Siem Reap - Tonle Sap Lake

This is our 2nd day at Siem Reap, yet, another leisure day for us :P After brunch, we decided to go to Tonle Sap Lake. We took day tour package offered by our hotel, hopped onto the tuk-tuk and here we go!

On the tuk-tuk. It is actually quite nice to sit behind a tuk-tuk, enjoy the view with wind blowing on your face. The only thing not-so-good thing is DUST. Recommended to bring along face mask or any scarf.

Stop to refill gasoline.

Simple store operated by the locals. Gasoline sell in bottles.

Journey to Tonle Sap Lake from Siem Reap town is around half an hour by tuk-tuk. If you are on bike, it would be a great experience since you would pass by villages, rivers, lotus farm and etc which make you closer to local’s life. The route is flat, easy for cycling.

Tonle Sap Lake is the largest fresh water lake in South East Asia. There are more than thousand families staying at the lake, where they live on floating houses which can be move everywhere and earn a living by fishing. Area of the lake is varies in wet and dry seasons. 

We got our entrance ticket at once arrived and hopped onto a boat, started our lake tour at Tonle Sap Lake. Entrance ticket is 20 USD per person, including boat trip and a tour guide on boat. 

School on water.

Floating houses.

Floating chicken farm! It is quite amazing to witness this! They live on the water and so they grow chicken and even pig on the water too! Everything is floating here, amazing!

The ship on the border-less lake! According to our tour guide, he mentioned that approximately 4hours are required for them to go the other end of the lake and came back. Can imagine how big is this lake?

Colourful floating village.

The lake tour is around 1hour, the boat would stop at one of the view point so that we can get down from the boat and have a look at the village from higher position. By the way, there are few crocodile farm here, where you can buy some meat and feed the crocodile, we are not interested and scared, so we just skip this part, LOL :P

The flying flag of Cambodia.

Tonle Sap Lake, we would say that this is a good experience to visit here, to see how locals live together with the lake, to feel how big the lake is... One thing that made us felt uncomfortable is the fact that some adults used kids to earn a living. We are being approached by adult carrying a kid where there is snake around the kid's neck to ask if you want to have a photo with the kid (together with the snake of course). Else, there would be someone approached to ask whether you want to donate to the kids, in term of food or money. We not sure whether all the donations would go to the kids or not, but if you would like to donate, you may search for NGO that help out at Siem Reap. Make sure your donations go to the one who needs it.

For a better tomorrow :)

Tonle Sap Lake tour (package offered by hotel): 15USD per tour (We topped up 3 USD to go to Phnom Bakheng after that.

Tonle Sap Lake entrance fee: 20 USD per person (including boat trip and a tour guide on boat).