Cambodia

Cambodia — Day 4: Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia — part 3 of 3

Nick Morris

Nick Morris

— 3 min read

Visiting a Cambodian floating village — the people

September 2015

Finally, the people of Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Cambodia — Day 4: Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia — part 2 of 3
Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Nick's WanderingsNick Morris

It must be odd for the villagers to have tourist boats coming out and visiting the village. From what I could see, unless the people running the boats used to transport the tourists were from the village, the villagers did not benefit from the visitors. The villagers seemed to ignore the tourists. There was no attempt to sell us goods or trinkets. And this got me thinking, was I seeing an authentic village, or was this a ‘show’ (remember, the act of observation can change the outcome)? I suspect that what I was seeing was partly real.

Photo by Author — villagers — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — villagers — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — a family — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — a family — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — villagers — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — villagers — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — deftly walking barefoot across the boats — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — deftly walking barefoot across the boats — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia

I am unsure what is happening in the photo below — they appeared to be washing their catch. As I watched, the two men alternated, going up and down with the bamboo posts and moving the net through the water.

Photo by Author — wasting the catch — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — wasting the catch — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — kids at play — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — kids at play — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — a villager and his big boat engine — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — a villager and his big boat engine — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — locals moving around the village — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — locals moving around the village — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — locals moving around the village — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — locals moving around the village — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — a child at play — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — a child at play — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — young kids in Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — young kids in Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — washing the catch — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — washing the catch — Mechrey Floating Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia

I enjoyed my brief visit to Mechrey Floating Village. It was good to see that the village was still inhabited and that life was continuing. But, I couldn’t help but wonder how much village life had changed since the arrival of the tourists and whether village life would continue or if they would experience the same fate as the floating villages I saw in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.

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