06-03-2012
Today when I woke up, I wasn't certain whether my ride for the tour I signed up was gonna turn up. This trip was all made possible via Air Asia, which incorporate the motto "Now everyone can fly". They even provide travel package with hotels and tours included. Hence I signed up for the Tonle-Sap and Siem Reap town tour online, keeping faith that we won't be victims of corporate mismanagement or subjects of confusion.
As we came down to the lobby the tour representatives from Air Asia were hopefully waiting for us. One was the van driver while the other was the tour guide, both English speaking Cambodian. After the formalities, we set off towards Tonle Sap lake, which was a much needed respite after 2 days of temple exploration.
In order to get to the lake, we had to arrive at the port and hop onto a boat. Well, thankfully an engine-powered boat, not a raft or sampan. It took about half an hour from Siem Reap town to the harbor, throughout which we passed villages and paddy fields and waste lands. Although boosted by massive tourism industry, the villages in this 3rd world country were majority filled with dilapidated wooden and leaf huts. Basic amenities like schools and sundry shops were in better condition.
The tour guide briefed us history and culture of Cambodia in his monotonous voice, clearly jaded going through the same routine and dialogue everyday for which his life depended on it. From the sound of it, the Cambodians were not so fond of the Vietnamese, their neighbors, due to historical and political reasons. The once fierce invaders(Vietnam) of the ancient Angkor kingdom were granted sanctuary as war refuges from the modern Vietnam war. Since then they became colonizers in the country, multiplied in numbers and never left.
The port was not as shabby as I had expected. The embarking and disembarking shared one common dock. It was 10am but the sun was already high up in the sky, scorching the hot and dry river bank. FYI October to April every year is dry season, the water level had significantly subsided therefore it appeared extra muddy. Throng of tourist crowded the port awaiting their pick-up boats, among all for reasons unknown, south Koreans top the list.
A rare sight for me were the boat vendors who crowded up near the tourists boats plying their trades. Similar to the Bangkok river market vendors, only I haven't experienced them yet, they filled every corner of their boats with the likes of beverages, junk food, vegetables and even freshly cooked fish. Amazingly with the limited space available,they could manage frying their food with minimal cooking appliances fueled with gas. Lets just hope for the vendors their life line don't either capsize or catch fire from a cooking mishap.
We had the luxury of having one boat for ourselves. With its not too shabby condition, we found ourselves seated on wooden chairs, taking in the scenery and coastal breeze as our tour guide briefed us further information. There were no standard operating procedure, insurance or safety protocol aka life jacket, but that was ok since we could swim. I only hope we won't turn into angry crocodile's exotic meal, who were out with a vendetta against their own species farming by human.
We headed towards Tonle-Sap lake through a canal that connected it to the port. The water was muddy due to its subsided water level at this time of the year ie dry season, which stretched from October to April. On dry season, the lake shrunk to 2500 sq km, with a depth of only 1 metre, as opposed to a massive 16,000 sq km wide x 9 metres depth on wet season.
Being one of the largest fresh-water lake in Asia, the Tonle Sap lake branched out from **Mekong river at Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia, then stretched northwest towards Siem Reap. Little known to many, Tonle Sap possess a unique hydrological phenomenon known as the biannual flow reversal, ie the lake flows in both directions.
During wet season (May-September), the Mekong swells up as a result of the melting snow from Himalaya mountains, forcing water to flow into Tonle Sap lake. As a result Tonle Sap expands more than 5 folds of its dry season size, inundating its surrounding forested floodplain and supporting a rich diverse ecosystem. Conversely in dry season, the current reverse and Tonle Sap drains back into the Mekong river.
**Mekong river originates from the Himalayas at the north, then traverse southeast into China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia before completing its course in the Vietnam delta.
Entering the lake itself was no different than entering the sea, for the clear horizon showed how large Tonle Sap can be. We passed by floating huts or boat houses either scattered or established together as a settlement. These people who were fishermen lived in their boats, built as houses with shelter. Some boats even had side-extensions to rare their live stocks, in most occasion pigs and chickens. If I had the chance to hop into one of those, I would be curious to discover their sanitation practice, which most likely has close link to the lake itself.
So not only floating residential huts, we came across a floating church consisting of 3 building entities linked together. I even heard there was a floating basketball court somewhere. It was a wonder how these buildings were built to float, perhaps with woods and large quantities of rubber tyres at their base. Finally we arrived at the end point of our Tonle Sap tour, a floating crocodile farm.
