Places on my Island Homeland

Google Earth Map

This is satellite image of the northern tip of my homeland island. Put your mouse on any picture to make it bigger and to see the details. On this map there are two small yellow points. The lower point is my house, and the upper point is the chapel where the ferry arrives. My island is named "Khok Kchach Tunlear". It is a small island. If we spent two and a half hours with a bicycle, we could travel all around the island. The Bassac river surrounds the whole island. This river is a major tributary of the Mekong river, and it begins just south of Phnom Penh. I have been living on this island for 18 years.

The Ferry

This is a picture of a ferry that everyone must take to come to our island. You must pay 300 riel for one person, which is about 10 cents USD. I needed to use this ferry every school day for 6 years went I needed to go to secondary school and high school. When the dry season comes, the river getting small, and it does not take a long time to cross. When it is the rainy season, it takes a bit longer, because the river is wider than during the dry season. This picture shows the ferry during the wet season. It is waiting for the people on the other side of the river, before it departs for our island.

The Ferry

This is another picture of the ferry as it is about to leave our island. It is the dry season, and people are getting on. The ferry lands at the northern point of the island. It might take 10 minutes to cross the river during the wet season, and five minutes during the dry season. This is in the dry season. We need to walk across the sand before we can get on the ferry. The water is not very deep, but people do not want to get wet. Older students who live on the island must go to school on the other side, and they must pay every time. I needed to take the ferry to school for six years, since I began to study in the seventh grade.

The Chapel

This is a picture of a Buddhist chapel. It is at the nothern head of the island where the ferry arrives. This building is about ten years old. The people of our island built this chapel for the older people who cannot walk to the Pagoda that is farther away. Every eight days the old people always invite the monks to come here to visit the Buddha and pray. It is also a place for the traveler to stop and rest. All the people who wait for the ferry can come and sit there. It is a cool and nice place.

My Grandmother's House

This is a picture of my house, I have lived in this house for 18 years. It is an old, traditional Khmer house. My great grandfather built this house in 1963, before the Pol Pot Regime. When friends and relatives visit, they can stay in this house. A long time ago, my grandmother lived there and now my family live there with her. Now I do not live there, but go to stay there when I visit my family. It is cool there because we grew many trees around the house. We are happy to live in this house.

Giant's Grandmother

Giant is my family cow, and this is a picture of Giant's grandmother. My family has always cared for one or two cows. We feed and care for our cows, and when we need money, we can sell the cow. We do not kill our cows or use them for work. Now, Giant's grandmother is about 5 years old and lives at my Grandfathers house.

Rice Field

This is a picture of my family's rice field. My family farms, and we grow rice, mangos, bananas, peppers, papaya, coconut, jack fruit, and more. At my farm we have a small house, when the rain comes, or the sun is too hot, we go inside. My father grows rice once a year, and that is enough for us to eat for one year. Sometimes my mother sells our rice, but only a small part of it. I am not good with growing rice, but I like playing with baby rice in the water. After three month we will be ready for harvest.

Cabbage Farm

This is a picture of the cabbage on our farm. We grew 4000 baby cabbages. First we needed to start with seed, and then after one month, we needed to move it to another field. In all, it took three months to grow the cabbages. They grew very well, and after three months, when we tried to sell them, we could only get 600 riel, or 16 cents for one kilo.

Mango Tree

This is a picture of a mango tree with many mangos. The mango starts to grow from January until the end of April. During that time, every family has many mangos to eat. Normally, we can collect between 600 to 800 mangos from one big tree every year. That is a lot of mangos, but it only one time a year.

Classroom

This is a picture of my old primary school classroom. I studied in this classroom nine years ago, when I was in the fourth grade. Now the room is much older, but I can go to see it when I visit my homeland. I still have many friends at my homeland from when I was younger. I used to sing songs in primary school, but I was very shy. If I did not sing, my teacher would not give me a grade. Anyway, when I did sing all my friend clapped. This picture makes me remember that time, and how good I felt back then. I always sat in the front of the class with my friends.

Teacher's Desk

This is a picture of my teacher's desk. It is not very nice, because it is getting old now. My teacher would come and teach us everyday. We all loved this class. Now I am growing up, and I have more knowledge. If I did not start study in this class, I would not have the knowledge I have today. I have never fogotten this class. I remember all my freinds, but now some of them are married. We all remember that time.

Palm Boat

This is a picture of my father and my third cousin. They taking the palm boat to the farm . The farm is on the other side of the lake. My cousin always wants to take the boat with my father. Most of the other children near my house are the same way. My father always uses his palm boat go places whenever he can. We can use more when the rainy season comes. On the island, when the rainy season comes, there is always water everywhere. Many people will use their boat to go places.

The Pagoda Bridge

This is a picture of the Pagoda bridge. Our island is full of water, so the water will drain from the smaller rivers and lakes into the big river. There is a lake near the Pagoda. People need water to grow rice, so the water from the river helps the people in many ways. At New Pagoda, we have two bridges. This picture shows the back bridge at the Pagoda. It is getting old. It has lasted for a long time. This is also the way to get to my father's farm.

Pagoda River Front

This picture shows the river front at the New Pagoda. This structure was built a long time ago. When the Water Festival begins, the people go to the Pagoda river front to see the small boats racing. For three days the have fun racing. It is really fun there, because we meet so many people who come to join our festival. Sometimes, when the sun is very hot, we can go to relax there.

Ferry Leaving the Island

This picture shows the ferry as it is leaving our island. Most of the people live on the island, but some do not. Normally, the ferry will work until dark, so it is easy for the people to cross. When someone has a problem, like a sickness and they need to go to the hospital, they may have trouble getting across the river iif he ferry is not working. If you have enjoyed my writing, please send me an email. I want to hear from you and be your friend. Maybe someday you can visit my island and I will show you around.