Floating Villages of Cambodia: Kompong Phluk

I spent about a week in Cambodia, most of it seeing Angkor Wat and Siem Reap, but no place quite fascinated me like the floating villages of Kompong Phluk. By my third day in Cambodia, I had grown tired of seeing temples and wanted to see something different. I told my driver I wanted to see some rural areas outside of the city and he recommended the floating villages of Kompong Phluk. From the city center, it was a bit of a drive by tuk-tuk, but nothing too bad. He dropped me off at the dock and I purchased a ticket for the boat for about $20.

To my surprise, I was the only tourist in sight that day. Once I got my ticket, I boarded a boat with two drivers and began cruising along the river. Minutes later, we began to pass actual houses on the water, which I found incredibly fascinating seeing how I had never seen anything like that before. Everything was on the water, houses, schools, stores, etc. Imagine that, going to school or your friend’s house by boat everyday.

The houses looked so fragile, I was amazed how bamboo could hold so much weight.

In spite of the grave poverty, the residents of the village seemed happy and content with their life. I could see tons of happy children playing in the water as I passed by. Usually, places like this garner a lot of sympathy from travelers, but I actually felt happy for the people. Sure, they didn’t live in luxurious houses, have the latest iPhone, and cars to drive in, but the people looked happy. Isn’t that what we all strive for at the end of the day anyway?