Kampong Phluk

Kampong Phluk is a settlement on the Tonle Sap floodplain where the houses stand on wooden stilts six to eight metres high, and the reason is the lake itself: the Tonle Sap reverses its flow each monsoon when the Mekong backs up into it, and the water rises several metres, so the village spends part of the year standing in a lake and part standing absurdly high over dry ground with pigs and chickens underneath. Boats run from the road to the village and out through a flooded forest of mangrove-like trees where small paddled boats take visitors among the trunks. Fishing and shrimp drying are the work. It is less visited than Chong Kneas and feels more like a working place.

What you actually see

• The stilt houses - dwellings raised six to eight metres above the ground.
• The flooded forest - trees standing in water, paddled through by small boat.
• Fishing and drying - shrimp and fish worked along the village lanes.
• The seasonal contrast - lake or dry ground depending on the month.

When to go

September to December, after the monsoon, when the water is high and the village is genuinely in a lake; from March to May the ground is dry and boats cannot reach the village itself, which changes the trip completely.

Honest expectations

In the dry months boats cannot get in and the experience is much reduced. Fees are charged at several points and quoted high. The flooded-forest paddle is a separate charge and rowers expect tips. This is a poor working village and the tourism around it is uneven.

Nearby

Kampong Khleang lies east; Siem Reap is northwest.