Cambodia's wounds have not healed yet. There's still mines in the fields, injuring and killing, there's still the memory of a civil war that took the lives of loved ones. People are poor. And speaking for myself, I had to visit that country to really understand what poor means. Yet, people are still smiling. Their smiles are wider than the smile of mr average london commuter. I had no plans to turn post into a cheesy sentimental burst of a westerner who happened to be there for a couple of days, but I'm just saying.
Heading back to the south, we stop by the Killing Fields museum, which is not as much informative as it is shocking.
On the outskirts of Siem Reap, where there are no more hostels, resorts or luxurious-but-very-cheap-for-you-and-me restaurants, we must be entering the place where most of the locals live.
What's interesting about Tonle Sap...
-Because the river changes its flow during the monsoon season, the lake grows tremendously (average depth rises to ~9m compared to ~1 during the dry season, and nearby fields are flooded)
-Tonle Sap yields about 125.000 tons of fish every year. That's a lot of food.
-Tonle Sap might as well have a postcode. People live in the lake, on floating houses. We visit a literally floating village. It boasts a church, and a school:
The people living here are mainly of Vietnamese descend. Children reach to our boat, carrying snakes around their necks, hoping for the odd dollar. Just seeing the snakes so close to me, around these tiny necks makes me want to shriek.
There's also some sort of facility 'cultivating' crocodiles. Here are some pictures- on the left, people gathering their yield- on the right, a little boy steering the boat.
last, the little girl in the bucket with her snake scarf was going up and down the river all the time. The safety precautions taken by the man on the boat-quite absurd.
Leaving Tonle Sap, back to tourist mode, we go back to the city, where the water festival has already started- so many people, shopping booths, boats...
After lunch, we long for coffee. We end up in all tourists' (after all, we are just that...) favourite bakery-pastry_shop-chill_out_place Blue Pumpkin, facing french colonial houses. Most definetely recommended! We did not go to the one in Angkor, but I am sure it is just as lovely, and certainly much better than the ones we ended up eating at. Be warned, and search for it!
Walk around the markets, have a fish message to get [quote] "feet as soft as baby's bottom" ,
[photo- courtesy of BeatifulKoreanGirl. smelly feet-courtesy of unidentifiable fellow traveller.]
go to an apsara show (local dances), all is well. The highlight of our night was the fireworks for the water festival. They were really impressive, and the show lasted pretty long. And if your stomach feels adventurous, check out what we are eating at the Cambodian BBQ (which you have to cook yourself-they bring the BBQ to your table!)
Oh, yes, we are having crocodile and snake tonight!!!
PS- departure tax @ airport USD 25
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