With 4-5 skinny adult crocodiles kept in a puny enclosure, this was a poor exhibit of crocodiles breed and farmed solely for their skins to produce leather handbags, shoes, belts and wallets. This reptiles had a shorter than average lifespan due to sadist/cruel demand of owning animal skin products, and the country's economical policies to condone and legalized such farming industry.
We climbed to the dock where we had an aerial view of the lake and its surroundings. There were 2 large communities of floating villages located opposite each other. The Vietnamese community were on the east while local Cambodians on the west. They didn't exactly qualified as sea gypsies since they live on a lake, or do they? Their staple diet were fish as Tonle Sap with its abundant fresh water fish supply also provided them a source of income as fishermen.
As mentioned earlier these 2 communities operate their daily routine within the confines of their own boundaries and never crossed each others' line. Having said that its fair to assume majority of the children here do not receive any formal education even after they are trained to labor or start earning a living, usually the apples not falling too far from the tree. Little kids picked up their parents' footsteps and contribute to their family's impoverished income.
After the excursion to Waterworld, we made our way back to the muddy port. We were requested to tip the boat man 1 US dollar, which equals 4000 Riel. Even 1 USD was very big money in Cambodia. Our van driver took us back to the heart of Siem Reap buzzing business district. Not before again passing by the dilapidated village huts and lush green paddy fields. Some were well attended to while others neglected. Like everywhere around Asia, rice is the basic staple diet of Cambodia.
Our second stop was the art and craft production site cum sales gallery. During the tour, we were introduced to the many artistic talents, skillfulness and dedication of the artists and craftsmen. Their paintings depict Cambodian way of life, royal procession and places of interest. With much difficulty comprehending the tour guide's pardonable English, we were somehow "schooled" on the process of wood and stone carving.
It was obvious that such fine craftsmanship demanded delicate fine motor skill to yield intricate details on those 3D structures. I personally admire the bas relief of the dancing Apsara, a recreation of similar character found in the many Angkor temples. The sales gallery was equally impressive, with a replica of the grand Angkor Wat topping my favorite window shopping list. They had colorful and eye-catching souvenirs as well.
Finally we were dropped off at the town's business district. An area which consist of dry and wet market, local and franchised eateries, with more art galleries and souvenir shops. Our local tour booked from Airasia came to conclusion but our exploration of the Siem Reap town, other than temples, had just begun.
We hit the wet market first, gawking at wide array of meat product displayed, ranging from intestines,meat roll, sausages, meat loaf to freshly butchered raw meat. People here even consume exotic food like snakes, eel and frogs. Pig's face were sliced off and displayed at stalls selling pork while Muslim traders displayed cow hooves when selling beefs.
I was amazed with the variety of fresh vegetable sold at the market. Green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, fruit vegetables, tuber vegetables, inflorescent vegetables and mushrooms and fruits, just to name the classes of vegetables available. In fact, I don't think there could be any lacking of vitamins and minerals from which their vegetables provide. It was testimony that the Cambodians eat and live healthily.
If you think there could only be 1 type of rice, which is the white rice we consumed on daily basis, prepare to be amazed by the choices of distinctive rice marketed and consumed by the locals here. Written on the labels were jasmine rice, Galanga flower rice, black sticky rice, Saravan brown rice and others with Cambodian names.
Another interesting and popular food product were the dried food processed from various fruits and plants. Just to name a few were banana chips,sweet potato chips, ginger sweets, coconut candy, pineapple chips, jackfruit chips, durian candy and the list goes on. Also for sale were the spices and herbs in easy packaging to bring home and cook up mouthwatering Cambodian spiced dishes.
We visited a small eatery near the market, which its restauranteur hardly spoke any English, clearly not used to receiving foreign patrons. Menu for the day consisted of long beans with pork, fresh water fish and local taste sweet sour soup. Not the tastiest Cambodian food we had tried however I trust it was prepared healthily.
We traveled on foot back to the hotel. By doing that we managed to visit a few art galleries, handicraft shops, even Apple i store, and boutique selling crocodile collections. Enter the shop, numerous colorful handbags, wallets, pouches, belts, shoes, etc displayed on speckless white shelves, and these were all made from crocodile skin.
