Siem Reap, Cambodia

Morning everyone!! And its a real morning indeed...about 8:30 am at the time of writing this! And it might not be a big deal...i have been awake at this hour other times as well..but not days and days in row...at least not in the past years. But im telling you, my holiday had had a great effect upon me, and this waking up early actually comes from there...in general, i would go back to the same old habits once im home but for some reason, i keep waking up at an early hour even in Skopje (which ranges between 6 and 9am!!!).
And you know what....i feel good about it! Im not in the, oh God please let me sleep for 5 more minutes!!! Im amazing myself sometimes, really. I know when many people go on holiday they actually go there to rest and get enough sleep, but personally i love getting up early and going to the beach, instead sleeping till noon, and going to the beach at 3pm...plus due to a number of schedules i had to get up early, once even at 5:30am, but oh, it was all so worthy!
And yeah...back to the postcard....sorry for usurping the space with something else...as usual :)

I got this lovely surprise from my dear Zarah, who is not just my postcard buddy, but also my Rafael Nadal-supporter buddy :D :D :D I honestly love discussing tennis with her, esp when Nadal plays and while the match is on, she and i just ramble about it, get overjoyed or get frustrated....its just fun to have someone to share it all with  :))
Oh yeah...back to the postcard :)
I think the water brings some great summer-holiday motifs....it may not be a sea or ocean, but it still seems lovely. And this is actually a floating village in Siem Reap! Hmmm...i dont know if i had seen a floating village before....im trying to figure out how it would be to live in one, and what are the daily struggles these people need to go through....
Siem Reap is a province located on the shores of the Tonlé Sap Lake in northwestern Cambodia. In Cambodian, Tonlé Sap means "Large Fresh Water River," but is more commonly translated as "Great Lake". It is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hot spot that was designated as UNESCO biosphere in 1997. Well, to avoid some confusion that might arise...UNESCO whs and UNESCO biosphere protected areas are two different things, so i cant label this one as UNESCO, since its simply not on the whs list....in case you wondered :)  or i can do it??

Anyway,Tonlé Sap is unusual for two reasons: 1) its flow changes direction twice a year, and 2) the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons.
For most of the year the lake is fairly small, around one meter deep and with an area of 2,700 square km. During the monsoon season  however, the Tonlé Sap river, which connects the lake with the Mekong river, reverses its flow. Water is pushed up from the Mekong into the lake, increasing its area to 16,000 square km and its depth to up to nine meters, flooding nearby fields and forests. The floodplain provides a perfect breeding ground for fish.
Hmm, pretty unusual, but very interesting as well nevertheless...

and here comes the stamp...its not my first written and stamped Cambodian card, but it feels like a real treasure to have written and stamped cards from there!
the bad thing....except that it was issued in 1998, i couldnt find info about this...not even in a number of philatelic blogs i had searched...so your input is more than welcome on this one. Thanks in advance!

And thank you Zarah...both for the card and for the Nadal companionship :P