Rather than participate in your typical quad bike adventure tour, Haddas and I decided to use our last day in Siem Reap to visit one of the floating villages of Tonle Sap. After our 4:30 AM wake up yesterday, it felt amazing to sleep in to the late hour of 7:00 AM. We quickly gathered our things and went downstairs for breakfast.
I know we said we were impressed with our croissant boxes at Angkor Wat yesterday but the complementary Somadevi buffet blew that out of the water. Because the hotel sees tourists from so many different countries, they had the largest selection of "breakfast" foods that I'd ever seen. From made-to-order omelets and fresh fruit to chicken curry and tom yum soup, they had it all. It became quite the balancing act trying to fit everything onto our plates. We stuffed our faces, ate seconds, and then went to the lobby to meet our tour guide for the trip to Chong Khneas Village in Tonle Sap.
To reach Chong Khneas, we first traveled by tuk-tuk until we reached the Tonle Sap River in the outskirts of Siem Reap. There, we rented a small boat to carry us upstream to where the river opens up into Tonle Sap Lake. Because we were visiting Chong Khneas in the middle of the dry season, the water was shallow and the boat driver needed to maneuver very carefully until we reached deeper water. After about 20 minutes, we could see the shapes of houses about a half kilometer offshore - we had reached Tonle Sap and were on our way to explore the village.
Our guide taught us that the 6,000 villagers in Chong Khneas support themselves primarily with fishing. This didn't come as too much of a surprise given where we were situated. We were surrounded by hundreds of floating buildings. Some were schools while others were restaurants. We even spotted the local police station. However, the vast majority were tiny houses that supported families of up to 10 people. We stopped at one of the restaurants to relax for a while and get a better view of our surroundings.
Once we were back on shore, we climbed into our tuk-tuks and started the return trip to Siem Reap. However, this time it wasn't direct - we made 3 stops. Since it was so hot outside, our tour guide treated us to fresh coconut water from a street-side stand. Hads dared me to finish the whole coconut in one sitting. Proud to say I did :)
Next, we visited a farm where lotus flowers are grown to be offered at nearby Buddhist temples. We walked out onto a narrow pathway that was surrounded by thousands and thousands of flowers. Our guide also taught us that leaves from the lotus plant make for great hats.
Finally, we stopped at one of these nearby Buddhist temples and then made our way back to the Somadevi. After a nap and book by the pool, we headed out for dinner at a beautiful restaurant called the Chanrey Tree. It was our last night in Siem Reap so we decided to make it a classy one. I enjoyed a local Khmer dish called lok lak beef with a glass of wine and Haddas went for the chicken. It was the perfect end to yet another excellent day in Siem Reap.
I know we said we were impressed with our croissant boxes at Angkor Wat yesterday but the complementary Somadevi buffet blew that out of the water. Because the hotel sees tourists from so many different countries, they had the largest selection of "breakfast" foods that I'd ever seen. From made-to-order omelets and fresh fruit to chicken curry and tom yum soup, they had it all. It became quite the balancing act trying to fit everything onto our plates. We stuffed our faces, ate seconds, and then went to the lobby to meet our tour guide for the trip to Chong Khneas Village in Tonle Sap.
To reach Chong Khneas, we first traveled by tuk-tuk until we reached the Tonle Sap River in the outskirts of Siem Reap. There, we rented a small boat to carry us upstream to where the river opens up into Tonle Sap Lake. Because we were visiting Chong Khneas in the middle of the dry season, the water was shallow and the boat driver needed to maneuver very carefully until we reached deeper water. After about 20 minutes, we could see the shapes of houses about a half kilometer offshore - we had reached Tonle Sap and were on our way to explore the village.
Chong Khneas off in the distance
Our view from the river ferry
Our guide taught us that the 6,000 villagers in Chong Khneas support themselves primarily with fishing. This didn't come as too much of a surprise given where we were situated. We were surrounded by hundreds of floating buildings. Some were schools while others were restaurants. We even spotted the local police station. However, the vast majority were tiny houses that supported families of up to 10 people. We stopped at one of the restaurants to relax for a while and get a better view of our surroundings.
Drew and Haddas in Chong Khneas
Haddas made a friend there too
Once we were back on shore, we climbed into our tuk-tuks and started the return trip to Siem Reap. However, this time it wasn't direct - we made 3 stops. Since it was so hot outside, our tour guide treated us to fresh coconut water from a street-side stand. Hads dared me to finish the whole coconut in one sitting. Proud to say I did :)
Haddas enjoying some fresh coconut water
Next, we visited a farm where lotus flowers are grown to be offered at nearby Buddhist temples. We walked out onto a narrow pathway that was surrounded by thousands and thousands of flowers. Our guide also taught us that leaves from the lotus plant make for great hats.
Haddas at the Lotus Farm
Drew and Haddas with some sweet sweet lotus leaf hats
Buddhist Temple outside Siem Reap
Drew and Haddas on their way to dinner
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