotel! We were allotted about a half an hour to get settled in and freshened up, and then we headed to Monorom Falls.
I knew this place was going to be interesting when we pulled up and there were elephant rides taking place...little did I know what true splendor awaited below.
To reach the falls, we had to climb down this treacherous hill, but I can tell you that it was so worth it. When you got to the bottom and looked up, you saw this beautiful tree that looked as if it were growing right out of the cliff, and beside it, you saw a gorgeous waterfall, pouring over the edge. (Yes, I jumped off the cliff. http://tammyrose.blogspot.com/ read about it there:])
After we visited the falls, we had dinner at a cafe in the woods.(legit.) For entertainment, the indigenous minority people did a traditional dance around a campfire.
Day 2 in the great mountains, we visited the most popular of the falls in the area, Bousra. Now this, was a spectacle. I'd never been to a real waterfall before, so when we finally got to the sight(after an hour of driving up and down a winding mountain road) and all you could hear was water, I was awestruck. These falls were probably 50 to 60 ft. high and at the bottom were small rapids and a shallow place where people could wade or swim.
Also, on day 2, we visited a coffee plantation... Again, since when does coffee grow on trees?! Did.Not.Know.This.At.All. Next they're going to tell me that money grows on trees.(No, just on rice plants.) I didn't do much exploring but I mean, would you when you could sip delicious iced coffe in a beautiful garden? Yeah, thats what I thought.
That night, we had dinner at this really neat restaurant where you sit on the floor of a raised hut on a grass mat and they put a variety of serving dishes in the middle and then everyone takes what he wants. Basically like a private mini-buffet:D
Day 3, we woke up bright and early before we had to drive on our bus for 8 hours, and my compadre, Zachary, and I went on a morning run with the only other two people on our tour that spoke English.
After a quick shower and pack, we were on the fast track to reaching home. Two hours in, we stopped for a quick lunch and got right back onto the road...well, the other bus did. Our bus decided that it was time to get rid of a tire. Alas, the front, left tire blew up and flew all over the road. Delay # 1. Our drivers had to put on the spare in the beating,afternoon sun, so I really did feel bad for them, until I heard that they'd been tightening the old tire, instead of loosening it. Let's just say, my heart danced when an hour and a half later, the new tire was in place, and we were back on the road.
It was smooth sailing, or so we thought.
We were about 18 kilometers from the city when traffic literally stopped. Our bus was directed onto a back road to evade the apparent blockage only to be turned right back around because we were too big to fit. So we were back on the same road, in the same place that we sat at for 20 minutes, before! After ANOTHER hour, we finally got through the traffic, and get this, the traffic was caused by a street fair being held for a funeral of a god. What?!... Only in Asia.
Almost 12 hours later, we reached home sweet home.
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| The first set of falls we visited. |
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| I guess this is the lighthouse?... Located right off the Mekong river. |
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| Monorom Falls |
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| Where we ate dinner! |
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| Bousra Falls |
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| Our bonfire at dinner |
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| Magical rubber trees(lol) |
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| The tour group. |
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| Clouds for miles... |
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| It only took an hour and a half to change the tire in the scorching, beating sun...No big deal...all part of the adventure, right? |
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| While the tour guide change what was left of our tire, we got to admire the expansive rice fields. Aren't they beautimous? |
It was a great time, and all these adeventures are only serving to make me want more!! Write soon.<3
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