Wednesday, February 29

Touring a Magnificent Lake

A worthwhile place to visit in Siem Reap is Cambodia's great lake, Tonle Sap. Here is a school built as I start on my fascinating but hot, journey towards the inside of this fishing village.
I hired a boat to take me inside and I explored the lake to see houses on stilts, giving me lots of opportunities for photo shoots. 

The water wasn't deep but it was rich in silt and sediment, chocolate like as we stirred from one area to the next. It was the dry season and I was told that visiting the area during the wet season is another story.

From a big boat to an unusually scarier small boat, I ventured into the mangrove and marvelled at the extent of the trees submerged in water. The boat lady was experienced enough as she manuevered the boat to some fairly wide passages.

After the short trip to the mangrove, I transferred back to my bigger boat and we went out to see the open lake filled with fishing boats and an immensely vast body of water. The sun was reflected by the waters of TonLe Sap and the photos spoke of its magnificence.

I returned and took photos of the other side while telling myself that such an experience won't happen again so I had to sink everything in. The lake itself gave me an opportunity to gasp and admire the beauty of God's creations. 

3 comments:

  1. double thumbs up:-)

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  2. I noticed that the stilts they built were very high, maybe expecting the floods nowadays as in huge volume than before but can it withstand the water pressure?

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  3. The lake is linked to the Mekong so when the water rises during the wet season, the water flows from the Mekong to the lake thus giving an increase from 2.2 m to more than 10 m. I believe the stilts are strong enough since they had been living here for many, many years. The lake itself has already earned a protected biosphere status.

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