The tall houses
Long stairs and colour.
Bahnfrend — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Radek Kucharski — CC BY 2.0 · Bahnfrend — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bahnfrend — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Radek Kucharski — CC BY 2.0
Kampong Khleang is a large village on the shore of Tonle Sap Lake, with houses standing on tall timber stilts above the ground. Sources describe it as one of the lake's largest communities and more remote and less visited than villages closer to Siem Reap. It is a good place to see lake life in a village lived in all year round. The village changes with the water. Tonle Sap rises greatly in the rainy season, when water comes close to the houses and life moves by boat, then it falls in the dry season, exposing the tall stilts beside a dirt road. Everything here adapts to this yearly rhythm. A red dirt road runs between colourful wooden houses with long staircases, passing a small temple and food stalls. From the landing you board a wooden boat through green plants to the flooded forest, where trees rise from the water and clouds are mirrored on the surface. The light is finest in the last hours of the day. It is about 41 km in a straight line from Siem Reap. The easiest way is a tour from the city that includes car and boat. The best time depends on what you want: high water in autumn or exposed stilts in spring. This is a real village, so ask before photographing people, do not enter homes without an invitation, dress modestly and buy from local people.
Long stairs and colour.
Trees rising from water.
Green plants and a wide sky.
Shore of Tonle Sap Lake, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia
Water rises in the rains and falls in the dry season, changing how the village looks, so choose what suits you.
Yes, and sources describe it as less visited and larger than villages closer to Siem Reap.