There are many crocodile farms in Siem Reap which are unfortunately banned by the Cambodian government from opening to the public. At present time in Siem Reap alone, there are around 35,000 female crocodiles and a third as many male crocodiles being bred at farms, producing 70,000 babies per year, according to Fisheries Administration director general Nao Thouk.
In the whole Cambodian country, more than 500 farmers export some 200,000 crocodiles to Vietnam, Thailand and China each year, generating around $4 million. Unfortunately Cambodia does not have the facility to harvest crocodile skin let alone manufacture its skin product, hence baby crocodiles which cost $35 each were sold instead of 3 years old adult crocodile, which would fetch $250-$300.
According to a crocodile farmer, crocodiles are essentially easy to care for. A hundred crocodiles need a pond of 40 square metres, with water 1metre deep. Females produce eggs yearly, with the young ones laying 20-30 eggs while the older ones lay 40-60. Furthermore crocodiles only need to be fed once a week and their pond water changed once every 3months. Best of all they rarely get sick, only come mating season, from January to April, there will be a number of dead casualties as a result of fatal crocodile fights.
That's all on Siem Reap day tour, hope it was informative. Next, Siem Reap nightlife.
On the way to Tonle Sap
Today when I woke up, I wasn't certain whether my ride for the tour I signed up was gonna turn up. This trip was all made possible via Air Asia, which incorporate the motto "Now everyone can fly". They even provide travel package with hotels and tours included. Hence I signed up for the Tonle-Sap and Siem Reap town tour online, keeping faith that we won't be victims of corporate mismanagement or subjects of confusion.
Korean philanthropist school
As we came down to the lobby the tour representatives from Air Asia were hopefully waiting for us. One was the van driver while the other was the tour guide, both English speaking Cambodian. After the formalities, we set off towards Tonle Sap lake, which was a much needed respite after 2 days of temple exploration.
The port overlooking the canal to Tonle Sap lake.
The Koreans made up the bulk of tourists in Siem Reap.
In order to get to the lake, we had to arrive at the port and hop onto a boat. Well, thankfully an engine-powered boat, not a raft or sampan. It took about half an hour from Siem Reap town to the harbor, throughout which we passed villages and paddy fields and waste lands. Although boosted by massive tourism industry, the villages in this 3rd world country were majority filled with dilapidated wooden and leaf huts. Basic amenities like schools and sundry shops were in better condition.
The sky was clear and weather was dry. As a result the lake shrunk and became muddy.
The tour guide briefed us history and culture of Cambodia in his monotonous voice, clearly jaded going through the same routine and dialogue everyday for which his life depended on it. From the sound of it, the Cambodians were not so fond of the Vietnamese, their neighbors, due to historical and political reasons. The once fierce invaders(Vietnam) of the ancient Angkor kingdom were granted sanctuary as war refuges from the modern Vietnam war. Since then they became colonizers in the country, multiplied in numbers and never left.
The boat traders maximized every tiny space yet never looked like capsizing their boats.
I thought I saw an alligator!
The port was not as shabby as I had expected. The embarking and disembarking shared one common dock. It was 10am but the sun was already high up in the sky, scorching the hot and dry river bank. FYI October to April every year is dry season, the water level had significantly subsided therefore it appeared extra muddy. Throng of tourist crowded the port awaiting their pick-up boats, among all for reasons unknown, south Koreans top the list.
The 1st sign of floating village. Built from wood and rubber that float, no foundation beneath.
Here we enter the largest lake of southeast Asia.
A rare sight for me were the boat vendors who crowded up near the tourists boats plying their trades. Similar to the Bangkok river market vendors, only I haven't experienced them yet, they filled every corner of their boats with the likes of beverages, junk food, vegetables and even freshly cooked fish. Amazingly with the limited space available,they could manage frying their food with minimal cooking appliances fueled with gas. Lets just hope for the vendors their life line don't either capsize or catch fire from a cooking mishap.
This is one of the scattered boat villages, a community of fishermen who lived inside their boat.
Inside a floating hut.
We had the luxury of having one boat for ourselves. With its not too shabby condition, we found ourselves seated on wooden chairs, taking in the scenery and coastal breeze as our tour guide briefed us further information. There were no standard operating procedure, insurance or safety protocol aka life jacket, but that was ok since we could swim. I only hope we won't turn into angry crocodile's exotic meal, who were out with a vendetta against their own species farming by human.
