We started our 8 hour river journey bright and early from Battambang to Siem Reap. This gives you a glimpse into the lives of local villagers, as well as floating villages where the people literally live on the water! You get to see the regular daily lives of the people without the touristy influence. This river trip is a definite must for travellers wanting to get off the beaten-track.

Along several stretches the river winds along some tight curves. Our captain had it all figured out through, as his first mate climbed on the roof, grabbed a long pole of bamboo, and pushed the boat into position. Where there’s a will there’s a way!

A key livelihood and food source for the villages is fishing. While sailing past, we saw a group of five guys hauling up the nets on one of their river fish traps (see below for a picture). They had a pretty good catch!

We stopped for lunch at a floating restaurant for some rice, fish, and pineapple. At the end of our journey we hit the lake Tonle Sap and made our way to a port near Siem Reap. Siem Reap is the town next to the fascinating ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat.

Cheers, Shawn

Photos by Jon Lang

Asia Trip – 2015