We visited this floating village near Siem Reap, Cambodia. It's a fishing village that houses a hundred or so people. All of the houses float on the water on bamboo rafts or big empty barrels. The kids of the area attend school on a big boat as well! They just hop onto their own little kayak boats and paddle on over. It was scary to see these little tiny babies and kids leaning over the water to wash dishes or play! I guess they all learn to swim at a young age in the village.
Instead of having one big store or market for the area, they have little 'convenient store' type boats that go house to house offering to sell all kinds of goods.
While we were in this town, we used the same Tuk Tuk (taxi) driver the whole time so we got to know him pretty well. He had learned lots of English from an Australian so he spoke in a perfect Aussie accent. He wanted us to see his family so he brought us to his village and welcomed us into his home one of the afternoons we were riding with him. He has six children and his wife and mother in law living in a 10x11ft house. While we were there we met some of the younger kids and he explained their schooling system to us. The kids can go to school for free from age 3-12. But after 12 they have to pay the teachers. So most of the children stop at that age and learn a trade instead of finishing their education. This little girl on the top right is his oldest daughter who got sponsored to attend an English school for $10 a month. He brought us to meet some of his sons at their school as well (pictured below with some classmates).
We visited a few other areas in his village then went back to his house before leaving. His wife stays home and sells foods from their house during the day and he offered for us to try some. He was so proud of it, we felt we should at least try it. Well, that is until we realized what it was. Then I took pictures while Spencer got a taste lol. Its a food that they say 'makes you stronger'. Warning: anytime someone tells you that its not a yummy food! ;) This is a duck egg that was taken and roasted in the sun right before it was to hatch. I wont go into detail here but even Spencer couldn't finish it. Good try babe, and thank you Mr. Poulock for the hospitality!
The local people were so amazing here! We met our new friend Banja in the picture above working at our hotel. He's been learning English for some time and was so excited to practice with us. On the last night of our time in Cambodia, he invited us to his home to meet his family and learn to cook a few local dishes. We had an amazing time learning a few words in Cambodia, trying new foods, seeing how the locals live, and making some new friends :). Sad to leave this beautiful place!
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