Preaek Banteay Kum

We read about these before we left and it was on all our wish lists. You drive past the lotus plantations another ten minutes and you find the end of the road, at a man made channel that leads out to the Tonle Sap (literally means freshwater lake). The channel is a few kilometres in length, and its dry season, so there might be three feet of water. Muddy, filthy water. And you go in these long skinny, tippy boats not fit for any kind of travel except for the kind you would expect in SE Asia. Once you get close to the lake, you have to get out of this boat into a much smaller and tippier boat and cruise through the floating village. There are 1115 families living on floating houses at this part of the lake; there’s a community hall, bar, church, school and little shops for the locals to buy their goods. Our guide grew up on the floating village, his family still lives there. And the people seem happy. Apparently there are around two million people living on the Tonle Sap...might explain the filthy water.Read more