Living On Water - The Floating Villages

From Battambang, I headed to Siem Reap, the home of the famous Angkor Wat temple complex. Instead of the 3-4h bus, me and a few travel buddies I made in Battambang decided to take the 6-8h boat ride on the Sangker River that feeds into Cambodia's biggest lake.

While admittedly a bit uncomfortable, the boat ride was fantastic, as it is the same boat that the local people take to get to their floating villages. During the ride, we stopped at multiple grocery stores, a restaurant, dropped people and vegetables off, and generally got a glimpse into what life on a river must be like.

The insights were certainly interesting, but also left one wondering what sort of future the kids that grow up here really have. After all, the houses are just simple shacks, obvious employment opportunities that go beyond typical village tasks look rare and a playground is a bit difficult to come by.

With all that in mind, however, it is remarkable how villages can function without roads, without land masses to connect houses and how literally everything is done by boat.

Definitely an experience not to be missed, even if it might leave more questions than answers.Read more