January 29, Thursday – Siem Reap – Visit a floating village – Explore Angkor

Destination: Siem Reap – Accommodations: Angkor Paradise Hotel

After breakfast, we boarded our bus for the first learning and discovery of the day, and on the way Nin told us about the villagers in Tachet Village, in the provence of Siem Reap, the first village we visited.

He said that medical care is free for children from the age of birth to age 15, sponsored by Japan.

The question arose concerning insurance and banking. The villagers do not buy car or home insurance because they don’t trust the insurance companies with their money. Most disagreements, say after a car accident, are solved by the parties involved. The police come and file a report, but if it is agreed that whoever was at fault will pay for the damage, the police do not get involved any further. More affluent people can hire a lawyer if they decide to sue, but once the parties involved agree to settle on their own, no one else gets involved.

Times are changing and people now are opening bank accounts rather than the old fashioned way of stuffing their money in bamboo poles and hiding them under their beds.

We arrived at the first village – Tachet. There, we climbed onto buffalo carts for a bumpy ride through the village. I climbed into the cart first and sat cross-legged and Allan sat behind me back to back and we definitely got the feel of how the local families get around.

We rode through the village…Some homes were gorgeous and one had a Lexus in the driveway, while other homes were barely standing. Are said that depending on income, if the homeowner is in tourism or another better paying job, they have more opportunity to build a beautiful home. It was interesting to see how the people live.

Then we traveled to a floating village in Chong Khneas, on lake Tonle Sap, where we took a boat ride through the canals with floating homes. There are over 1,000 families living in the floating homes and have been living there for generations. Their livelihood depends on fishing, farming, and trading goods with other villages. The lake is considered one of the most productive fishing zones globally, supplying over 75% of Cambodia’s annual freshwater fish catch and nearly 60% of the country’s food.

The water level in the lake rises and falls dramatically with the change from the dry season to the wet. The movable houses in the floating villages can be relocated when the water levels rise too high and they use boats to tow their homes to the larger part of the lake.

The people get up at 2 am to set the traps to catch fish in the lake and they return about 5 am with their catch. They usually can bring in 200 lbs of fish a day. The catch is cleaned and they keep some for themselves and they sell the rest. There are about 50 varieties of fish in the lake, which is a fresh water lake. The people fish for shrimp, catfish, eel, and carp. A few years ago, unsavory companies would come in and bomb fish and take most of the fish that the villagers were depending on. However, UNESCO got involved and the practice has stopped for the most part.

After we passed by the homes, we had the opportunity to go into one of the floating homes and meet the family and ask questions about their lives. The family we visited had a grandmother (78), a man (the son of the grandmother), his wife, and three children. They all sleep in one room of the house and they put mosquito nets up at night. The house was very organized with a space for all of their daily needs. They get fresh water to wash their clothes, etc. from the well in front of their home.

They live on rice and fish primarily and occasionally they can buy fruit and vegetables from the boats that come to their door selling produce, but it’s expensive so they don’t buy those things often.

The grandmother said that during the Khmer Rouge regime, the floating house they were living in was burned and when they were finally able to return, they had to rebuild it. They have been living in this floating house for over 40 years. The grandmother’s husband died four years ago so her son and his family have moved in to help take care of her.

The people in the floating homes can seek medical care 24/7 just a few minutes away and for anything serious, the hospital is about 40 minutes away.

They work very hard every day, the children attend school, and for fun, the family likes to meet with their neighbors for a beer or to share some food, and to dance.

Covid didn’t affect the village as they remained isolated during that time. They all have been vaccinated.

It was a wonderful experience and so interesting to be able to speak with these hardworking and humble folks.

Afterwards, we drove to a restaurant and had an excellent lunch of traditional Cambodian food and finally…I had my appetite back. The food was so tasty… Especially the soup. And Are and Nin arranged for me to have bananas with the fruit dessert that was served. So sweet.

We relaxed a bit back at the hotel and then we started out again for our afternoon discoveries at Ta Prohm temple. The temple was founded by the Khmer King Javavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and center of learning dedicated to his mother. The temple’s records state that the site was home to more than 12,500 people (including 18 high priests and 615 dancers), with an additional 80,000 inhabitants in the surrounding villages working to provide services and supplies.

The temple was built without mortar and was abandoned for many years. During that time, trees took root in the loosened stones. The trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle that surrounds it makes it a very popular place to visit. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1992.

There were many levels and steps that we navigated to see the entire temple grounds. Interestingly, The Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie was filmed at the temple and we saw the rock that Angelina Jolie stood on to film one of the scenes. A Hollywood moment!!

After touring the grounds, we went back to the hotel and met friends for a pizza dinner and then it was to bed. It was a very busy day and an amazing and informative one.

The buffalos

It was a lot of fun

Passing each other on the road

Residents motoring along

A house along the way

On our river boat ride

A floating house getting a delivery of food

The floating houses. The residents will tow their homes to the large lake when the water rises. The pic below shows the lake where the homes will be situated until they can return to the canal.