The beginning of the journey

If you have read my story from the beginning, you would
remember that I mentioned how my journey had its beginning
when the last daughter of my aunt got married. Her name is
Seoung Veoung. She married a man named Oun Iem. The
marriage was arranged by the parents. That was how marriage
was usually done.

I think that was the only wedding I had ever been to, because it was
unavoidable. There was a live band and plenty of food and drinks
to last through the day and night. I didn't get to dance because I was shy.
For what I know about Cambodian weddings is that the whole
village basically came. OK, maybe I'm exagerating, but it appeared
that way.

Oun Iem was a military man of some of some sort. There were
at least three factions within the Cambodian political arena. I have
no idea which one he belonged to. He was from a station up west
near Thailand boarder. I consulted the map and saw that there are two
places that sound similar. One is Banteay Meanchey and the second
is Oddar Meanchey. I think we were at Oddar Meanchey. It has an
airport for faster access to this remote place.
Otherwise we got there by dirt roads through the jungle.
It was an adventure for me. I always wanted to go into the jungle
when I was young.

Seoung Veoung need to relocate to this place after her marriage
to Oun Iem. He was with a military group stationed here at Oddar
Meanchey, living in an apartment complex with four other families.

The head leader of this military group was in need of someone
who was capable of looking after a plantation that had been
established there. Maybe it is more proper to say it was farm
land that needed to be cultivated and cleared off by slash and burn.
There were root potatoes already planted and harvestable
when I came on the scene.

Oun lem asked for one of her brothers to come with her, but they were
busy in their schooling. So they must have asked me if I would like
to come along and be that helper that they had need of. I don't
think I hesitated a minute to go. This was my chance for getting
away from my family. I assume that they did let my folks know later
of my departure to go live with these people that I never knew
before. All of these events were an adventure for me. Going back
to my family was never a concern for me. I don't know if they were
concerned for my welfare. I was in good hands with these people.
When it came time to leave, Seoung Veoung and I were planning
on boarding a plane in Battambong and flying into Oddar Meachey
without her husband. He was planning to come later with a military
caravan through the jungle dirt roads. But something happened, I
know not what. We missed the flight or there was no flight as was
thought, so we had to travel with the caravan after all.

While we were waiting for our departure, the caravan was
gathering the neccessary supplies to put onboard the trucks to
make this trek through the jungle. We pulled our roots from our home
turf and moved from place to place, living some in Battambong.
This was in the city and some other outlying areas. This was beyond
my wildest dream, if I had one back then. I got to ride in a car!
Remember, I was just a poor fellow with limited education. Status
is very important in Cambodian culture. And here I was tagging along
with prominent people of higher class.

After about one week or more, moving from one place to the next,
we started our long awaited journey through the jungle, heading
to our destination. There were at least 10 trucks with canvas cover
traveling together, carrying supplies and I assume weapons also.
The trip was not boring. I took in every sight and sound. I was looking
for monkeys and wild tigers. I can't remember of seeing any, especially
monkeys. There were people living along the route in these remote
places away from civilization. We had some challenges of crossing
river bottoms without getting stuck. It took us two days to reach our
destination. I wish I could remember more in detail to make a better
story. But it was an adventure I'll never forget. I would love to make that
trek again if possible in the near future. I think I was the only boy and
Seoung was the only woman onboard.