The plush tourist resorts with fairways of lawns soak up the area's valuable water supply and are in stark contrast to the homes and the lives of the locals of Siem Reap.
Water is a precious commodity in Siem Reap, particularly during the dry season, when tourist numbers are highest. And the population of the city, barely five kilometres from Angkor Wat, has doubled in a little more than a decade to about 200,000.
Water is sucked from groundwater under the city of Siem Reap and as a consequence the stability of Angkor Wat, a centuries-old World Heritage-listed landmark, is under threat.
Local authorities have expressed concerns that thousands of illegal private pumps have been sunk across the city, pulling millions of litres of water from the ground each day.
However, the very survival of the local community is dependent upon a clean and reliable water supply.
Locals living in Siem Reap's hinterland include thousands who are lake dwellers - they live permanently in building along the banks of the lake of Tonle Sap or on the lake itself. For them, clean fresh water is a major problem. Communal pumps, where they are available, are often some distance from the homes.
On a recent visit to Cambodia this writer did not stay in 5-star accommodation.
Credit: SMH
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