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river in Laos and Cambodia
rising in the Annamitique Mountains in central Vietnam southwest
of Hue. It flows between the Bolovens Plateau of southern Laos
and the mountains in a southwesterly direction for 300 miles (480
km), picking up the Sou and Kamane tributaries at Muong May. Entering
Cambodia east of the Mekong River, it continues southwestward
across the northern Cambodian plateau and is joined by the San
River just east of Stœng Trêng, where it joins the Mekong.
The Mekong
River and Tonle Sap Lake is the home to hundreds of thousands
of Cambodians. Living in shacks built on stilts or floats they
live far below what we would think of as the poverty level. No
electricity, no clean fresh water, the alligators and poisonous
snakes, they all share the life and disease the river gives as
an oasis from the dense jungle surrounding them. The
River becomes the recipient of the processes of their living,
they bathe in it, are born on it, and die on it. The heat is suffering,
children in their innocence splash and play naked everywhere to
escape it. Adults cover from head to toe to escape the sun and
insects trying to feed on them. Still they ply the muddy brown
waters in search of fish, debris or anything they can find to
sell to bring home some food. There is no stress here from traffic
jams, plunging stock markets or dropped Internet connections.
Survival is from day to day, happiness is spontaneous, simple,
and fleeting. Yet I received more friendly smiles and waves from
these people than from any government official I met while in
Cambodia. I witnessed police in Phnom Penh from my hotel window
shaking down poor street vendors for money in the early morning
hours while they set up their stalls. Never once did I see anyone
on the river do this to their fellow River Dwellers. It was a
great opportunity to witness the human spirit under such harsh
conditions.Except
for the smaller rivers in the southeast, most of the major rivers
and river systems in Cambodia drain into the Tonle Sap or into
the Mekong River. The Cardamom Mountains and Elephant Range form
a separate drainage divide. To the east the rivers flow into the
Tonle Sap, while on the west they flow into the Gulf of Thailand.
Toward the southern end of the Elephant Mountains, however, because
of the topography, some small rivers flow southward on the eastern
side of the divide. The
Mekong River in Cambodia flows southward from the CambodiaLaos
border to a point below Kracheh city, where it turns west for
about 50 kilometers and then turns southwest to Phnom Penh. Extensive
rapids run above Kracheh city. From Kampong Cham the gradient
slopes very gently, and inundation of areas along the river occurs
at flood stage--June through November--through breaks in the natural
levees that have built up along its course. At Phnom Penh four
major water courses meet at a point called the Chattomukh (Four
Faces). The Mekong River flows in from the northeast and the Tonle
Sab--a river emanating from the Tonle Sap--flows in from the northwest.
They divide into two parallel channels, the Mekong River proper
and the Basak River, and flow independently through the delta
areas of Cambodia and Vietnam to the South China Sea. The
flow of water into the Tonle Sab is seasonal. In September or
in October, the flow of the Mekong River, fed by monsoon rains,
increases to a point where its outlets through the delta cannot
handle the enormous volume of water. At this point, the water
pushes northward up the Tonle Sab and empties into the Tonle Sap,
thereby increasing the size of the lake
from about 2,590 square kilometers to about 24,605 square kilometers
at the height of the flooding. After the Mekong's waters crest--when
its downstream channels can handle the volume of water--the flow
reverses, and water flows out of the engorged lake. As
the level of the Tonle Sap retreats, it deposits a new layer of
sediment. The annual flooding, combined with poor drainage immediately
around the lake, transforms the surrounding area into marshlands
unusable for agricultural purposes during the dry season. The
sediment deposited into the lake during the Mekong's flood stage
appears to be greater than the quantity carried away later by
the Tonle Sab River. Gradual silting of the lake would seem to
be occurring; during low-water level, it is only about 1.5 meters
deep, while at flood stage it is between 10 and 15 meters deep.
The Tonlé
Sap (meaning Large Fresh Water River but more commonly translated
as Great Lake) is a combined lake and river system of huge importance
to Cambodia. It is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia
and is an ecological hotspot that was designated as an UNESCO
biosphere in 1997.
An old
man rows a boat on the Tonle Sap Lake in CambodiaFor
most of the year the lake is fairly small, around one meter deep
and with an area of 2,700 square km. During the monsoon season,
however, the Tonle Sap river which connects the lake with the
Mekong river reverses its flow. Water is pushed up from the Mekong
into the lake, increasing its area to 16,000 square km and its
depth to up to nine meters, flooding nearby fields and forests.
This provides a perfect breeding ground for fish and makes the
Tonle Sap ecosystem one of the most productive inland fisheries
in the world, supporting over 3 million people and providing over
75% of Cambodia's annual inland fish catch and 60% of the Cambodians'
protein intake. At the end of the rainy season, the flow reverses
and the fish are carried downriver.The
receding waters also leave nutrient rich deposits of sediment
in the surrounding area creating prime agricultural land for the
rest of the year.The
reversal of the Tonle Sap river's flow also acts as a safety valve
to prevent flooding further downstream.The
lake occupies a depression created due to the geological stress
induced by the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia.
Leaving Siem
Reap by route 6 in the direction of Sisophon towards the north-west,
a branch in the road to the right after 12 kilometres, leading
north, takes one in 500 metres to the south-west corner of the
western baray. The view on arriving at this vast artificial lake
is superb, particularly at the end of the day. The entire expanse
of water is contained within a levee of earth which forms a dike,
shaded by large trees and with the forest of Angkor as its backdrop
- set against which is the verdant foliage of the western Mebon
at its centre, with Phnom Bakheng off to the right. In the distance,
Phnom Bok stands out in silhouette from the long line of the Kulen
hills which bar the horizon. At sunset the whole is coloured in
sweet pastel tones.The
baray forms a vast rectangle of 8 kilometres by 2. At its present
level, the water only covers its western two thirds with, in places,
depths of 4 and 5 metres - the remainder having been turned to
rice fields. The water is quite clear, and the gently sloping
sandy bottom allows very pleasant bathing - though one should
always beware of the weeds that sometimes grow at some distance
from the bank. Previously
filled only by the rains, it is now, since the construction of
a barrage on the Stung Siem Reap not far from the temple of Ta
Nei, replenished by a system of channels which make use of the
north and part of the west moats of Angkor Thom.To
judge by the small temple of the western Mebon which marks the
centre - in the same style as the Baphuon - the baray must have
been realised in the 11th century, with its eastern dike corresponding
to the western limit of "Yasodharapura", the first Angkor
centred on Phnom Bakheng. It is, to the west of Angkor Thom, the
replica of the eastern baray that is similar in size and was excavated
to the east of the capital towards the end of the 9th century,
during the reign of Yasovarman.Traces
of ancient pathways and the remains of buildings found in the
baray - the bases of walls and the jamb stones of openings, brick
steps, the remains of tiles and pots and copper jewellery - show
that before the formation of the lake the region must have been
inhabited. An eighth century stele (713) has been discovered,
defining the rice fields offered
to a certain queen Jayadevi, who seems to have been a daughter
of Jayavarman I. The discovery of some pieces of sculpture - pedestals,
a large statue of a badly decayed dvarapala and an exceptionally
large round colonnette in primitive style - also shows that at
least one important sanctuary was submerged which must have belonged
to the "city of the baray" of Jayavarman II (9th century),
investigated by Philip Stern.Some
think that the western baray, perhaps linked with the Great Lake
by canal, could have served as a port for royal barges - besides
its function as an immense reservoir and fishpond. On occasion,
it has also provided an excellent landing strip for sea-planes. |
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