Photo-taking, bird-watching and fish-eating are some of the things you can do at Tonle Sap, as LIZ PRICE experienced it. Being the richest freshwater fishing ground in the world, the lake supports about 3 million people or a quarter of Cambodia's total population.
[published on Wildasia.net 1 Apr 2006]
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 hadn't done my homework and read up on the area, so I didn't know anything about this lake.
The plane landed in the small, international airport of Siem Reap in Cambodia. Siem Reap is the gateway to the world famous Angkor Wat temples. Although these temples were to occupy us for the next few days, we actually went to the lake by chance on our first afternoon. I had found out it was called Tonle Sap, and is 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 that have plagued Cambodia for the last decade. Other people clamoring for our attention were the romauk drivers. Romauks are the motorcycle taxis, commonly known as tuktuks, although they don't resemble the tuktuks seen in Thailand. They are motorcycle trailers. They only exist in Siem Reap and are a very good invention, as two people can sit side by side. We spent some time haggling for a good price to go to the lake and finally a fee of 10000 riel (RM 10) was agreed on.
On the way, we stopped at Krouser Thmey, which is an NGO that supports orphans. They have an exhibition center and the main display is about Tonle Sap Lake. Here I learnt that one quarter of Cambodia's population, some 3 million people, live on the lake. Many are very poor and live in very rudimentary boathouses. It is the richest freshwater fishing ground in the world. The people living by the lake rely on the fish for their livelihood and survival.
As we left Siem Reap we drove along one continuous street, which was lined with houses for several kilometers. There was so much to look at, as there was a lot of activity all around and also as it was my first visit to Cambodia I found everything new and fascinating. I wanted to take photos but it was quite bouncy sitting in the tuktuk even though we were not going fast. 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 means hill in Cambodian.
Phnom Krom is 12 km south of town. We parked near the market area that 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. Dozens of express boats were moored in a long line, and as I went to take photos the boatmen called out trying to sell tickets for the following day.
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. No one begged or asked for anything, which was quite a contrast to what we had seen earlier in Siem Reap. 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 hand pumps.
My camera was clicking furiously as I found it all really fascinating. One lady was grilling a rat over some charcoal. I did a double take, as at first I didn't realize what she was cooking. But she obligingly held it up for me so I could take a photo. 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. People were selling and buying things, doing household chores or just relaxing and chatting, but many stopped to wave at me as I watched them.
We went back to the Gecko Environment Centre. This has displays on the flora and fauna of the area 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.
There are six species of water snake living in Tonle Sap. 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. Also the Siamese crocodiles are decreasing in numbers.
700 families live on Chong Khneas, which is the name of this particular floating village. The people are Buddhists from Cambodia, as well as Catholics and Moslems from Vietnam. 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 fish such as the Snakehead. There are two main species of here, the Channa Micropeltes or Giant Snakehead, which is known as the Toman in Malaysia, and the Channa Striata or Common Snakehead, or Haruan. The Giant Snakehead is the most predacious of all snakeheads and grows up to one meter long.
These two Channa species collectively comprise the second most important fish group under culture in cages in the Mekong area. We saw it all the time in the Cambodian markets for sale, mostly dried, but sometimes fresh. 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. The Mekong is the longest river in Southeast Asia, around 4200 km long. It is the third most diverse river in the world after the Amazon and the Congo. There are some spectacular large water bird populations, and over 1500 fish species. The Giant Mekong Catfish grows up to 300 kg and is a Critically Endangered species. 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 2500 sq. km. to 13,000 sq. km. The maximum depth increases from 2.2m to 10m. 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.
© Liz Price - article may only be republished with the author's permission.
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