A woman prepares to do some laundry in the river. Here in Kompong Phluk, where homes are built on the banks of the Tonle Sap River, which floods annually, you can find people in all sorts of daily activities related to the river – fishing, mending nets, doing laundry.
The Tonle Sap River and Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater body of water in Southeast Asia, are home to a diversity of cultures and wildlife. These boats provide transportation for both villagers and visitors to the Khmer stilt-pole villages at Kampong Phluk. Tonle Sap was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1997. It is one of the largest concentrations of fisheries in the world and about 90 percent of the population in the area of the lake and river make a living fishing. Homes are built on poles or floating pontoons as the river rises dramatically in monsoon season.