Siem Reap
Floating villages. A great concept in a country where the annual water level changes so much. There was a great range of houses in the village, from those built on top of actual boats to those constructed on rafts made from wood and barrels. I was surprised to find that all the dwellings were 'loose', but I guess this makes the village easier to move (they move inland in the wet season as the waves are too great in the middle of the lake). Other features of the village included mobile shops, which went from house to house, the abundance of satellite TVs in an extremely poor area - possibly powered by car batteries, I don't know - and a large number of pet dogs and cats.
It seems that the Cambodians often make things hard for themselves though, from what I've learned. They cut down all the forest around the lake to use the wood to build with and as firewood, and in doing so have greatly reduced the level of fish in the lake. This is also not helped by countries like China, further upstream, building dams which block the fish from migrating to their spawning grounds. Other errors include past kings using so much local labour to build great temples like Angkor Wat, that the rice fields could not farm, causing starvation and a reduction in trade, both of which contributed to the fall of the kingdom. More recently, the Khmer Rouge murdered the almost all of the educated population of Cambodia, meaning in terms of knowledge the country now trails behind its neighbours. However, with respect to community Cambodia is far richer than the West.
Floating villages. A great concept in a country where the annual water level changes so much. There was a great range of houses in the village, from those built on top of actual boats to those constructed on rafts made from wood and barrels. I was surprised to find that all the dwellings were 'loose', but I guess this makes the village easier to move (they move inland in the wet season as the waves are too great in the middle of the lake). Other features of the village included mobile shops, which went from house to house, the abundance of satellite TVs in an extremely poor area - possibly powered by car batteries, I don't know - and a large number of pet dogs and cats.
It seems that the Cambodians often make things hard for themselves though, from what I've learned. They cut down all the forest around the lake to use the wood to build with and as firewood, and in doing so have greatly reduced the level of fish in the lake. This is also not helped by countries like China, further upstream, building dams which block the fish from migrating to their spawning grounds. Other errors include past kings using so much local labour to build great temples like Angkor Wat, that the rice fields could not farm, causing starvation and a reduction in trade, both of which contributed to the fall of the kingdom. More recently, the Khmer Rouge murdered the almost all of the educated population of Cambodia, meaning in terms of knowledge the country now trails behind its neighbours. However, with respect to community Cambodia is far richer than the West.
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