This gallery contains 8 photos.
Located just outside Siem Reap, Cambodia is one of the most fascinating areas on earth. Angkor means “Capital City or “Holy City”. Khmer is the main ethnic group in Cambodia, and the empire that ruled from the 9th to 12 … Continue reading
The rule of Pol Pot (1975-1979) and the Khmer Rouge was responsible for two million deaths in Cambodia out of a population of seven million. A combination of dissident executions, forced labor, disease, and starvation were the main causes.
Choeung Ek is about 15 miles from Phnom Penh. Here, an estimated 17,000 Cambodians were executed by the Khmer Rouge. The first thing I noticed while visiting the “Killing Fields” was that it was eerily silent. It had the same feel as when I visited Mauthausen, a Nazi concentration camp in Austria. Continue reading
Chong Khneas is a floating village on Tonle Sap Lake. We took a tuk-tuk the 16 km from Siem Reap to a dock and got on a boat for a better look. After around a 20 minute boat ride in an extremely muddy tributary, we came out into Tonle Sap Lake. On the edge of this lake sits a floating fishing village.
The village is made up of more than one hundred floating shanty’s. The people live a very meager life and make the best with what they have. In the village you can find a small floating basketball court, floating church, and also one of the most famous elementary schools in Cambodia. Many of the children paddle to school in a little disk that they sit in, almost like a small saucer. Around the school locals will paddle up and beg for money.
The main subsistence of the village is fishing and netting shrimp. I really couldn’t imagine living this type of lifestyle at all. It would definitely take some adjustment to be constantly living on the warm, murky, water. In terms of photos, I got a few to try and capture the people that live in this hot and humid climate. (Will post video later) Whenever I am lucky enough to visit an environment like this, it always helps me put in prospective just how fortunate I am.
Posted in Cambodia
Tagged Cambodia Photography, Chong Khneas, Floating Fishing Village, Tonle Sap Lake, 柬埔寨
K. Wahlgren 