Siem Reap and Countryside Activities (Part ii)
Farming transportation (ox cart & buffalo cart)
In part I of this blog reading, we have known the lives of local people living in the countryside not only Siem Reap but also any other provinces in Cambodia. It also described about the most important job of Khmer people do for living which is agriculture or specifically, it is rice farming. In the process of doing rice farming, transportation is also important due to the fact that farmers will need to transfer farming tools, food, seeds, rice planted, or rice sheaves back and forth from their field and house, and the most popular transportation that they usually use is ox-cart or buffalo-cart.
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| Rice fields at Bakong village, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat temple |
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| Ox-cart |
Oxen and buffaloes are not all used based on the region and the culture of people living there. In some provinces, they tend to use oxen rather than buffaloes and some other provinces, on the other hand, buffaloes are widely used than oxen. Being back to the past once machine was not created, ox-cart or buffalo cart was used not only in the process of doing farming but also as the transportation for people to commute from one place to another since it can carry things with which they bring such as clothes, food, or goods. During the period of war, it was also used to transfer weapon and food or any other war equipment to supply for soldiers at the battle fields. The whole cart is made from wood and designed based on Khmer traditional style but now people tend to use rubber wheels instead of wood wheel because when the wheel is broken, rubber wheel is easier to fix than wood wheel.
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| Ox-cart with wood wheels |
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| Ox-cart with rubber wheels |
Now, even technology has been developed and most farmers have change to use machines instead of traditional way, ox-cart and buffalo-cart are still being used by most of Khmer farmers due to the culture and their family's economy. Furthermore, they have become an attractive activity in tourism sector as ox-cart and buffalo-cart ride are included in the countryside tour program. This program, the clients will spend some time to take ox-cart or buffalo ride, walk along the road in the village to explore local school or pagoda with participating blessing ceremony, involve with local farmers to do some agriculture activities available by each seasons and have lunch or dinner hosted by local family.
This article is to show that ox-cart or
buffalo-cart is an important tool to use in Khmer people daily life since the
ancient time until present. Not only have they facilitated goods and people
from one place to another, they have also helped to earn extra profit to our people as
well by taking the tourists for a ride to experience the countryside life and
spectacular view in the rural area. Furthermore, the cart is also considered as the national
identification based on its age and style in Khmer culture.
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| Tourists riding buffaloes- cart |
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| Blessing ceremony |
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| Local school |
TRIP MESSAGE: The activities and spectacular view of countryside in this blog article are available in Siem Reap, kingdom of Cambodia and this interesting scenery is brought to you by TRAILTOAngkortours and Travel.
Our company is the local tour operator based in Siem Reap, Cambodia established by Khmer local people. With the team that have experience in this tourism industry for more than 12 years, we put all our efforts and commitments to arrange and provide all our value customers an unforgettable trip. Customer services and flexibility are our top principles to work in this business.
“Satisfaction and enjoyment of our customers are also ours, so we will serve them in the level best from our heart and passion”, President of TRAILTOAngkortours and Travel.
Stay tuned for part III, the last part of Siem Reap and Activities blog article!
Steven Lor, Sales Manager - TRAILTOAngkortours and Travel
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