Along the Siem Reap river towards Tonle Sap lake, and into the lake, are floating villages.  This is a floating school, which moves locations as the lake swells and ebbs with the rainy seasons. 

The inhabitants are nomadic within the lake’s confines. Tonle Sap is the largest body of fresh water in SE Asia.  During the rainy season, the Mekong River flows into the lake, swelling it from 2,500 km sq. to 13,000 km sq.; raising the depth from 2.2m to 10m. In the dry season, the flow of the river reverses and the lake drains into the Mekong river, taking with it much fish and nutrients. The Tonle Sap river is basically a canal, connecting the Lake with the Mekong.

In the flooded season, the lake covers much forested area.  This is a fertile breeding ground for freshwater fish, and Tonle Sap provides much of the fish for the entire Mekong River, providing protein for the local Mekong peoples all the way up to China

(Photograph courtesy of Kath!)