Phumi Tonle Sab Things to Do

There is a Cambodian saying, " Where there is water, there is fish", and the one thing Tonle Sap Lake has in abundance are fishes. It is said that more than half the fish consumed in Cambodia comes from this fresh water lake.

In Adrian's words of the Unwise, "Where there are fishes, there are fishermen" and the large part of the population at Chong Khneas are dedicated fishermen. These fishermen go about catching fishes all year round. They are the only group of people given the rights to fish throughout the year, while the rest of the big players, with their big fishing boats and large nets are alloted a certain window period for fishing so that the fishes are given time to grow.

Here's some mind-boggling image that I want you to picture in your mind.

Look at the picture, then look at the background where the moutain is. Now imagine that where this picture is taken will be covered in three metres of water come December, and that the extent of the lake stretches all the way to foot of the mountain.

Isn't it unbelieveable? Every bit of this land will be covered with water. The occupants of the huts will slowly move their temporary abodes up the dirt road as the waters starts to claim back the land at a crawling but steady pace.

The occupants will try their very best to stay near the waters as they are fishermen and would very much prefer not to travel to much. So when the lake water rises, they'll move their huts, with the help of a pick-up truck, to the next location may 300-500 metres up the dirt track.

Not everyone is poor here though. We caught sight of a temporary hut that even had a makeshift shelter for their car, and cars are not considered as very affordable in Cambodia.

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This is the place where the would-be mothers of Chong Khneas can go for their regular check-ups to see if their foetus are in good health.

At first, I thought that this was a clinic that the villagers of Chong Khneas could go to. But I was told by my driver that for those in need of a medical help, they'll need to visit the hospital in Siem Reap.

Definitely made alot of sense to me as it would be harder for pregnant mothers to travel, especially on a less than smooth dirt track.

If I had not been informed earlier, I would have thought that Tonle Sap was an ocean. At the mouth of the lake, you'd see a body of water without any land in sight. The wind was tremendous and for once, you'd feel the chill from the wind.

This is why the lake is known as South East Asia's largest freshwater lake.

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This seems to be THE stop-off point for all tourists roaming the Chong Khneas area. Smart move by this Cambodian Chinese lady who owns this ranch as she has started a restaurant and also a sourvenir shop specially for people like us. There's even a model of the area to show you where are the specified fishing areas for the big fishing players and also, there were aquariums to showcase the many types of live fishes caught from the lake. They even have live crocodiles on display.

This is really where the last floating platform stands before one stares at the seemingly endless stretch of Tonle Sap Lake.

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During my trip in the Tonle Sab area I saw also some temples. It looked like these temples were built at higher grounds which are not flooded. Though some temples at the complex at the edge of the water had stilts.

The temples were almost the only buildings in the whole area which were not floating. The churches I saw were floating buildings.

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Living along and on the water..... no other place to go. At least in the high water season, like at the time we crossed the Tonle Sap area.

People live in floating houses, houses on stilts and houseboats. Everything has to happen on the water... doing the laundry, washing the dishes. It looks like a very basic and harsh life.

I saw little kids who know how to manage a boat , being not much older than the age at which they have learned to walk. I hope they learn to swim as well very young. Everywhere small kids were playing on narrow wooden boats or at the water side.

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After leaving Chong Kneas we crossed an large flooded area. It was unique to navigate between the trees of the flooded forest.

This unique flooded forest is very rich in nutrients for fish and because of that an ideal ground for breeding fish. We saw some temporary dwellings and nets of fishermen between the treetops.

After we left this green area first the rudder of the boat had to be cleaned from all the vegetation stuff before we could continue our boattrip into the direction of the open water of the Tonle Sab Lake.