Tonle Sap Lake and the Floating Village

Tonle Sap (Large Fresh water River  but more commonly translated as Great Lake) is a combined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia
The Tonlé Sap is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and is an ecological hot spot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere in 1997.
The Tonlé sap is unusual for two reasons: its flow changes direction twice a year, and the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. From November to May, Cambodia's dry season, the Tonlé sap drains into the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. However, when the year's heavy rains begin in June, the Tonlé sap backs up to form an enormous lake.During these times fishermen fish when permitted moving their floating village according to the waters. Everything is afloat from schools to Police station. In days gone by it was much more traditional / real but today is owned by a private firm very much open to tourists. The main docks that supply the boats for tours is also state owned - not by Cambodia but by China. Guides and people we spoke to in Cambodia regularly talked about the corruption and the willingness of the Cambodian government to sell off parts of their land, industry and culture to foreign investment and clearly have big issues with ownership / land grabs by China and Vietnam. That said , floating amongst this fishing village was one of the highlights of the trip for me with so much to see.

Passenger boats at the Chinese owned ports

On the bank

Floating school

Old croc

Floating Police Force

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Tuk Tuk hammock again on the bank

Bankside silhouette

Fresh coconut milk