noelle o designs

creativity + sewing + upcycling inspiration

design, life, travel

Cambodian floating village

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We visited the floating village on Sunday, about an hour drive from Pursat, I don’t know the name of the village. The people who live here are descendants of the Vietnamese soldiers who came in the 1970′s to fight the Khmer Rouge, stuck around and intermarried with the Cambodians. What.an.experience. The sights and the smells were overwhelming. I think I took a thousand pictures.

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The water is filthy as you can see, but that doesn’t seem to bother anyone. Everyone in this country seems to happily go about their lives making the best with what they’ve got, which isn’t much. I feel a deep respect for Buddism and it’s teachings of doing good, karma and having ‘peaceful feelings’, as I’ve heard the Cambodians describe it.

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The brightly painted houses, painting details on the eaves, potted plants on decks, laundry hanging on the line- I couldn’t get enough of the tiny details.

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The people are always so friendly- smiling and waving and making you feel like a celebrity.

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This is the first Christian church I’ve seen in this country, and the first floating Christian church I’ve ever seen. Church-goers are still kneeling like Buddists- old habits die hard.

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We got lots of baby waves as we motored past- the best kind of waving.

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One of many paddling peddlers making their rounds.

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Pig head with brains laying next to the head for sale. I don’t know what’s safer to eat- the pig head laying in the sweltering heat or a fish dredged up from below the murky water?

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The bathroom, as you can see, is simply two planks just over the water. The same water you bathe in, live in and I hope not drink and cook with- but I’m not entirely sure.

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