To visit Kompong Pluk is to step into another world; this remote village is home to the fabled bamboo skyscrapers and fascinating people. Its exploration is part of our journey on the mighty Tonle Sap lake, which was registered as a Unesco Biosphere Reserve in 1997. The area is home to many Cham communities living a "floating life" on the lake. Our trip takes us to two main villages in the area for an opportunity to chat with some villagers and learn more about the beauties and challenges of their uncommon lives.

DESTINATIONS

• Kompong Pluk and Kompong Khleang, two villages floating on the vast Tonle Sap lake
• Tonle Sap lake, its villages, and amazing locals

HIGHLIGHTS

• Explore the incredible floating community and amazing flooded forest
• Embark for a cruise on Tonle Sap lake to discover its floating villages

ITINERARY

[Day 1] Siem Reap – Kompong Phluk
Meals: lunch and dinner | Accommodation: homestay

Depart Siem Reap for a boat journey on the Tonle Sap Lake to Kompong Pluk. We enter this medieval floating village, where the houses stand atop stilts as much as seven to ten metres above the water. Everything lives on the water, pigs, dogs, crocodiles and people, all jockeying for space in this incredible floating community. We explore the amazing flooded forest here by dugout canoes and visit the local pagoda, nearby school and busy market, which during the rainy season is stranded high above the water-line. Alternatively, during the height of the dry season, parts of the village resemble a 'Wild-West frontier town' where the houses stand high above the village streets where the locals dry their fish and chillies under their houses.

Overnight in the floating village and meals on full board basis

[Day 2] Kompong Phluk – Kompong Khleang – Siem Reap
Meals: breakfast and lunch | Accommodation: N/A

After breakfast we travel south to one of the largest and least-visited villages on the Tonle Sap Lake. It has a population of about 10,000 people, all of whom make a living from the fishing industry. We explore the canals (wet season) or streets (dry season) of this incredible town. In the wet season, the houses appear to be floating, as water laps at the verandas, but in the dry season towering stilts are revealed, the houses almost like wooden skyscrapers. We visit one of the pagodas here, built on the site of an ancient temple, and see the wall paintings. We may also stop off to visit a house in the village to learn a little more about local life. We cruise into the open water of the great lake to see a small floating village and learn some more about this incredible natural flood barrier. Later we return to Siem Reap by boat or by road.

Note: This tour is possible from July to February only.

PRICE PER PERSON (Valid from 01/01/2013 to 31/12/2013)

Solo: $476
From 2 participants: $288
Single supplement: N/A

Group discount is available, please contact our sales staff at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir.

Included

• Accommodation with breakfast
• Drinking water during sightseeing
• Boat trip as specified
• Meals as specified
• Travel in an appropriate air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver
• The services of an experienced English-speaking guide
• All entrance fees

Not included

• International flight tickets and airport tax, currently $25 per person
• Visas, currently $20 per person
• Other meals
• Beverages, gratuities and personal expenses.
• Camera fees (if any)
• Surcharge in peak season (Christmas & New Year)
• Insurance