Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CAMBODIA'S LARDER
The
Tonle Sap
is at once a reservoir, flood-relief system, communications route, home and
larder to the people who live on and around it; even Cambodians who live nowhere near it
depend on the lake as a rich food source.
At its lowest, in May, just before the rains, the lake covers an area of around 2500 square
kilometres. Himalayan
meltwater
flows down the Mekong just as the monsoon rains arrive,
causing the level of the river to rise so quickly that at Phnom Penh the pressure is su
cient to
reverse the flow of the Tonle Sap River, which would normally drain the lake. As a result of this
inflow, each year the lake inundates an area of more than
ten thousand square kilometres
,
making it the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The flow of water reverts to its usual
direction in late October or early November, the receding waters leaving behind fertile mud for
the planting of rice, and nutrients for the fry that have spawned amid the flooded trees. February
sees a bumper fish catch, much of it going to satisfy the insatiable Cambodian appetite for
prohok
.
This lake may not always be here though; its fragile ecosystem is under threat, as upstream
on the Mekong the Chinese continue with the controversial building of dams.
3
further out over the lake. There are also plans to launch homestays in the village,
possibly starting in 2015.
Kompong Khleang
About 50km southeast of Siem Reap by road (turn south off NR6 at Dam Dek) • Entrance to village $2 • Boats available for trips through
village for around $20/hr
Around 20km further down the lake from Kompong Phluk is
KOMPONG KHLEANG
.
This was a major centre of lake trade in the French colonial period and remains the
most sizeable settlement hereabouts, with around sixteen thousand inhabitants living in
a mixture of stilted and floating houses. It's the largest but also the least touristed of the
three main Tonle Sap villages, and also remains surrounded by water year-round,
making it a good alternative to Kompong Phluk when the waters there have dried up.
Prek Toal Biosphere Reserve
The Tonle Sap was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1997 - a status that
reconciles sustainable use with conservation. One core area of the reserve, the
Prek Toal
Biosphere Reserve
serves as a sanctuary for a wide range of waterbirds, including three
endangered species - spot-billed pelicans, greater adjutant storks and white-winged
ducks. Prek Toal lies on the northwest edge of the lake in the dry season and is easily
reached from Siem Reap, though you'll have to take an organized tour - Osmose (see
p.145) specialize in trips to the reserve.
The temples of Angkor: the Archaeological
Park
Scattered over some four hundred square kilometres of countryside between the Tonle
Sap lake and the Kulen Mountains, the
temples of Angkor
are one of the world's great
architectural showpieces - an astonishing profusion of ancient monuments remarkable
both for their size and number, not to mention their incredible levels of artistry. An
idealized representation of the Hindu cosmos in stone, they range from great pyramidal
temple-mountains of Angkor Wat and Pre Rup through to the labyrinthine
monasteries of Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei, as well as more miniature and intimate
sanctuaries such as Thommanon and Preah Ko.
