Floating Village of Kompong Chnnang

Every year the village of Kompong Chnnang in Cambodia is flooded by the monsoon. While you will find many houses along the river on stilts to attempt to escape the water, the floating village is employing a permanent and elegant solution. As the name suggests it simply floats on top of the river. Visiting Kompong Chnnang means navigating rows of small houses in a small boat and catching glimpses of the fascinating life on the river.

I wonder what growing up in a floating village is like.

Classic boat at Kompong Chnnang, I presume most boys can drive this boat from very young.

A glimpse of life in a floating house. Electricity is provided by a web of cables from the mainland.

Part of land based village is seen here, park anywhere you like.

Smoked fish is a large food and income source and this scene is typical at every hut we passed. The smell is quite overwhelming on this very warm and humid day.

Visiting Kompong Chnnang was overwhelming from the sheer fact of everything. The people, sounds, smells and action all around me while trying to make visual sense of it and compose a picture in the midday heat was an overload of the senses requiring a lot of energy. It is one fascinating overload and I would wish to spend at least a full day here from sun-up to sun-down. Like everywhere Nathan Horton and I went in Cambodia, the people were very warm, smiling and welcoming and happy to have me pointing me camera at them. I find experiencing and documenting everyday life in it’s many different forms very exciting, from Copenhagen to Borneo to Papua New Guinea and Australia and everywhere in between. Kompong Chnnang is a fascinating chapter in the story of how we live on our planet.

Flemming