Cambodia: Floating Village and Silk Farm

Floating Village

We spent our first day visiting the floating village located on Tonle Sap.  It is the largest freshwater lake in all of SE Asia.  The lake is unique in two ways.  The flow of the rivers feeding the lake changes direction twice a year and the lake portion expands and shrinks with the seasons.  Most of the year, the lake is around a meter deep and an area of 2,700 sq km.  However, when monsoon season approaches, the river portion, which connects to the Mekong River reverses its flow and the lake portion increases its area to 16,000 square km and its depth to nine meters, flooding nearby fields and forests and providing needed nutrients.  It is one of the most productive inland fisheries in the world.

A church in the village.  We had to leave for the airport at 4:00AM, so it made for a very long first day.  Perhaps because of that, we weren't that impressed with the floating village.  If you need to skip something this would be the thing.  

However, it was very interesting to see the countryside on the drive out to the floating village.  And we can now say we've visited Tonle Sap.  Cambodia, unfortunately, has been experiencing a lot of flooding recently.  The end of wet season is thankfully approaching. 

 Artisans d' Angkor

We stopped at a craftsman village.  Artisans d' Angkor was created to help the young rural population find work in their home villages by providing them with high-skilled training and a vocation from which they can earn a living.  It was created in 1998 and today it employs over 1,000 people.  This program/company has helped rural depopulation in Siem Reap surroundings.  

Silk Farm 

 Next stop-- the silk farm, which is also part of Artisans d' Angkor.  First, you have the little silk worms 

 who molt four times.  Then the worms enclose themselves in cocoons.  Each cocoon is a 'thread' of raw silk, 300 to 900 meters long. 

They boil the cocoons to prevent  them from releasing proteolytic enzymes, which cause the silk fibers to break down.  The boiling also makes the cocoons easier to unravel.  Often, the silkworm itself is eaten (Denise, I still can't believe you ate one!). 

 The thread is spun.  After which, the silk is dyed

and woven.  It's a pretty fascinating process.   I really enjoyed the visit here.  They have a nice gift shop too.

And finally you finish off the long day with a fresh big smoothie.