Perng Svay is an extremely huge block of natural rock rising on the foot of Kulen Mountain (Kulen Mount is bordered with three districts, Svay Ler, Banteay Srey & Varin) located in Svay Leu District and about 70 km drive from Siem Reap Centre. Near Perng Svay, there is a fountain where fresh and cold mountain water comes up from the bed of the rock. As I heard from one of my mate guide, some children sometimes come swimming in the stream here. There are also some people coming here for picnic, fun and relaxation. Additionally, there are water tank trucks coming to pump up and load water from the man-made cement basin which could store clean and fresh water at the site. I asked a driver of the truck tanker how much a container of 1000 litre of water was, and he told me that it cost $ 5 including delivery. The fresh water delivery service is not necessary for all the local people, just only for some who need it for every day uses and for some people who live very far from Kulen Mount.
There is also a clean water system in some villages in Svay Ler. The system uses fresh water from the water fall and water from the foot of the mountain to share among the villages. There is a big pipe draining water from the foot of the mountain and shared into other small plastic pipes leading to local people houses. This natural clean water system is a project of an NGO that works with clean water project and promotes the eco-system in this district. The families who need this system for their home have to install small pipes along the road side and drain the water from the big pipe or from their neighboring houses. With the uses of this service it is very cheap, they charge 200 riel for one cubic of water. The water is safe to use for bathing and cooking. It is safe enough for you to drink without purifying or boiling.
Svay Ler is infamous for deforestation for over a decade. Local people's houses were mostly built from wood. It is a logging site and it is never afforested. It is noticed that the forest is now turned into green field of rice paddy and other plantations like rubbers, potatoes, bananas and pepper. I heard from an old man that, before there was thick forest and it was home to a lot of types of animals but today those animals are endangered because people hunted them for food, medicine and for sales.
Most people do the farming, some people rent their land for others to grow rice and only some other people who live a long the road sides and the market areas do business.
Svay Ler is a peaceful destination for those who want to see remaining natural resources, go camping, go home-staying and learn the lives of the people there...
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