Our final trip was to the Tonle Sap Lake. This lake is huge and is at the centre of Cambodia, stretching all the way from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. It is a huge part of the countries infrastructure, economy and food source. There are also several floating villages on the lake where people live and work, and of course it is a great tourist attraction.
"Many drops make a bucket, many buckets make a pond, many ponds make a lake, and many lakes make an ocean." - Percy Ross
[Many, many drops make up the Tonle Sap]
We hired a driver from a good guide friend of mine, who gave us instructions on prices and saw that the driver made sure we didn't get ripped off. The cost for a boat should be around $18, but sometimes guides and the operators make deals and individuals can be charged anything up to around $30 each. We got a good price and got on our little boat.
"Being on a boat that's moving through the water, it's so clear. Everything falls into place in terms of what's important and what's not." - James Taylor
On our way...
This is the kind of boat we were on...
As we set off onto the lake our guide pointed out a new hospital that was being built for the residents of the floating villages.
Some of the people who live on the lake going about their daily life.
A graveyard, our guide joked in rainy season all the bodies would float away and you would see them on the lake - he was so deadpan we actually believed him for a moment!
A shop selling everything you could possibly want!
Local homes...
Looks like these people were involved in fishing.
This is the local school. As you can see there is some Vietnamese writing here also, as many of the lakes inhabitants are of Vietnamese origin.
The far end of the school and the basketball court.
The lake really is so vast you feel like you are out at sea - here is one of the ferrys / pleasure cruises.
We were offered a trip in the small dug out boats in the mangroves, but at a cost of $20 each (later found out it should have been $5 each) we knew we were being ripped off, there was no deal to be struck and much as I don't mind paying a little extra here and there and tipping a guide for a good job, I don't like being ripped off to my face, so we skipped this section too.
The lake is lovely and the floating villages interesting, our guide was interesting and informative, but the whole set up really exists to milk the tourist and exploit the people there, which made us pretty sad.
Some of the homes really are lovely...
There are the houses on the edge of the lake, that aren't floating, but are built on stilts to keep them out of the water.
The 'Water traffic police Technique and solving' hut ?
A leaf blower.
There were these huge traffic signs all over the lake as well on massive poles giving Captains instructions, never seen anything similar before.
Off the lake and back on dry land this is what the houses looked like from the road - ready to float and on stilts, but currently above the water...
Sooner than you would know it was time for sundowners and mum to fly home after an awesome trip!
Thanks for an awesome time mum!
On our way...
This is the kind of boat we were on...
As we set off onto the lake our guide pointed out a new hospital that was being built for the residents of the floating villages.
A graveyard, our guide joked in rainy season all the bodies would float away and you would see them on the lake - he was so deadpan we actually believed him for a moment!
"Don't die old, die empty. That's the goal of life. Go to the cemetery and disappoint the graveyard." - Myles Munroe
Most of the houses and shops on the lake are painted in this blue colour, I think this was the police station.
The local church.
A shop selling everything you could possibly want!
Local homes...
Looks like these people were involved in fishing.
To be honest, we found the trip and the interaction with the school rather disturbing, About a third of the journey out the guide is supposed to take you to the school to visit the children, give them sweets and rice for the kitchen and gifts for the kids and take photographs with the kids. I asked if every boat leaving that harbour did the same - and the answer was yes. I also asked how the kids ever learned anything with constant disruption to their learning, there was no answer to that. It essentially felt that these kids were being exploited in order to bring money, food and gifts into the community via the school and no learning was taking place. My work and many other schools and NGOs have strict policies about not allowing tourists to interact with children, taking photos of minors, what constitutes exploitation and not disrupting learning. The guide was pretty shocked when we refused a visit to the school in preference of leaving the children alone to learn.
Think about it, if these were your kids, would you be happy with boat loads of tourists tramping through your kids schools four times an hour and your kids learning nothing...? So, its not ok to do it as tourists either!
"Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom." - George Washington Carv
Here are some more of the community buildings / centers, shops and restaurants - all floating...
"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water." - Rabindranath Tagore
The lake is lovely and the floating villages interesting, our guide was interesting and informative, but the whole set up really exists to milk the tourist and exploit the people there, which made us pretty sad.
...and others you really can see people are struggling to make ends meet.
There are the houses on the edge of the lake, that aren't floating, but are built on stilts to keep them out of the water.
This was a look out tower across the lake.
Even on the lake, temples and pagodas are important.
This boat was going super fast and was powered by what looked like the sort of reverse hoover you blow your leaves with in the garden.
Off the lake and back on dry land this is what the houses looked like from the road - ready to float and on stilts, but currently above the water...
"Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Sooner than you would know it was time for sundowners and mum to fly home after an awesome trip!
Thanks for an awesome time mum!
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