Where is the Tonle Sap and the Sangke River?

Floating Community Centre

The Tonlé Sap is the vast lake in Cambodia and The Tonle Sap is the largest lake in southeast Asia. In Cambodian its name means “Large Fresh Water River,” but it is more commonly translated as “Great Lake”) It is a combined lake and river system of huge importance to Cambodia. Julie Wilson writes of her trip to this region in Cambodia.

One of my favourite days was travelling up the Sangke River into the Tonle Sap Lake on our way to Siam Reap (the town near the Angkor Wat temple complex). We started our river journey from Battenbang. Our long boat was just one of many watercraft on river – all long and narrow and paddled or with tiny motors.

Floating Pig Pen

Our boat followed the Sangke as it meandered north for hours – the riverbank always dotted with interesting small settlements of two or three houses on either side along its length. After around 4 hours of serene travelling the river widened out, and then began to widened out again and again until it became a vast delta. And imperceptibly the delta became a vast and beautiful lake – the Tonle Sap Lake. Now dotted with waterlilies and low long pieces of ground almost level with the water and covered with lush green vegetation and even small trees.

We passed whole villages of four to eight houses either on tall silts of five or six meters high or, even more fascinating, floating on bamboo rafts. The floating settlements of houses all on rafts were so picturesque. Each house was floating on each own bamboo raft. And not only houses but small sheds, vegetable patches, chicken coups and pig pens – each on its own bamboo raft base and linked by a rope to a house.

As our long narrow boat travelled on up into the great lake we went through small floating towns – shops, community halls, schools, and school playgrounds were all floating on their own raft. Truly a beautiful and amazing sight.

So if you get the chance, I highly highly recommend that you include the river journey on the Sangke from Battenbang to Siam Reap as a travel destination to Cambodia. I loved it! For me it was, with the temples, the highlight of the trip and such a relaxing and enchanting way to travel too.

Cambodia (Country Guide)

Map

TravelTipsPlus Google Map of the Sangke River

One Great Reason to Visit the Sanke River and Tonle Sap Lake

One great reason to visit this travel destination is to view the communities living upon the water. Houses on stilts or floating out on the water on bamboo rafts. Fascinating!

Tonle Sap, Cambodia

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I was having a cuppa and whilst staring at the fridge (as you do!), I realised a blog post was staring right at me! Our fridge is always covered in at least one post card and the children’s school work. At the moment the fridge is donned with three postcards from family and friends who have recently visited Egypt, Italy and the Alps in France. Just don’t look too closely at the postcard from Egypt! 😉 We also have a collection of fridge magnets from various places, holding both the postcards & school work in place. In the center of the photo, you’ll see a map magnet of Melbourne (my home town), this was a gift from my gorgeous Twitter, travel buddy Linda Fairbairn at Journey Jottings. Her products will be featuring in a post dedicated just for them. Her travel journals, map magnets and other products are fabulous for anyone on a trip to an Australian destination.

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Travel Tips Plus’ very first blog post was made on the 19 June 2009. The dream, travel destination was Hurghada, Egypt and the format remains much the same today as when I first started. A total of 105 destination posts have been made covering each of the continents and a further 17 posts for the General and Travel Tips Categories.

More recently, I found people were sharing travel photographs and international music with me, and this resulted in the introduction of Categories Travel Photography and Travel Music. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time blogging and sharing travel experiences in one centralised location. I have also gained much from it, often having destinations suggested to me which I have never heard of! Who would have thought? I often consider myself well travelled and being a lover of maps and atlases, my knowledge of geography is pretty good and so when I discover a new travel destination, I’ve not heard of, it is quite exciting. I wonder what places I will learn of and have to share in the year to come?

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