Sunday
Aug012010
Photo of the Day - Tonle Sap From Above
;)
Every year the Mekong River backs up and increases the size of Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Southeast Asia, from 2700 to 16000 square km. A prime breeding ground for fish, Tonle Sap is responsible for 75% of Cambodia's inland fish catch, and 60% of it's protein intake. Unfortunately, pollution (you can see in green), and planned dams along the Mekong threaten the lake, and the people who depend on it.
I was fortunate enough to travel along the shores of the lake, take a boat onto the lake, and also fly over in an ultralight aircraft to see it from all angles. This photo was taken from high above one of the floating villages.
August 1, 2010 by Dustin Main in Photo of the Day | tagged Cambodia, Floating Village, Lake, Tonle Sap | 6 Comments | Email Article 
Reader Comments (6)
Great shot Dustin. Brings back memories of a photo exhibition I went to a few years ago. Not sure if you know the work of Yann Arthus Bertrand who made the series 'Earth from Above', but your shot above is of the same quality.
This is fantastic! So since you said it was a floating village, I assume those houses are semi permanent? Or are they just boats with big roofs?
Dustin, this is indeed an amazing shot! How much did it cost for the ULA flight?
Regards,
David
This is a really striking photo (as almost all the ones on your site are)!
I remember this lake being a floating village, but this is quite impressive!
Absolutely stunning shot! Certainly beats the shots we got from the overpriced tourist boat (though you probably can't see the kids floating in plastic tubs with small pythons around their necks unless you enhance yours!)
Really great to meet you in Siem Reap and we'll continue to cheer you on long after we return to rainy Britain.
Simon and Jo
@Jason Wow thanks for the compliment. I just checked out the photos from that exhibit on his website http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org/ and they are amazing! Very inspiring.
@Erica More like houses than boats for sure. Some are on stilts, while some are on top of plastic containers that enable them to float above the water as it rises.
@David It cost me $145USD for 1 hour for the flight.
@Aaron Thanks! This will be part of a series on Tonle Sap.
@Simon & Jo Great to meet and chat with you two as well! I'm sure some of the other photos I'll post in this series will be familiar to you too :)