Prek Tole Floating Village Trip

On the Thursday night before we left Phnom Penh, we linked up with a professor named Chris who sometimes teaches adjunct at Payap. Our director, Adam, knew Chris through work, and he arranged for us to meet with Chris and his group of American students. They are on an ecological tour of SE Asia for 6 weeks, focusing on environmental studies, pollution issues, and biodiversity. We met them bright and early on Friday morning and we all rode the bus up to Siem Reap. 

At the bus station, another coordinator for my program, Natasha, met us and took our extra luggage to our hotel in Siem Reap. Then, the other students and Tim, Anna, and I loaded into yet another small bus to a port on the Tonle Sap. 

The Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater body of water in SE Asia. It is completely vital to Cambodian life and economy, as fishing is a huge source of income for those who live on the lake. During the rainy season, the lake fills to 4 times its size, flooding for miles and submerging the landscape. The water level raises over the summer and fills up the basin, until the dry season comes and the rains stop. Our guide told us that the water in the basin will decrease by about 6cm each day until the rainy season starts again. By the end of the dry season, the lake is its original size and the landscape is once again exposed. The animals (crocodiles, fish) move with the water, and plants have adapted to the changing water levels over time. The ecology of this place is pretty incredible, as it's the only lake in the world that has both an inflow and an outflow. Here's the wikipedia page if you want to read more about the Tonle Sap!

A ride through the nature preserve

Fishing is most of the economy here

We were led out into the lake by a guide from a group called OSMOSE. They are an NGO that works to sustainably develop the economies of the floating villages on the Tonle Sap. They coordinate and train people to do lake cleanup, ecological conservation, to make good from harmful invasive plant species, and their biggest project is to develop ecotourism in the area. It's a great project, and they were great hosts. They designed a program where different groups can come in and stay with families. We were fed at the office headquarters and slept in a family's floating house! Very cool!

The whole village, Prek Tole, is built to move up and down with the changing water level. All the buildings -- the schools, the shops, the police station, the houses -- all float. It is so strange to see for the first time! Our home bumped up and down when big boats passed by; I fell asleep to being gently rocked on the water, like I was in a boat. Here are some pictures:

The primary school

Some people live on their boats

A family returning from a day of fishing

Floating houses just after sunrise

My home!

Unfortunately, our stay was cut short because Anna was very sick. We had to get her to a hospital and we left around 9am on Saturday. It was still an amazing trip and I'm so glad I got to see something like it!

We arrived in Siem Reap a day early and checked into our great hotel!