Arun Baliga@Travellers Point

Date of Visit: 17th Jan 2012 (Half-Day: Morning to Afternoon)
Traveled as: Family

Tonle Sap Lake

The Tonle Sap Lake (Khmer equivalent of 'Great Lake') is very prominent on the map of Cambodia. It is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and a UNESCO Biosphere reserve (the only one in Cambodia). The lake is connected to the Mekong River through the Tonle Sap River. The Lake is around 160 km long and 32 km wide. During the dry season, the lake is fairly small with an area of around 3000 sq.km. However, during the monsoons in June, its area expands to as much as 16000 sq.km flooding the nearby forests and fields. This contributes greatly to the fertility of the nearby fields and becomes a great breeding ground for fish. No doubt, the Tonle Sap contributes to around 75% of Cambodian inland fish production.

Chong Khneas Floating Village
The Chong Khneas is one among the many floating villages built on the edges of the Tonle Sap Lake. This is the closest one from Siem Reap town (around 16km) and the most touristed.

Since I had kept only half a day for a trip to the Tonle Sap lake and I didnt have sufficient information to go for an own excursion to the lake, I chose a local tour package from Tara River Boat (http://www.taraboat.com/). A half day tour from them cost us 27 USD/person (inclusive of hotel drop/pickup and lunch). The car picked us promptly from our hotel at 8am and we reached the Government checkpoint near the Chong Khneas floating Village (around 16km from the Siem Reap town). After passing through the checkpoint, we boarded a smaller boat from the jetty which took us through the Chong Khneas floating village. The village is said to be inhabited by more than 7000 people (mostly Khmer and Vietnamese) most of whom are engaged in fishing. Apart from the floating houses, you will find a floating Catholic Church, Basketball court, a school, a restaurant cum shop with a crocodile farm and people on boats either selling vegetables or merchandise and some kids even with snakes (making money from tourists from photo souvenirs).

We finally boarded the larger Tara Boat which is a stationary boat on the edge of the village with a great view of the massive Tonle Sap lake, the village and the flooded forests. We were served an early lunch around 10:30am. We left the Tara boat around 11:30am and were dropped at the hotel around noon. Overall the trip was very relaxing after a full day tour of the Angkor Archaeological Park the previous day and gave us an insight into the local Cambodian life.

Flight related information:
There is currently no direct flight connectivity between India and Siem Reap. The fastest and most inexpensive way to fly to Siem Reap is via transit through Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport). Bangkok Airways operates 5 flights on everyday of the week and is the only air carrier connecting Thailand with Siem Reap. Another option is via Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Budget carrier Air Asia has a daily flight whereas the full service carrier Malaysia Airlines operates 3 flights per week (Sun, Wed & Fri - each returning the same day). However, do note that Air Asia operates from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) whereas Malaysian national carrier operates from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Don't worry about moving between these 2 airports though. There is a fast automated train linking the two.

Superfast connectivity between LCCT and KLIA

Another possible way is via Singapore (through the Singapore Airlines subsidiary Silk Air and the budget carrier Jet star). However, the Singapore option is more expensive than Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur if travelling from India.

We chose Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia Airlines) for our transit.

On Transit @ KLIA

On Transit @ KLIA

On Transit @ KLIA

On Transit @ KLIA

On Transit @ KLIA

On Transit @ KLIA

Information on Cambodia E-Visa:
For Cambodian visa, you have 3 options - apply via the embassy, e-Visa or Visa-on-arrival.
a) Embassy: If applying from India, the Cambodian Embassy is located in New Delhi and there are no consulates in any other Indian city. Tourist visa charge is INR 1800/person. It takes 4-5 working days for processing. So, this option is expensive as far as cost is concerned and time consuming too.

b) Visa-on-Arrival: If flying to Cambodia, visa on arrival is available at the International Airport in Siem Reap as well as the one in Phnom Penh. Visa charge = 20 USD/person. This is the most inexpensive option. After arrival, you can go straight to the visa-on-arrival counter, fill up the form and get a tourist visa. There are enough counters in Siem Reap Airport and I haven't observed any long queues when I visited. However, I had used the e-Visa option for my travel since that will ensure that you have a visa before you arrive and you can go straight to the e-Visa (also acts as the immigration) counter.

c) e-Visa: e-Visa can be applied from the Cambodian Government website: .The visa charge is 25 USD/person and you get the visa within 3 days via email (I got mine the very next day). Take at least a couple of printouts of the e-visa (note: It is not necessary to stick/staple the visa to your passport). Validity is 3 months for the visa with length of stay being 30 days. On arrival at Siem Reap Airport, go straight to the e-visa counter (which also serves as the immigration counter), provide your passport and the e-Visa printout. Keep your hotel booking confirmation (if any) and return flight ticket handy incase it is demanded. However, no such documents were asked in my case. A scan of both your palms is done at the counter (and you need to do the same when you exit). And after that, just collect your bags and exit the airport.

There is no need to carry any Cambodian Riels as part of your forex since USD is the defacto currency in Siem Reap.

The airport (IATA code: REP) is fairly small but neat and beautifully built based on Khmer architecture and not crowded. There are taxis as well as tuk-tuks available outside the airport. Taxis charge around 8-10 USDs to go to the town whereas the tuk tuk charge is around 5 USD. There are no meters and a flat rate system exists for the standard routes. You can however pre-book your transfer with the hotel at similar rates.

Siem Reap International Airport

Siem Reap International Airport

Siem Reap International Airport

Siem Reap International Airport

-- Arun Baliga
Date of travel: 15th January 2012
Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia