Detour in Battambang

Battambang

Everybody knows at least a little bit of Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. The names are familiar. But other than those two places, we know little about Cambodia. City with a strange name, Battambang is unknown but is worth a detour.

It took six hours on a bus to get from Phnom Penh to Battambang. The roads are not that bad to get there. But the leather seats, in the heat and humidity, are not a winner combination. And when your seat is close to the one in front of you like in planes... not winner at all.

But anyway, first nice surprise : someone from my hotel was waiting for me to get out of the bus, on the corner of the street, holding a sign with my  name on it. He drove me to the hotel, with my big bag on his motorcycle, for free. No idea how he knew I was coming on that bus. Probabilities, probably.

He then helped me to get my luggage up in my room and offered to guide me for the rest of the day. Since I decided to leave tomorrow for Siem Reap, I thought it would save me trouble to go with him instead of searching for another guide.

Without a helmet on, he drove me to the bamboo train, literally a plank of wood on wheels, which replaces the traditionnal train, on broken down rails which can't support a real train anymore. For 10 $US, it is expensive. Especially since, for that price, you can eat three meals or sleep for a night or two in a hotel. But it's a "traditionnal" attraction.

On the other end of the rail, there is a village where they try to sell you stuff to drink. You can see how they produce rice in a old wooden barrack or how they make bricks. Children accept to guide you in exchange for some money.

On the way back, they inform us the "driver" of our train doesn't get any money and we should tip him... They try really hard to get as much money as they can...

The stroll on the backcountry road was worth the detour. Landscape is amazing. On the way to Banan, a temple older than the one in Angkor, if I believe my guide, we stopped to see big bats we scared with firecrackers to make them fly. My guide made me taste soursop, a big green fruit.

After a stop at the temple, we crossed the backcountry while the sun was going down slowly. We could see smaller bats flying out of a cave (see the video). There are millions flying out every night for several ours. In the fields, villagers throw objects in the air to catch a couple of these animals for dinner. Yummy!

From there, I went up Phnom Sampeou hill, where there is a grotto where the khmers rouges killed their victims. The view on the city is amazing.

In the end, I chose to take the bus to Siem Reap even if the Lonely Planet recommended to take the boat. True, the landscape must be amazing, but 9 to 12 hours to link two cities, when you can do it in 3,5 hours  by bus... At this point on the trip, I went for the bus. I will spend more time in Thailand, that's all.

Dollar

Note that most of the prices are stated in american dollars even if the local currency is the riel. They won't take the coins though. The change is always given in riels.