Kampong Khleang Floating Village, Cambodia.

Kampong Khleang Floating Village, Cambodia.

July 2020.

There are a number of fascinating floating villages peppered around Siem Reap province. Back in my 2015 SR days,I embarked on a half day trip to Kampong Phluk, one of the most popular villages with overseas visitors. Indeed seeing the remarkable stilted houses and observing people’s traditional lives had been a special experience that stayed with me.

This time around Sladja was keen on seeing a Cambodian floating fishing village herself. Not wanting to simply go back to Kampong Phluk, I got some advice from the city agency Ai Mei Travel and consequently settled on another floating community, Kampong Khleang.

Hiring a driver for the day, we made the 55km journey from central Siem Reap in just under an hour and a half. By this point we’d grown used to and had even become a little underwhelmed by the largely scorched landscape that rushed by our windows.

However, things livened up when, at last, we branched off into a series of twisty lanes before pulling up on a large stone square. Situated on the edge of a sleepy river, the square was home to a handful of wooden stilt houses and a large, striking pagoda.

Our arrival certainly raised some eyebrows among the locals. One man, leaning over the balcony of his impressive stilt house, shouted questions down to our driver. Who were we? Where did we come from? How come we hadn’t fled Cambodia, like all the other tourists? 

Kampong Khleang Floating Village, Cambodia.

We also found ourselves surrounded by a group of curious children and a scruffy dog. They whooped and cheered, they cried hello and in the case of one boy there was even a blown kiss. I guess not many people popped in that year during the tourism apocalypse of April, May, June and July.

They were particularly delighted when I treated them to a handful of change in Cambodian Riels. And didn’t waste any time whatsoever in scurrying off to a nearby store to buy candy and soda.

The village square sits on a hill overlooking the pretty river which provides local fishermen with access to Tonlé Sap Lake. I was surprised to learn that Kampong Khleang is the largest floating village in Siem Reap province. In fact, there are around ten thousand residents spread out across numerous huddled communities. Due to seasonal flooding, all the homes here are towering wooden stilt houses.

In the rainy season families concentrate on fishing for a living. In the dry season they turn their hands to farming. Fruit and veg is the order of the day, with an emphasis on snake beans and watermelon. Although our visit came during the rainy season (May to November), our driver explained how that year large sections of the river had dried up because of unusually low rainfall.

Siem Reap Province, Cambodia.

As a result, the locals had difficulties getting out onto the lake to fish. This lack of rainfall, along with the effects of COVID-19, had brought seriously tough times to Kampong Khleang. In addition to not being able to catch enough fish, they couldn’t earn money by taking us on a boat tour. This was a great pity for us too, as we wouldn’t get to experience one of the great joys of a visit to Kampong Khleang.

Normally, visitors can book village tours through Community First, a not-for-profit organisation that reinvests all income into local educational programs. Unfortunately, COVID forced them to close their doors in April 2020, though I’m happy to report they succeeded in reopening by early September.

With most of the river dried up and no boat tour possible, we made do with a self-guided stroll around the village. Following a dirt path towards the main street, we came across a couple of boat homes. They were tiny, with as many as six people living inside. I could only imagine how hot it was in there in 34 degree heat without air con, or even a fan.

From my very brief peek inside, I spied some toys, a small stove and bamboo mats for beds. As for calls of nature, residents share the two stone toilet blocks located at either end of the main street.

Kampong Khleang Floating Village.

The main street is huge! Much like the one at Kampong Phluk, there’s little to see except the stilt homes themselves. But of course it was a wonderful opportunity to meet the locals, though reactions to our presence were mixed. For the most part adults looked upon us suspiciously, while there was even an intense scowl from one mother cradling her baby from a balcony.

The children on the other hand continued to be overjoyed to see us. One tiny girl came pedalling over to Sladja and I on her giant bike. Upon reaching us she was happy just to grin, no exchange of words necessary.

This young boy also came out to greet us, his baby brother clutched in his hands. There was no sign of mom and dad. Another set of brothers were hanging out at home in their hammocks when we walked past. Upon spotting us they shot up with wide smiles and alert eyes. We exchanged some very basic introductions before they took the crumpled wedge of notes I gave them to a nearby barbecue vendor selling chicken skewers.

Next, we came upon a group of children dancing to some godawful techno music blasting out of a giant speaker. Registering our presence, one of the girls began ramping up her performance with flailing arms and legs. It was impossible not to clap and laugh along, even though the music made me want to tear my ears off.

Adventures in Siem Reap.

Elsewhere, we met a weaver working on a giant bamboo mat. A sizeable group of onlookers had gathered around to watch him. One of the young boys seemed to be in training. There were also a few elders with nothing better to do than sit and watch the whole thing unfold. Bamboo mats, I guessed, was at least one thing the villagers could get on with to generate some income during the pandemic.

I was fascinated by the weaving contraption, a hulking wooden beast embedded into the dirt. I figured it had been there a while and would probably remain right where it was until it began rotting.

Some of the bamboo mats they make serve as beds for the villagers, as we’d seen in the boat home. Locals also lay them out along the streets to dry shrimp in the afternoon sunshine. This is a common sight in all floating villages across Siem Reap province.

Several side alleys running off the main Street lead down to the river. Here, we found a few families pottering around on their boats. These two women and their children were about to set off down the river, perhaps in an attempt to reach the lake. They waved and smiled at us, happily posing for a photo.

Kampong Khleang Floating Village.

Kampong Khleang may not have delivered what we’d been expecting, but I’m really glad we found the time to squeeze it in. This was our last Siem Reap day trip before relocating to the city of Kampot. As swan songs go, we could have done much worse.

Like this? Check out more travel reports from Siem Reap.

Or maybe delve further afield with my articles from across Cambodia.

I’ve been living, working and traveling all over the world since 2001. So why not check out my huge library of travel reports from over 30 countries.