Snaking around region's largest freshwater lake
Liz Price
Saturday, March 24, 2007
WE WERE flying over a huge expanse of wetland and my first thought was there had been big floods recently. But then I could see that the flooded area was actually permanent, a mix of marshland and lake. It was immense. I had found out that the huge wetland was actually a lake called Tonle Sap the largest permanent freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.
That afternoon we wandered around the market area of Siem Reap, absorbing the atmosphere and getting a feel for the place. There were several beggars following us, mainly amputees, victims of the landmines which have plagued Cambodia for the last decade. Other people clamouring for our attention were the romauk drivers. Romauks are the motorcycle taxis, commonly known as tuktuks, although they don't resemble the tuk-tuks seen in Thailand as they look more like motorcycle trailers.
There is an abundance of romauk drivers now in Siem. For a fee of 10000 riel (US$2.5) we were taken to the lake and Phnom Krom for sunset.
As we left Siem Reap we drove along one continuous street which was lined with houses for several kilometres. There was so much to look at as there was a lot of activity. The houses decreased in size and frequency and eventually became small huts with the open floodplain of the lake behind. Ahead of us, Phnom Krom was the only hill in sight.Phnom Krom is 12km south of town. We parked near the market area which was bustling with activity. We walked through the village, although you can hardly call it a village as it was simply a row of small, basic huts built on a causeway edging the lake. From here the express boats go to Phnom Penh and Battambang, which are the two largest cities in Cambodia.
Although this village is incredibly poor, the people seemed happy and content and were quite friendly. The kids all said hello and loved having their photos taken and even the adults didn't mind our camera lenses pointing everywhere. The houses were so basic and small and there is no electricity or running water. However they do have clean water as there are communal handpumps.
There were a few shops but they were incredibly spartan, with maybe just half a dozen different items for sale. We walked down to the start of the water village. Boats were weaving their way in and out of the maze of stilts supporting all the houses. We went back to the Gecko Environment Centre. This has displays on the local flora and fauna as well as information on communities living around the lake. The first item to catch my eye was a tank containing not fish, but snakes. To my amazement the caretaker stuck his hand in the tank and pulled out a fat snake and dumped it on the counter in front of me. Fortunately the snake just sat there and made no effort to escape.Approximately 8500 snakes are caught a day during the peak of the wet season. They are used as food, and also eaten as a snack with palm wine, and their skin is used. Apart from fish, turtles live in the lake but are being heavily hunted and are now rare.Some 700 families live on Chong Khneas, which is the name of this particular floating village. They live on floating houses and wooden boats, and the village moves according to the season. Tourists need to rent a boat to see it properly. The villagers make their own fishing nets and use lights to attract the fish. Cages are used to rear the snakehead fish.
There are two main species here, the Giant Snakehead which is known as the Toman in Malaysia, and the Common Snakehead, or Haruan. The Giant Snakehead is the most predacious of all snakeheads and grows up to one metre long.
The snakehead is not a pretty fish and it has some canine-like teeth, but it tastes good. We ate it several times, mostly as an amok dish, which is a Thai style curry.
The Tonle Sap Lake flows into the Tonle Sap River which in turn enters the mighty Mekong River at Phnom Penh. Tonle Sap Lake itself is an incredible natural phenomenon. During the wet season the Mekong backs up into the river, causing the lake to swell from 2,500 sq km. to 13,000 sq km. The maximum depth increases from 2.2metre to 10metre.
In October after the wet season the flow reverses back into the Mekong. This process makes Tonle Sap one of the world's richest sources of freshwater fish and a fertile spawning ground. The fishing industry supports about one million people in Cambodia and a dry season catch on the lake can average 100-200 kg a day. That was a good enough reason to enjoy the fish dishes in the restaurants.
The Brunei Times
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Source URL:
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/en/classification/life/travel/2007/03/24/snaking_around_regions_largest_freshwater_lake
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