Cambodia — Day 4: Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia — part 2 of 3
Visiting a Cambodian floating village — the houses
September 2015
After about 15 to 20 minutes, we arrived at Mechrey Floating Village.
This wasn’t my first floating village on the trip, as I had also been to some floating villages in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.
But, Mechrey Floating Village was bigger than the villages I saw in Ha Long Bay and looked more lived in.
As we approached Mechrey Floating Village, one of the first things I saw was a sign on the school that said:
“Please do not disturb the children's study by coming unto the school to take pictures or hand out gifts. If you wish to give gifts to the school and children please leave them at the school's office. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. If you have any questions please contact the school's principal. Cell:”
This is a common problem with such schools, as I saw a similar sign on a floating school in Brunei.
The village was larger than I expected, with the floating houses clustered together and organised into streets.
Each house was on a floating bundle of canes that rotted away every few years and had to be replaced. Also, the village was not permanently based in one location and was moved around the lake as water levels changed.
In the photograph of the floating house below, note the floating garden to the left. Even the chicken coop was floating.
There was electricity available in the village from 12-volt batteries charged up with a generator.
And the villagers had pets. I saw several cats.
Part three shows some photographs of the people of Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
