Floating Village & Bayon Temple

Today we cruised Tonle Sap Lake, in a wooden boat powered by a loud diesel mud motor, which means “Great Freshwater Lake” as it’s the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia. It’s world renowned habitat for shorebirds. We visited the Mechrey Floating Village. The locals literally live on the lake & women sell fruits & veggies from Sampon boats. The village has 284 families, just over 1000 people. We stopped at a local’s home/dock, got out & visited with her (Jack acted as an interpreter). She talked about the challenges of living on the water, including depleted fish stocks, from overfishing - which, along with rice, & chicken (housed in small cages in barges beside their houses) make up their primary diet, & less water in the system, which is the result of hydroelectric dams upstream on the Mekong River. The water level fluctuates 12-15 feet from the dry to the rainy season, so they have to move their entire village 3 or 4 times a year. It was a fascinating visit. We went to yet another ancient Temple called Bayon in the pm. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century it is located in Angkor Thom. It has many faces carved into the sandstone walls. We finished our day at a Dinner theatre set up at a local restaurant. We enjoyed a performance of Apsara dancers.Read more