Weather : 33o hot, humid with morning storm
Our last morning in Siem Reap and our guide, Soy, took us to the mouth of the large lake, Tonle Sap, to visit the floating village of Chong Kneas. Lonely Planet calls it the floating scam. It mainly comprises of Vietnamese immigrants, not popular with the local Cambodian population. Despite all this, it certainly was an interesting morning.
We drove along the canal south of the city.
There are flimsy shanty huts along the water, which are gradually being shifted from the bank to reduce pollution into the waterway.
Beer cafés along the route with hammocks for seats.
Arriving at the port, hundreds of ferries at the ready.
Tourists of all kinds waiting for the ferries.
Family activity on the river
Fisherman hit the nets to extricate small fish.
A school, hospital, small retail and even a Buddhist monastery...
Even small crocodile farms for leather goods
All manner of transport
A torrential downpour, the end of the rainy season
Back to the more solubrious part of Siem Reap to the beautiful gardens near the Raffles and Victoria Hotels.
A bit of advice for the would-be traveller. The Cambodian currency, the riel, is worth 4,000 to the US dollar. It was suggested that we take small denominations of American currency in notes as it is interchangeable. In fact, all menus and goods are given in US dollars.
Now back to Vietnam. For our meal tonight an unusual recommendation from the hotel. Down a nearby alley, up non-descript staircase to Cyclo - a set menu, cooked freshly for each table and with cooking class if you pre-book. Cheap, fresh and friendly.
M&M
30/9/2014
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