Tonle Sap Lake (April 11)

Tonle Sap Lake is the biggest lake in Southeast Asia. Water flows into it during the rainy season (May-October) and out of it during the dry season. The height changes by more than 30 feet.

On the lake are numerous floating communities. These are far larger than those we saw in Halong Bay, Vietnam. Many of the structures are larger and better built. There may be as many as several hundred floating structures in one community. Structures include schools, post office, stores, etc. The inhabitants are primarily fishermen and their families. When the water rises, everything is towed from the lakes to "high ground" and anchored to the shore until the waters begin to recede.

To get to the floating community we would visit the boat had to negotiate a winding trench that although allegedly dredged recently it was very shallow.

 
Not every boat negotiated the trench successfully.


The boat had a unique propulsion system. The helm was a steering wheel from a car, complete with ignition key. There was a set of peddles and what appeared to be a clutch. The engine was in the stern, the propellor at the end of a long straight shaft. The steering cables had a lot of play in them.

 

There were lots of people in the water and along the shores of the trench.

 
 
Clear of the trench, we approached the floating community...

 
...unfortunately pestered by vendors in small boats that came alongside.


We were told these were Vietnamese who had come to the lake years ago and continued to exist as a community within a community.

Flat and stretching out across the water, there was no good way to get a picture depicting even a substantial portion of community and in doing so adequately convey the size of it.

A CHURCH


A MARKET


A VARIETY STORE


A RESTAURANT



The structures are anchored using bamboo poles pounded into the lake bottom at different angles. Mooring lines are tied to these bundles.


We went back through the trench, got on to the bus and headed for the daily crafts stop, after which we returned to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon and an excellent dinner. Raffles Grand d'Angkor is a very nice hotel.

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