A floating village on the northern reaches of the Tonle Sap, Mechrey is not the loveliest spot in the world, but it offers some great bird-spotting opportunities, as well as a chance to witness a unique way of life for those who live on the lake. The establishment of initiatives such as the one at Mechrey can’t strictly be called ecotourism, although it does give people alternatives to fishing as a source of income. But they are an opportunity to witness an extraordinary way of life that is also under threat, and to clock up some lovely birdlife. The tour itself starts off in a pretty smelly artificial canal which you travel along for about a kilometer until the waterway opens out on to the main river and the floating village.

Tonlé Sap is a lake in the northwest of Cambodia. It belongs to the Mekong River system. It is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and one of the most diverse and productive ecosystems in the world, designated as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1997 due to its high biodiversity.