and like a painted church

upon a painted ocean.
Margie under the weather so Angkor Wat put on hold. A trip to Tonle Sap Lake was brought forward whilst M convalesced. The visit was to a huge floating village of 8000 Vietnamese fisher folk. The village moves to the shelter of a small river when the rain comes and the lake doubles in size. Water, which normally flows to the Mekong river, starts to flow in the opposite direction and the fish population starts to multiply. After a few months of no fishing, the village moves back to the lake as the waters recede. A unique location and very interesting - a good example of the continued build up of the Vietnamese population within Cambodia as Joe, our tour guide, explained with a touch of sadness.
Margie was well enough to join us for lunch but didn't eat, which was a shame as the food in the Madame Butterfly Restaurant was excellent. 
We had options after lunch but all agreed to visit the local Killing Field memorial on the outskirts of Siem Reap, where we heard of the atrocities of the Kmer Rouge from someone who had lost most of the members of his family as the result of Pol Pots regime. Joe was not alone. 3 million people died - 10% of the population. We found it difficult to take in the numbers and to understand what it had been like during those times. It is also hard to understand how the Cambodians can continue to be optimistic about the future when you hear of their weak economic position, their lack of confidence in their corrupt government and the slow creep of increasing influence of the Hanoi government. Still, they continue to smile and joke and talk about a better future for the next generation.