Kampong Phlouk

Since the decision has been made to extend our stay by another week in Siem Reap, like we did in Phnom Penh, we now have time for a detour to the Tonle Sap Lake. We decide to ride on a moped to Kampong Phlouk, located about 30 km from Siem Reap. We don’t expect much, as we have seen pictures on Google Maps beforehand: houses on dry land on five-meter-high stilts.

15 km east of Siem Reap, a road branches off from National Route 6 south to the lake. The wide road leads over a dam and through flooded fields until we are stopped at a ticket station: we can’t go to Kampong Phlouk, we need to take a boat instead. At least it’s only 22 US dollars per person. But since we are already here, we decide to go along with it. When you say A, you should also say B.

About a kilometer past the ticket station, we board a boat. Confusion arises again: we follow another couple onto one of the boats and are immediately waved back. Apparently, we have booked a private boat that will take us down the river to the lake.

What we didn’t know: we chose the best time of the year to visit Kampong Phlouk. The Tonle Sap River flows into the Mekong, which it joins in Phnom Penh. During the rainy season, however, the Tonle Sap changes direction, and the water flows from the Mekong to the lake, causing the lake to reach its highest level in early November - at the end of the rainy season - before it changes direction again.

Kampong Phlouk is underwater! The water level of the lake is four to five meters higher than in the photos we had seen. Beautiful! In Kampong Phlouk, we board a rowing boat at a lakeside restaurant, for which we pay another 11 US dollars. Everything seems very organized, very touristy. But once you’ve said B, you should also say C.

We are rowed through a flooded forest that resembles mangroves. The individual boats gradually disappear among the trees, creating a wonderfully fantastical atmosphere! At the lakeside restaurant, our boat waits to take us back to the main road.

By evening, we are left with a feeling of an entirely unexpected day, which was worth the extension by a week alone!