Tonle Sap

The last day in Siem Reap we did not have a temple pass, so we decided to tuktuk down to Tonle Sap lake with Mr Phaunna (the sad driver). It was about 17 km. quite a ride, and when we got down there we had to buy a boat to take us out ON the lake. It was different than anything we had done before. This is the largest lake in Asia, and its size changes from a 3,000 diameter to a 1,000 km diameter. This is because of the monsoon flooding upstream in Thailand and China. It is one of the few “inundated forest” ecosystems (the only other one I know of is in the Amazon basin) where the trees are underwater for about ½ the year, and exposed the other half. Fish thrive in this environment, actually eating fruits off the trees. Spectacular.

We were there just as the rainy season had ended, so the lake was starting to recede. There are many people who live on the lake, and as it recedes, they follow the water in their houseboats. So we saw several boats being towed to deeper water. We even saw a Catholic Church being towed to the lake!

Even here, the tourists are a way to make money. There were many boats trying to sell soda, beer, and fruits. On the lake itself a boat came alongside with a momma, poppa, and young girl (maybe 5?) with a baby Burmese python (my guess on the species). She was playing with this snake, it was very docile. I took some photos and gave her a small rial bill. She immediately put it in her pocket and climbed on out boat. I took the snake (I am pretty sure that there were going to eat it when it got to big to be cute) and the boat driver took our photo with the little girl. She flashed a peace sign (the second time I saw this when a photo was snapped) and then she got back on her boat and they drove away. There was another boat with another family, and another snake waiting nearby as we started our way back to land.

That night, our last in Cambodia, we ate at one of the fancy restaurants in Siem Reap. Fittingly, one of the courses on the tasting menu we had was “Pounded Dry Bar-b-Que Snake”. Snake or no, the meal was great. The next day we headed back to Hong Kong.