Kahayan River Neighborhood

I went to a river neighborhood a few weeks ago which is a neighborhood on stilts next to the river.  It was very different and quite beautiful.  I've never seen anything like it before.  These houses are all built about ten to twenty feet off of the ground because the river can come up pretty high during the rainy season.  It's almost like a rickety Atlantic City boardwalk with houses.

All of the families that live on the water rely on fishing as their source of income.  As you can see, the water is not up high yet but some of them are able to catch something.

Along with fishing, they also have stores that are set up right out of their houses.  This is typical all throughout Palangkaraya.

The boardwalk is very rickety.  And they have no problems driving their motorbikes on them.  You hear the boards jump up and down as they're driving too.  It's a bit terrifying to hear when you're not used to it.  The neighborhood was pretty big too.  I walked around for probably an hour up and down "streets".  Nobody seemed to mind me there but not everyone allowed me to photograph them.  These ladies used their babies to block their faces.

It was a very cool experience to walk around this place.  The kids, as usual, are super friendly and love their photos taken.  I hope I get another chance to go back to some of these places.

Check out the rest of the gallery for more photos.