I am writing these words in Sem Monorom, the small and sleepy town that serves as capital and market center for Cambodia’s remote eastern province of Mondulkiri. This is the country’s most sparsely populated province; its forested hillslopes, mild temperatures, and the presence of a most members of Cambodia’s Phanong minorty make it a very different place from the flat, hot, and rice covered plateau most of the country’s majority Khmer people live. This area is known for its magnificent waterfalls and its forest vegetation and wildlife, but until recently distance and poor roads have insulated the region from tourism, commercial farming, and pretty much everything else. But all of this is quickly changing. Brand new paved roads and bridges link the province with...
