Tonle Sap Lake and Kampong Phluk Half-Day Tours from Siem Reap (4-5h)

近距離觀看洞里薩湖居民另一種生活型態的生活，水上的學校、寺院、住家，並且踏上他們村落的學校和寺院參觀，學生對於我們的來訪並不怕生，可能已經習慣外來者的參觀。Vichet 導遊很認真的導覽與講述背景，是個推薦的行程

Vichet is a good guide. Vichet 很認真講解。除了去湖之外，也帶我們參觀當地水上居民的學校，熱情的幫我們拍照。 遇到兜售課本的當地人也跟我們說不需要買，讓我們不用有壓力。

What an awesome morning. This was an insight into the real Cambodia - interesting, exiting and heartbreaking in equal measure. Lonh, our guide, was truly superb and really made the experience for us. Would recommend this trip to anyone with a spare day to spend in Siem Reap after visiting Angkor.

chin was amazing ! He was very informative and helped us through the tor. He was very kind and even offered to snap pictures of us. He was very knowledgeable and kept us informed throughout our entire trip and answered all the questions we had. Would definitely recommend this tour to everyone visiting cambodia.

We had a fun half-day with Vichet who was very knowledgeable and kind. Vichet even brought us to a lotus farm and a shop that sells silk and silver products although it was not on the itinerary. Throughout the entire trip, he explained about everything and anything. We have learned a lot from it. We will definitely recommend him and this tour to our family and friends :-)

The tour picks people up between 7am-8am so you need to be ready in case your the first pick-up of the day. It’s about an hour drive from Siem Reap and there’s no breakfast provided and our guide (Barang) was sure to ask that everybody ate beforehand. During the drive, Barang talked a little about the culture and history of Cambodia as well as what to expect during the tour. When we arrived at the end of the road, there was a little walk to the boat. If your there during the rainy season make sure you wear boots you done mind getting dirty. By the time we got to the boat everyone’s shoes had thick red clay mud caked on the bottom. We all had to scrap the mud off before trying to walk down the ramp to board the boat. The boat ride is obviously the best part as you’re going through the ‘floating village’. Barang tried to talk about the village as we went but the boat engine is really loud making it impossible to hear anything he was saying. You eventually get the a floating dock where you can do the optional boat ride through the mangrove trees. If you choose to take the ride, about 50 yards into the ride you will turn a corner to find a fleet of other boats selling food and drinks. We hadn’t brought a lot of money and were planning to use what we had to tip the woman padding the boat. However, the sales woman was pretty aggressive so when we initially declined she responded that we should buy something for the woman paddling the boat. When we declined again she told us to ‘think of the children’ and we should buy something for them. If we had brought more money, we would have caved. But the woman padding the boat had her son seating in her lap the entire time (as did a lot of the other women) and we decided we wanted to tip her. Just make sure you have a couple extra dollars if you plan on doing this option since they really do need the money. The rest of the ride through the mangroves was very nice. After the ride through the mangroves, Barang tried talking to everyone but there are constantly boats coming and going which again made it impossible to hear him. After getting back on the our boat, we arrived at the alligator farm which wasn’t much to look at. It was then back on the boat to go back through the floating village to the van and back to Siem Reap. It’s an interesting trip but nothing spectacular.

Just when you think that Cambodia could not get any more beautiful, enter Kompong Phluk. Kompong Phluk is a colorful, floating fishing village outside of Siem Reap. Our tour guide, Vanlonh, captured our hearts from the very start. Vanlonh is warm and charming with an infectious smile. He takes great pride in his job and it shows he is a stand out among other tour guides. Our boat ride to Kompong Phluk on Tonle Sap Lake was picturesque and relaxing. Upon arriving at Kompong Phluk, we were met with smiling faces. The townspeople are very welcoming. In fact, I happened upon a one-room schoolhouse where elementary school-aged children were busy learning. The teacher noticed me and invited me in to speak with his students in English. Their command of the English language was impressive...far and away better than my Khmer. : Opt in on the canoe ride through the mangrove fields. It was easily the highlight of our day. Our canoe had the most adorable little copilot he smiled and played as his mother navigated us through the mangroves. What a treat!

We enjoyed the trip out, and a break from the other sites around Angkor Wat. The boat ride is pleasant, and it was interesting to see the floating village, it is the first time I have visited something like this, but guess that if you have seen one before this might not be the tour for you. We took up the option of an additional boat trip around the fresh water mangrove for $5, which again was enjoyable, but nothing out of the ordinary happens. We stopped on the way back to visit the Buddhist temple in the village, but I would have liked to have the chance to see something such as a school, or poke our noses around a typical house etc to learn a bit more about the way of life in the village.

I booked this as a last minute decision and very glad I did. This is one of the best value tours I’ve been on. I was picked up from my hotel and then to the tourist office. We then headed off to the lake. The guide provided a running commentary on the importance of the lake and a bit of background on the village we visited. The additional cost tour in a small canoe was well worth it. Had a great group from all papers of the world. I was lucky to share my canoe with a young women from Israel. One of the real benefits of such a trip is besides visiting a great location and interacting with locals you also meet fellow travellers. So for me this was a fantastic tour.