willsilly
★★★★★5.0Wrote on 2 Mar 2020
Best way to experience nature
My girlfriend and I spent 3 days and 2 nights on a trek in the jungle with Lee Heng and a chef, both employed by the wildlife alliance eco tourism center in Chi Pat. This experience learned us (two researchers in conservation biology) things about the rainforest and conservation that no book could ever convey. Furthermore, we saw gibbons, long tailed macaques, large and small lizards, a brown viper, elephant traces, beautiful butterflies and birds (including 3 hornbill species) and much more. Lee Heng was the best guide we could have asked for. We talked about everything from Pol Pot to French cheese. During most of the tour however, we flooded him with questions about his time as a poacher (80% of the people used to be poachers, now thanks to new income possibilities from eco tourism less than 5% poach), his and his family's life, the animals and plants in the forest, Cambodian traditions, and much more. Important to note, Lee Heng told us that neither he nor anyone he knows want to poach. They are very happy that the families can now make income from eco tourism instead, e.g. guiding, cooking, housing, etc. Beyond seeing wildlife and having interesting conversations with Lee Heng, we got to experience Cambodian country side (in Chi Pat), contribute to making conservation a viable business that can compete with poaching rare animals for foreign markets and be embraced by a feeling of being deep in the rainforest (sleeping in hammocks with mosquito nets enhanced that feeling!). You see plastic and other waste sporadically along the forest paths. I mentioned this to the manager in Chi Pat. Maybe if others mention this too they might do something about it. Don't let this disturb your experience though. I'm sure they will find a solution eventually, maybe encourage tourist to pick up a couple of items each or pay a guide to do a waste picking round every now and then. All in all, one of the best nature experiences in my life!