Floating Village
Tonle Sap Lake is home to many floating villagers (see page 7 for map). Chong Khnies is probably the most accessible village. It is about 15 km south of Siem Reap town. Boat tours are available, departing from the Chong Khneas boat docks all day long. Other floating villages are Kampong Phluk on the northern shore and Kaoh Chiveang, Dei Roneat and Kampong Luong on the southern shore. Kampong Luong is the next accessible floating village. It is about 5 Km from Krakor, a small town located on National Route 5, 95 Km from Phnom Penh.
People live, work, fish, and shop at the floating village. Tourists may make a tour boat. Wooden motor boat or canoe are common form of transportation activities for visitors from one village to another village. They are reasonably cheap, but it is unsafe if going farther from the shore as the water becomes deeper. The water is shallow for most times of the year (1 meter or less around the shore), except during the rainy season when the lake expands its size and it is as deep as 9 meters at the heart of the lake. All villages are floating ashore during that time of the year for safety reason. Most villagers make a living doing something else beside fishing. For others, fishing is their profession. Fishes are sold to the local villagers. The surplus is brought to the mainland market throughout the country. The produces are imported from the mainland and are sold at the floating market stores or at the open area of the lake.
