Vietnam & Cambodia: Floating Villages

      I suppose if there is a lot of water around, it is quite possible that villages will pop up on it.  And I do mean ON it. Tonle Sap  is a well known water district, we gawked at the Stung Sen River floating villages on our way to Battambang.  My own little private joke is to name one of the villages Lifebuoy.  Hey, cracks me up every time I think of it.  I like travelling on the water. Water is cooler and softer than bumpy, dirty roads and the wildlife -four legs, two legs, winged- is fun to watch. Kev gets bored with it [especially when a five hour trip takes eight due to very low water levels] but humors me once a trip because I enjoy it so much. And he gets a little extra sleep in.

boathouse

houseboat

floating UNICEF school

So what do we see over the side of our transport?  Houseboats and boathouses-moored and moving. Churches and hardware stores are pontooned as is the local authorized cell phone dealer.  Ever wonder where that money you collected for UNICEF in little orange cartons every Halloween went to?  I have found at least one floating school UNICEF helped build. Another school had a top floor so kids could run around during recess. [Quick note: school is recommended but not compulsory or free.] I wondered  where kids got the chance to run freely.  Same can't be said for the pigs and chickens in floating pens tied to the house. Animal Alcatraz.
     It doesn't quite look like Venice, but this lady accomplishes her retail rounds just the same.  Notice the scale in the center of her boat. We cruised through an early a.m. floating market. Wholesale only, we couldn't buy just one frost apple. Still, it was fun to watch commerce occurring in an entirely different kind of venue.

boys bathing at the shoreline

     Rivers are the lifeblood of communities the world over. I have gotten incredibly spoiled by living and working in such clear water places like French Polynesia so that the idea of washing the dishes, clothes or myself in murky brown water simply does not  appeal. But no one here thinks twice about it.   These boys are having a fabulous time. Men will wear underwear in the water to lather up. Often a small boat is sunk right at the shores to afford pareo-clad women a little privacy as they scrub and shampoo.
     Eyes forward, the next stop is here.