1.10.2013

The Floating Village Outside Siem Reap and Tonle Sap

I had a lot of mixed emotions regarding Cambodia.  It was a very poor country to say the least, and just like everywhere else, there were some great people we met and some who were not very good.  In the end, I would go back again.  The history of Cambodia, if you ever get a chance to read it, is extremely sad.  After going to Angkor Wat we went to a floating village and a few other temples a bit outside the city.  The temples were included in our pass but we had to pay $20 extra I believe to see the floating village.  It was a peaceful day and not nearly as many people as there were at Angkor Wat.  So, here are the photos...

(Our tuk tuk driver for the day.  Ask around at restaurants, either a brother or family member drives a tuk tuk and you can usually get a decent deal.  I think we paid $7 and the hostel we were at wanted $15 for the exact same trip.  Plus, this guy was super friendly!)


(A house, where someone actually lives)


 (A man in a field working)


 (This family was doing quite well considering the cows they had in their yard)


 (Floating temple)


(School house - most of the year, students can walk, however, during the rainy season, the kids have to take a boat.  If you look in the lower left you can see kids getting off the boat to go to school.)


(A few houses, like many in the village, on stilts and made with straw or hay)


(Tin was another popular option for roofing and siding)


(A few boys hanging out for the day)


(The village temple)


(Row homes in a floating village.  All the people we saw seemed to be pretty happy here.)


 (Another option for living - on a boat.  This was something I was not accustomed to and saw it far more often than I even have in my life.)


(A girl rowing somewhere)


(Some more kids hanging out)


 (I actually liked the temples in this grouping a bit better than Angkor Wat because it wasn't so crowded and they just seemed to have a different vibe.)


 (A statue built into the side of one of the buildings)


(These ones weren't in great shape either which is why you can see work being done in the first picture of the group.  I think they have a long way to go.)


(Some rice fields on our way to the next temple.  Cambodia was a beautiful country.)


(This was a quick stop but I met my favorite girls of the trip here)


(Cows must have been really important because they made quite a few statues of them)


 (These two girls were shy but continued to follow us around and giggle.  Throughout the whole trip, I only ever gave money to these two.  They were so cute and adorable.)


 (Boom, that's me in front of one of the buildings)


(The girls playing.  They kept saying something but we couldn't understand them.  I am guessing they were asking for money.)


(This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip and just reminds me of how lucky and thankful I should be)


(This is at a different temple and more kids were playing.  Parents believe it's better for the family to have children beg for money instead of going to school.  Plus, after the Khmer Rouge, there's not a high emphasis placed on education.  So, this is what some kids do most of the day.  I did also see other kids walking to school along the road.)


 (It breaks your heart...)


 (I believe this temple had elephants on the corners)


(To the left here you can see 'minefield victims,' another result of the Khmer Rogue/Vietnam War/US intervention in Cambodia.  They play music as you walk past.)


(That's me at the top of the temple pictured above)


 (This is the shot from the top back towards the musicians)

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