A friend of mine has inspired me to write down and post about my trip to Cambodia; and one of the visit was to Tonle Sap lake.
Tonlé Sap, tonle literally means large river and sap means
fresh, not salty; it is commonly translated to "Great Lake".
Tonlé Sap Lake and an attached river stretched 120 km long
Tonlé Sap River, that connects the lake to the Mekong River. It is the largest
freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, that contains an exceptional large variety
of interconnected eco-regions with a high degree of biodiversity is a
biodiversity hotspot and was designated as a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1997.
Fields of lotus, a view while driving towards Tonle Sap
The Tonle Sap form the central part of a complex
hydrological system, situated in the 12,876 km2 Cambodian floodplain covered
with a mosaic of natural and agricultural habitats that the Mekong replenishes
with water and sediments annually. The central plain formation is the result of
millions of years of Mekong alluvial deposition and discharge. From a
geological perspective, the Tonlé Sap Lake and Tonlé Sap River are a current
freeze-frame representation of the slowly, but ever shifting Lower Mekong
Basin. Annual fluctuation of the Mekong's water volume, supplemented by the
Asian Monsoon regime causes the unique flow reversal of the Tonle Sap River.
The lake's size, length and water volume varies
considerably over the course of a year from an area of around 2,500 km2 , a
volume of 1 km3 and a length of 160 km at the end of the dry season in late
April to an area of up to 16,000 km2 , a
volume of 80 km3 and a length of 250 km as the Mekong maximum and the peak of
the South-West monsoon's precipitation culminate in September and early
October.
The area is home to many ethnic Vietnamese and numerous
Cham communities, living in floating villages around the lake. Approximately
1.2 million people living in the greater Tonle sap make their living by fishing
on the local waters. Cambodia produces about 400,000 tonnes of freshwater fish
per year, the majority of which comes from Tonle sap. These fisheries account
for 16 percent of national GDP, making the fish industry not only essential to
the diet of local populations but to the Cambodian economy as a whole.
The water company, people queque to pay for their bills
Floating church on Tonle Sap
shopping in the mini market for food donation to the orphans
home of the orphans
school
mini garden corner
a Vietnamese kid with his tamed python snake on a pan as a boat, to take a picture will cost varied from $1 - $10
typical home
restaurant
After we returned from the lake, we are going back to the center of Siem Reap but not before we visited the Roluos Group temple...
Preah Ko
Roluos is a Cambodian modern small town and an
archeological site about 13 km east of Siem Reap along NH6. Once it was the
seat of Hariharalaya, first capital of Khmer Empire north of Tonlé Sap (as the
first capital in the strict sense of the term could have been Indrapura,
identifiable with Banteay Prey Nokor.
Among the "Roluos Group" of temples there are
some of the earliest permanent structures built by Khmer. They mark the
beginning of classical period of Khmer civilization, dating from the late 9th
century. Some were totally built with bricks, others partially with laterite or
sandstone (the first large angkorian temple built with sandstone was possibly
Ta Keo)
At present it is composed by three major temples: Bakong,
Lolei, and Preah Ko, along with tiny Prasat Prei Monti. At both Bakong and
Lolei there are contemporary Theravada buddhist monasteries.
Bakong Temple
Bakong Temple
thank you all for stopping by and viewing the post...
xxx
