Mechrey Floating Village
The next part of the excursion went along a rough track to lake Tonlé Sap. I went with Eric from http://photocambodia.net In June, the distance to the floating village was even longer as the water levels are so low. It seems clear that the dams on the Mekong river have reduced the level of water in the lake. Not only that, but the lake used to full up and spread out in the wet season, then flow back into the Mekong in the dry season. The fish relied on the flow of water to sustain their breeding habitat. Now there are fewer fish in the lake because this ebb and flow is much reduced. Of course, the rising population of people means that there is an increased need for protein and this puts further pressure on the fish populations in the lake. We rode in a little boat down the canal and eventually came to some floating houses, a school, shops and even a diesel generator station for recharging car batteries. People use the batteries for lighting and watching TV at night. Every morning they bring the batteries back to the station to be recharged. The fishing village was very busy, little boats zooming around, some operated by young children, others paddled by women.
