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Part 3: Siem Reap - The "Paradise Walk" to the Tonle
Sap Lake |
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a relaxed 12 km walk from Siem Reap to the lake, where I will leave for
Phnom Penh tomorrow. It's already 10 am when I finally finish my breakfast
in the Mahogany guesthouse (recommended) and walk down to the Martini dancing.
I pass it, and always keeping on the left side of the river, I walk through
little picturesque villages.
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| Little bridges connect the
houses and sometimes span the river. From there I have the best views and
I often sit down to watch the village life around me. |
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| Water everywhere. I see
many kids fishing, people washing clothes, repairing fishing nets and boats,
women are drying fish in the sun. |
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| In a little
village I answer the friendly "Hello, bonjour" of a man in his forties
with "Bonjour, comment allez-vous?". The next 20 minutes I spend talking
with him, surrounded by his wife and some children. Job, travel, Cambodia,
family, politics... there are many things we both want to know from
each other. |
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| Many small kids are playing
on the street. The simpler their toys are, the more fun they seem to have.
This is one of the better wooden toys, probably completely hand-made by
their parents. |
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| After the last village I
cross the river and find myself at the street leading to the harbour. I
decide to walk all the way to the lake and to take a moto taxi back. |
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| This huge poster wants to
tell me it's time for a break, but to the lake there are still some kilometers
to go. The famous Angkor beer is brewed in Sihanoukville and available
everywhere in the country. |
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| The last part is along the
road on a "dam", only water left and right as far as I can see. In November
the water level of the Tonle Sap Lake is extremely high. During the rainy
season the Mekong "pushes" it's water up here, causing the Tonle Sap river
to flow in reverse direction. The size of the lake is now up to seven times
bigger than in dry season. |
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| Little sausages drying in
the sun. |
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| Many families live on houseboats
and in floating villages. With the high water level now, large areas are
flooded and life concentrates here along the road. |
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| The speedboat to Phnom Penh
leaves from here. There is also another hot spot for watching sunsets,
the 137 m Phnom Krom mountain. I have a noodle soup for lunch on a floating
restaurant before walking back to the main road to look for a moto. |
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| After some bargaining we
agree on 3000 Riel for the ride back to Siem Reap, where I have to get
another film in the guesthouse. In the warm afternoon light I do a part
of my morning walk in the reverse direction, passing all these villages
with those friendly and smiling people again. Many children are already
coming home from school. |
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| Almost back in Siem Reap,
I pass a school with boys and girls orderly lined up in the schoolyard.
A second after I make this picture through the fence a little girl discovers
me and suddenly 150 faces are turning towards me, leaving the teacher a
little bit helpless... |
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