Day 231, Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Houses on stilts

Our guide told us we would be seeing more of the real Cambodia, and I think we did.

We had a long day on the bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Riep, but plenty of stops along the way, so still an interesting day.

Our guide was full of information this morning about Cambodia history and more about the Khmer Rouge. First stop was at a town well known for their tarantulas, which are deep fried and eaten. Besides that there are baby frogs, beetles and grubs. Yummy.

Yummy tarantula, go Joanne

We stopped at a silk farm for lunch which was very informative, seeing how the worms produced the silk and it was then spun and woven into beautiful scarves. The couple who own the farm employ 17 local women, even paying maternity leave of 3 months, which is most unusual. The lunch served was very delicious too!

Little cuties 

The next big stop was the floating village. This place blew me away. First we drove through the village, over 200 years old, and about 6.000 residents. No power, no running water, no sewerage. The houses are all built on huge stilts, to deal with the river (an arm of the Mekong) flooding every year and the water rising several meters, as much as 4 or 5. The houses are as simple as, nailed together almost haphazardly, no door or window, just openings. The villagers live off the land and the river, going fishing every day for the huge variety of fish available, and some of this is for private consumption and some goes to market.

A beautiful sunset over the river

We got on a boat and took a ride up the river to the nearby lake, Tonle Sap Lake. Here we found house 'boats', and I use that term loosely as they were more like platforms with a little shack on top. There were probably about 40 to 50 anchored in the lake and there was even a school 'boat'. Unfortunately due to no sewerage system, all raw waste goes into the lake and river (gobbled up by the fish??). Our guide comes from a village just like this and he says people love this life. It's simple, healthy, no stress. Mmm, there's basic and then there is this. The water they drink comes straight from the river/ lake, in fact we saw a woman dip her bucket in and then drinking from it. From the same place the sewerage goes to, excellent.

Schooling, although the school is there, is abandoned often at an early age, about 12 or 13, as there is little motivation to stay.

Floating houses

It was a fascinating look into some of the life in Cambodia for sure.

We finally arrived at 7 in Siem Reap, a long day on the b us, but lots seen.