The river is still really flooded and more is supposed to be coming! So we took this opportunity to go over by boat and see the old Wooden Pagoda - Wat Moha Leap - it is one of the last remaining wooden viharas in Kampong Cham province.
As we were going with the current on the way there it only took about an hour - it was great to see everything from the river - as it was flooded we wound our way through lots of islands that had been created by the flooding.
Many houses were flooded and only access to them in the wet season is by boat. I think the strangest sight was going past a flooded Pagoda and seeing the young monks getting around by boats as well.
We had arranged for everyone to bring something along to eat and share and so we had a great picnic just before we arrived at our destination.
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| Young monks getting around the Pagoda |
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| Sleeping quarters for the monks |
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| Flooded gates to a Pagoda |
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| The pink points you can see just on the water line are the top of a 6ft fence! |
Wat Moha Leap is beautiful and even more so at the moment, as everything is decorated more than usual due to Pncum Ben(national holiday), so flags and 'bunting' of all kinds were out at all the pagodas on the way.
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| First sight of Wat Moha Leap from the boat |
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| Bunting Cambodian style |
Wat Moha Leap's vihara was built more than 200 years ago and is constructed with a completely wooden interior including giant teak supporting pillars and wooded walls & ceiling. The teak pillars are decorated in beautiful black and gold paintings and the ceiling is painted with an assortment of Buddhist stories. It is still standing as it was miraculously not destroyed by the Khmer Rouge due to the fact that it was used as a hospital.
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| Wat Moha Leap |
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| Outside of the Pagoda with the shutters closed |
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| Tiled floor of the Pagoda |
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| roof |
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| Painted Ceilings |
Amazing pics Jane - just out of interest - did you see any big snakes in the water? Rx
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