Notice the life stock enclosure which rear piglets.
Church on water.
We headed towards Tonle-Sap lake through a canal that connected it to the port. The water was muddy due to its subsided water level at this time of the year ie dry season, which stretched from October to April. On dry season, the lake shrunk to 2500 sq km, with a depth of only 1 metre, as opposed to a massive 16,000 sq km wide x 9 metres depth on wet season.
A rough guide on Cambodia's tourist attractions.
Being one of the largest fresh-water lake in Asia, the Tonle Sap lake branched out from **Mekong river at Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia, then stretched northwest towards Siem Reap. Little known to many, Tonle Sap possess a unique hydrological phenomenon known as the biannual flow reversal, ie the lake flows in both directions.
During wet season (May-September), the Mekong swells up as a result of the melting snow from Himalaya mountains, forcing water to flow into Tonle Sap lake. As a result Tonle Sap expands more than 5 folds of its dry season size, inundating its surrounding forested floodplain and supporting a rich diverse ecosystem. Conversely in dry season, the current reverse and Tonle Sap drains back into the Mekong river.
**Mekong river originates from the Himalayas at the north, then traverse southeast into China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia before completing its course in the Vietnam delta.
We arrived at the crocodile farm, where crocodile were bred solely for its skin.
...skin which would later be manufactured into handbags, shoes,wallet, etc.
Entering the lake itself was no different than entering the sea, for the clear horizon showed how large Tonle Sap can be. We passed by floating huts or boat houses either scattered or established together as a settlement. These people who were fishermen lived in their boats, built as houses with shelter. Some boats even had side-extensions to rare their live stocks, in most occasion pigs and chickens. If I had the chance to hop into one of those, I would be curious to discover their sanitation practice, which most likely has close link to the lake itself.
Our next meal is after 1 week? What the @#$%&
*Roar* (*roar*?) I could devour some live human meat.
So not only floating residential huts, we came across a floating church consisting of 3 building entities linked together. I even heard there was a floating basketball court somewhere. It was a wonder how these buildings were built to float, perhaps with woods and large quantities of rubber tyres at their base. Finally we arrived at the end point of our Tonle Sap tour, a floating crocodile farm.
With 4-5 skinny adult crocodiles kept in a puny enclosure, this was a poor exhibit of crocodiles breed and farmed solely for their skins to produce leather handbags, shoes, belts and wallets. This reptiles had a shorter than average lifespan due to sadist/cruel demand of owning animal skin products, and the country's economical policies to condone and legalized such farming industry.
We fought and made up,then fought again..
The boat communities of Tonle Sap.
We climbed to the dock where we had an aerial view of the lake and its surroundings. There were 2 large communities of floating villages located opposite each other. The Vietnamese community were on the east while local Cambodians on the west. They didn't exactly qualified as sea gypsies since they live on a lake, or do they? Their staple diet were fish as Tonle Sap with its abundant fresh water fish supply also provided them a source of income as fishermen.
As mentioned earlier these 2 communities operate their daily routine within the confines of their own boundaries and never crossed each others' line. Having said that its fair to assume majority of the children here do not receive any formal education even after they are trained to labor or start earning a living, usually the apples not falling too far from the tree. Little kids picked up their parents' footsteps and contribute to their family's impoverished income.
A little snake charmer.
At a tender age, he contributed to the family's rice bowl.
A deserted paddy field.
After the excursion to Waterworld, we made our way back to the muddy port. We were requested to tip the boat man 1 US dollar, which equals 4000 Riel. Even 1 USD was very big money in Cambodia. Our van driver took us back to the heart of Siem Reap buzzing business district. Not before again passing by the dilapidated village huts and lush green paddy fields. Some were well attended to while others neglected. Like everywhere around Asia, rice is the basic staple diet of Cambodia.
Adding the final touch to an intricate canvas oil painting.
The making of the wooden Buddha.
An eccentric artist impression of Angkor Thom.
Our second stop was the art and craft production site cum sales gallery. During the tour, we were introduced to the many artistic talents, skillfulness and dedication of the artists and craftsmen. Their paintings depict Cambodian way of life, royal procession and places of interest. With much difficulty comprehending the tour guide's pardonable English, we were somehow "schooled" on the process of wood and stone carving.
