On Day 6, Pilu and I went to one of the oldest temples known to exist in Cambodia, called Beng Mealea. It is mostly untouched from the way it was discovered, other than some walkways and safety supports put in. Most of the walls have tumbled down, and what remains upright are largely covered with strangler fig trees. The whole temple is shaded from the surrounding forest, and most of the stones are green with moss. Because this temple is about 90 minutes drive from Siem Reap, it is not that popular with tourists. We saw only a handful of Japanese tour groups, and pretty much had the place to ourselves.
On Day 7, we took a tour of Tonle Sap lake by boat. This lake is the heartbeat of Cambodia and is the largest fresh water lake in SE Asia. The lake changes in size depending on the season. During the wet season (May - Oct), the Mekong River rises rapidly, and flows into the lake. The lake can swell from 2m to 10m in depth, and increase in size from 2500 sq km to over 13000 sq km. During the dry season (Nov - Apr), the flow changes, and the lake drains out to the Mekong River, lowering the lake and reducing the fishing.
There are entire villages that thrive on the lake, complete with restaurants, schools, churches and livestock pens. As the lake changes size, the villages move along with it, to follow where the fish are. When we were touring the lake, there were countless women with small children begging for money wherever tourists would be. It was kind of sad to watch, because there were so many. It was strong evidence of the poverty in Cambodia and how vital tourism is to the country.
So, now I am back in Thailand. I will spend the next month or so in a final push to locate some work. I will be concentrating my job hunt on Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. And of course, I will be taking photos of Bangkok with every chance I get.
1 comment:
Ian,
unbelievable photos you have. I love them.
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