Cambodia – Siem Reap – November 12 – 17, 2002

Our last day in Siem Reap we got out onto the Tonle Sap lake, and saw some of the fishing families.

So what is a big cat doing in a fishing village on the water? He is in a zoo or sorts, a half dozen animals in tiny cages on display for the tourists who are taken out on the lake. The family who ran this souvenir shop/zoo had a child about 12 who spent all her time on the boat convincing tourists like us to buy more!

L This typical boat is paddled by hand, and provides most of the transportation for the family.

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Again, it seems that the children are the ones who are most affected by the poverty and lack of schools. There were two groups of fishing families living on boats in the Tonle Sap, Cambodian and Vietnamese, both in separate villages, and both with distinct architectural and cultural styles. It appeared to us that the Vietnamese were doing better had a higher standard of living.

The people do not have the same regard for animals that western countries have developed. This small leopard was in a cage just barely large enough to turn around, and was one of the most dejected animals we had ever seen, but the family was using it as a tourist draw and had a much better life as a result.

Is the tradeoff of animal rights for human living conditions acceptable?

What if you were the family that didn’t have enough to eat?

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