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So, I finally got out of Phnom Penh and up to Kampong Thom, the capital of the province of the same name. I am eyeballing villages west of town out on the floodplain as sites for the research project. So, I spent a few days poking around on the motorbike, rolling through villages and nearly getting lost out on the floodplain itself.

Those palms pictured above are sugar or toddy palms (ដើមត្នោត, Borassus flabellifer L.)– sources of sap which is cooked down into sugar or consumed fresh or fermented. And their fruits are tasty too. Notice how some of the crowns around not all round and fluffy? The leaves are also collected and used for construction materials and fuel.

It was a lot of fun riding, out on really sand roads amongst the deepwater rice fields. The going was a little tricky sometimes.

There were a variety of other habitats, in addition to the deepwater rice fields themselves — shrubs, tall grass, short grass and seasonal ponds. Many areas had been burnt, like the dried-up seasonal pond above, in preparation for planting. I did not get close enough to the Tonle Sap to run into any forest, as I only got about 8km from the nearest village before I decided that I ought to turn back since I was not exactly sure where the road was heading. Plus, I had an afternoon appointment. And, most importantly, it was lunchtime.

Many areas showed evidence of more advanced soil preparations, including plowing. Pictured here, field boundaries are marked in advance of other operations. Out here, fields are very large so generally farmers depend upon large, rented tractors to get their land ready in time. We have already had a little rain, so the soil is starting to soften up. This marks the begining of the soil preparation phase of deepwater rice production.  Planting usually starts after the Khmer New Year in mid-April.

The floodplain is also very important for livestock. There were a number of herds of cattle and water buffalo, varying in size from a handful of animals to one hundred or more.  I really saw only a couple of people out there the whole time– just the herd boys out with the livestock.  I am looking forward to getting out there again soon, and actually talking to some farmers about what they are up to.