Page 50 - Experience Thailand and More

WHAT TO DO There are also floating restaurants tied up to a dense mangrove forest

with a meandering boardwalk for visitors who want to explore. Boats can
also be booked to travel further into the Tonle Sap where self-sufficient
floating villages, with schools, groceries and clinics, continue to follow
AND SEE the customs of their ancestors. You’ll also see fish farms and maybe
some cages holding captured crocodiles. But don’t worry, they don’t kill
them for food or to make bags, belts and shoes. Instead, they take them
far off and release them. So, you should be concerned if you hang your
feet over the gunwale or decide to go for a dip.

Kampong Phluk
16 Kilometers southeast of Siem Reap

Depending on the time of year, Kampong Phluk appears as a village
floating on the waters of the Tonle Sap during the monsoons or
a small town of traditional wooden houses balancing on stilts of
wood and bamboo five or more meters high in the hot season. The
only structure standing on earth is Wat Kampong Phluk, perched
on a hill above the river leading to the lake that floods inland for
kilometers as it rises to just below the homes’ verandas. Throughout
the year, most families depend on fishing for their livelihoods. They
also plant on nearby fields when the waters are low. This is how
these villagers have lived for centuries. Today, though, a number of
families have opened their homes to visitors, offering home stays
and home cooked meals, including just caught crispy fried fish and
stir-fried fresh vegetables.

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