Mechrey Floating Village

ទិដ្ឋភាពវាលស្រូវ ទៅកាន់ ភូមិមេជ្រៃ

In Cambodia we say Bulldozer we say Ko Yon . If you get a little off-the-beaten-track in Cambodia and visit rural communities, you may well be invited to have a ride on Ko Yon by a local family.

Experience the country ride! Beyond the adventure is to travel and learn. More than a travelling is the educational trip to understand the possibility world.

Visiting the floating village of Mechray on the northern shore of the lake near Siem Reap is truly an incredible experience. Residents of Mechray have adapted to life on the Tonlé Sap by moving all of the necessities of life onto the lake. Houses, stores, schools, and restaurants have all been moved onto floats. Even pigs, chickens and other livestock are taken along and raised in floating pens. As the lake recedes everything thing moves toward the new shores. One exception is the village pagoda which is an island surrounded by water during the rainy season and left high and dry, over two kilometers away, during the dry.

It seems improbable that as modernity comes to Cambodia that these villages will continue to exist. These are fishing villages and as commercial fishing, which is now technically banned, on the Tonlé Sap expands it will become more and more difficult for the inhabitants to use their traditional methods to compete. As the population grows near the lake, which now serves as everything from – swimming hole, to shower, to the sewage system, – conditions on the lake will undoubtedly deteriorate and this ancient way of life may become untenable. I feel very fortunate to be able to visit these amazing places before they are permanently lost to history.

អត់ធ្មត់និងស្ងប់ស្ងាត់ - ព្រោះគ្មាននរណាម្នាក់អាចចាប់ត្រីដោយកំហឹងបានទេ!

ផ្ទះលំហែ-Vacation Home

Good view on the way to Mechrey floating village.