Tonle Sap

It was a bit of a struggle getting moving today as we were both a bit stiff after the unaccustomed exercise of yesterday. Once we moving we went off to visit Tonle Sap. This is one of the largest lakes in the region and quadruples in size during the wet season as the large amounts of water in the Mekong River cause the Tonle River, which normally drains water from the lake, to reverse its flow and fill the lake instead of draining it. The inhabitants on the lake live in floating villages and they merely move their houses from one location to another, depending on the level of the water.

We had our own tour boat, but there were lots of craft of different sizes and seaworthiness around. Some were making a six hour journey to Phnom Phenh - these seemed popular with back packers, many of whom were sitting on the roof of the boat along with their luggage. Another boat filled with a group of Boy Scouts had such a severe list to port that we were surprised that it did not capsize! We had a nice cruise along the river and out onto the lake where we visited the local village complete with its school, police station, church and temple. We stopped at an crocodile farm, shop and cafe that offered a view over the village. Quite interesting trip.

The afternoon was spent relaxing by the pool and keeping cool.Read more