Floating Village, Tonle Sap - Outside Siem Reap

A few kilometers outside of Siem Reap is Tonle Sap. It is a river that feeds a huge lake of the same name. Water flows out of the lake and down the river until monsoon season, which begins in September. Then the torrential rains force the river to reverse it's flow and the lake fills up.

Living on the lake, in a floating village are Vietnamese illegal imimigrants, who are seeking refuge from the harsh communist dictatorship. If caught, they pay a bribe to the police to remain in Cambodia. Life is so grim under communism that they prefer this harsh life.

Their houseboats are extremely modest, with very tiny, cloth enclosed toilets hanging off the side of each boat. Of course, the sewage goes directly into the lake, where they fish, bathe, and grow floating gardens that are anchored to bundles of sticks driven into the mud.

When the monsoons come and the river reverses to fill tthe lake, the lake is "flushed", and the process begins anew.

We felt awkward taking pictures, but our guide encouraged it. He had grown up in a similar circumstance (although he is not of Vietnamese origin), but learned English at his Buddist Temple. His schooling cost 500 Riel/hour, which is about US$0.12. We gave a dollar to a woman with a baby and a toddler in a beat up Sampan, and she bowed profusely in gratitude.

They have started a shop for souvenirs to generate jobs and money for the community, and they now have a floating 3 room school, and a floating basketball court. The court has netting around it so the ball doesn't get in the water. Some charities are teaching them the basics of running a business, most notably the South Koreans.