It was obvious that such fine craftsmanship demanded delicate fine motor skill to yield intricate details on those 3D structures. I personally admire the bas relief of the dancing Apsara, a recreation of similar character found in the many Angkor temples. The sales gallery was equally impressive, with a replica of the grand Angkor Wat topping my favorite window shopping list. They had colorful and eye-catching souvenirs as well.
Stones used to carve bas relief and construction of Angkor's ancient temples.
Inside a woodcraft workshop, lied a meditating pilgrim sculpture.
A beautiful mystical and celestial Apsara.
Finally we were dropped off at the town's business district. An area which consist of dry and wet market, local and franchised eateries, with more art galleries and souvenir shops. Our local tour booked from Airasia came to conclusion but our exploration of the Siem Reap town, other than temples, had just begun.
We hit the wet market first, gawking at wide array of meat product displayed, ranging from intestines,meat roll, sausages, meat loaf to freshly butchered raw meat. People here even consume exotic food like snakes, eel and frogs. Pig's face were sliced off and displayed at stalls selling pork while Muslim traders displayed cow hooves when selling beefs.
Food products from various animal parts. Try out if you dare.
Butcher no 1. Coldly placed the victims frightful startled face as her trophy.
Butcher no 2. Her nimble chopping hands expedited sales to new record.
I was amazed with the variety of fresh vegetable sold at the market. Green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, fruit vegetables, tuber vegetables, inflorescent vegetables and mushrooms and fruits, just to name the classes of vegetables available. In fact, I don't think there could be any lacking of vitamins and minerals from which their vegetables provide. It was testimony that the Cambodians eat and live healthily.
Vegan haven, welcome to an enjoyable healthy living experience.
Dumbstruck there could be dozens variety of rice.
If you think there could only be 1 type of rice, which is the white rice we consumed on daily basis, prepare to be amazed by the choices of distinctive rice marketed and consumed by the locals here. Written on the labels were jasmine rice, Galanga flower rice, black sticky rice, Saravan brown rice and others with Cambodian names.
Another interesting and popular food product were the dried food processed from various fruits and plants. Just to name a few were banana chips,sweet potato chips, ginger sweets, coconut candy, pineapple chips, jackfruit chips, durian candy and the list goes on. Also for sale were the spices and herbs in easy packaging to bring home and cook up mouthwatering Cambodian spiced dishes.
Spoilt for choice, eventually didn't buy anything.
The colorful and tempting dried food stuff. Would make for a healthy snack over tea.
Cambodian food in its simplicity.
We visited a small eatery near the market, which its restauranteur hardly spoke any English, clearly not used to receiving foreign patrons. Menu for the day consisted of long beans with pork, fresh water fish and local taste sweet sour soup. Not the tastiest Cambodian food we had tried however I trust it was prepared healthily.
We traveled on foot back to the hotel. By doing that we managed to visit a few art galleries, handicraft shops, even Apple i store, and boutique selling crocodile collections. Enter the shop, numerous colorful handbags, wallets, pouches, belts, shoes, etc displayed on speckless white shelves, and these were all made from crocodile skin.
Little crocodiles in rigor mortis. I wonder was it natural death or murder.
There are many crocodile farms in Siem Reap which are unfortunately banned by the Cambodian government from opening to the public. At present time in Siem Reap alone, there are around 35,000 female crocodiles and a third as many male crocodiles being bred at farms, producing 70,000 babies per year, according to Fisheries Administration director general Nao Thouk.
In the whole Cambodian country, more than 500 farmers export some 200,000 crocodiles to Vietnam, Thailand and China each year, generating around $4 million. Unfortunately Cambodia does not have the facility to harvest crocodile skin let alone manufacture its skin product, hence baby crocodiles which cost $35 each were sold instead of 3 years old adult crocodile, which would fetch $250-$300.
Too many crocodile shops in the business district.
On the shelves, what was left of the once man-eating reptile.
According to a crocodile farmer, crocodiles are essentially easy to care for. A hundred crocodiles need a pond of 40 square metres, with water 1metre deep. Females produce eggs yearly, with the young ones laying 20-30 eggs while the older ones lay 40-60. Furthermore crocodiles only need to be fed once a week and their pond water changed once every 3months. Best of all they rarely get sick, only come mating season, from January to April, there will be a number of dead casualties as a result of fatal crocodile fights.
That's all on Siem Reap day tour, hope it was informative. Next, Siem Reap nightlife.
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