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[Pete Richards]

Water villages are settlements that are usually built on the water. Houses often float on the water or are located on stilts and rarely on small islands. This is a list of water villages, which are becoming increasingly popular tourist destinations.

01. Ko Panyi, Thailan



Ko Panyi is a fishing village in Phang Nga Province, Thailand notable for being built on stilts by Indonesian fishermen. The population consists of roughly 200 families or between 1,500 and 2,000 people descended from 2 seafaring Muslim families from Java.

[Pete Richards]

The village has a Muslim school which is attended by both males and females in the mornings. Despite the recent rise in tourism, life in Ko Panyi is still primarily based around the fishing industry as tourists only visit in significant numbers during the dry season. The village includes a floating soccer field. Inspired by the 1986 FIFA World Cup, children built the pitch from old scraps of wood and fishing rafts.

[Pete Richards]

02. Halong Bay Floating Village, Vietnam



A village of about 600 inhabitants built on the water can be found in Halong Bay. It is a magically calm place, an escape from the hustle of Vietnam streets. The village is a true waterworld, rising and falling with the tides, sheltered amidst limestone towers.

[Pete Richards]

Locals live mainly from the sea. Most of the rock islands in the area are too poor to be cultivated. Halong Bay is very rich in fish and sea food. In this picture you can see some floating houses. Locals live in these houses and every morning they go fishing. They sell their catches to bigger boats, that bring the fresh fish to markets in the continent.

[Pete Richards]

03. Giethoorn, Netherland



Giethoorn is a village in the Dutch province of Overijssel. This village is called the Venice of the Netherlands for about 7.5 km (4.5 mi) of canals run through the little village. It was founded around 1230 when fugitives coming from the Mediterranian regions settled there.

[Pete Richards]

All traffic has to go over the water, and it is done in so-called "punters", they are 'whisper-boats' for they are driven by an electric motor, so they practically do not disturb the peace and quiet in this scenic little village. Many houses have been built on islands and they can only be reached by the wooden bridges. Some 50 little wooden bridges span the canals, which are only 1 meter (3 ft) deep. Giethoorn has 2620 inhabitants.

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