Friday, January 28, 2011

siem reap: adventures of martha and jim (part III)

so taking a little (half day) break from exploring temples we went to the stilted village, Kompong Plok. A fishing village along Tonle Sap, the largest fresh water lake in southeast Asia.

In the rainy season the lake is 16000 sq km and all the homes are surrounded by water. Dry season (which is now) the lake recedes and is only 2700 sq km and most of the houses end up on land. Apparently fishing becomes a whole lot easier when when the fish have no where to go.

Kids of all ages rowing their boats gently down the stream...

Dried shrimp creating the perfect pedestrian walkway for the villagers.

Jim became somewhat of a celebrity when he decided to get a $0.60 haircut and shave at the local barber.

Taking a tour of Tonle Sap. These women rowing our boats (from the front) might have been older than my grandmother. At this point, you really kick yourself for eating that second piece of toast. Or any toast...ever.

Ari was enjoying himself, really.

After having lunch on Tonle Sap (don't worry this was on a boat with a motor), we went to our last temple.

Bakong Temple


Built in the 9th century much of the sandstone and stucco bas reliefs have eroded away. Sitting at the top of the central tower, we enjoyed the last of our time in Siem Reap.

This was a super quick stop in Siem Reap. If you're planning a trip to see the temples I would definitely recommend giving yourself a few more days. Each temple is unique and if you have the time, the temples are an amazing place to just sit and take in your surroundings. Pretty incredible.

My last piece of advice is unless you're on your own private yacht or it's halloween this is really unneccessary


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