Floating Villages of Tonle Sap River and its Fishes

For people staying in the Floating villages on the Tonle Sap river, the entire livelihood and life revolves around the fish. Catching fish is simple – The water level drops and the Tonlé Sap river carries away thousands of fish. The fishermen simply keep dipping in and lifting away cone-shaped nets into the water… from the relative comfort of their floating homes… Tons of fish are caught in this fashion… The women then cut off the heads, clean them and remove the fat in the river. The fish are then salted and macerated for several months to transform them into a paste called prahok. This is a nourishing complement to almost any dish.

All the parts of the fish are used:

1. The removed fish-heads are dried to make a good fertilizer to be sold
2. Soap for personal use is made by boiling the fat from the bottom of the fish basket
3. On the river-banks, fish is bartered for rice for household consumption. Any excess rice is sold.

Now, on to something interesting about the water body itself… Tonlé Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, is a biodiversity hotspot and was designated as a UNESCO biosphere reserve a few years back.The 120 km long Tonlé Sap River connects the lake to the Mekong river, and together, they form the central part of a complex hydrological system in the Cambodian floodplain. The annual fluctuation of the Mekong’s water volume, supplemented by the monsoon, causes the unique flow reversal of the Tonlé Sap River which flows in one direction for 6 months of the year and the opposite direction for the next 6 months!
If you want to know more about this river, the fishermen and the floating villages, head out to Siem Reap in Cambodia and experience it first-hand.

Want to Explore Cambodia? Check out our experience oriented tours and travel packages to Cambodia.