Houses in Cambodia

My dad was asking about houses in Cambodia, so I thought I would post some pictures of my house and houses that you typically find here in "Bodia". My house is the one that is cement (I am now exposed because I'm not really roughing it too much here)! My house is VERY nice by Khmer standards- as you can see from the other houses. The other picture next to my house is our kitchen. It is located in the back of the house. This is done because my family cooks with wood over a fire pit and it prevents the house from burning down completely should there be a fire. We also eat out back off to the right. My family eats at a table, but usually families eat on benches (larger than a bench but the height of one). You can see one in the picture of the kitchen to the right.

The picture of the house that is made of wood is probably the most common type of house here in Cambodia. It is a traditional house Khmer house. The housees are raised off the ground by stilts and have stairs to get into the house. These houses usually have a livingroom and two bedrooms. The family usually sleeps in one or two rooms upstairs or below the house when it is hot (which is pretty much year round). It's not uncommon for most of the family to sleep in the same room. My family is sort of an exception. My sisters and parents all have their own room. However, when I was in training, I had my own room and the rest of my family slept together in the front room.

The final house is made of thatched roofs with bamboo walls. On my way into town this morning I saw one that used cardboard for the walls. These are the cheapest houses to make. I will note that because I'm close to Vietnam and electricity is very cheap, it is very common to see TVs playing in these houses and electricity. However, this is mainly due to the close proximity to Vietnam.