Photo. A part of the Vietnamese Floating Village in
Cambodia. © Travel Explorations.
In the afternoon I was in a small boat alone with two fishermen
who showed me around. Regardless of safety I avoided an overfilled boat. It
made it also easier for me to look around.
In this village the people have its own life. They can be considered as
a special kind of nomads. In one way they live at a permanent residence, but
at the other way they move around. The explanation for this is that the
village moves location depending on the season. The "road" is made by itself.
Since locals here are floating on water, they have to follow the
direction of waves and currents.
It was a wonderful view in the warm light of the late afternoon. I just
relaxed on the boat observing the inhabitants daily life. The village was full
of life. Both adults and children waved and shouted "hello" to me. They always
had a smile to share.
I some ways this village could be compared
with Venice in Italy. Instead of roads and heavy traffic by cars, bikes,
trams and buses, the only transportation was by boats. Here I could
see all kind of boats busy moving around. It was amazing to see how the people lived on houseboats.
Here they had everything for sustaining. It was also a church in the
village. The market was pulsating. Vendors activily moved around in the floating village
on boats filled with equipment, groceries and other things for
selling.
I also stopped a while for visiting a family. They invited me in to their house for
a cup of tea and a nice chat. Here I felt the strong smell from fish and other sea
animals.
I found the temples in Angkor very unique, but so
was also the Vietnamese Floating Village. It`s amazing that people can live like
this, and they seemed to have a real good life.
Stein Morten Lund, 8 March
2006
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