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Published: December 20th 2006
River Guardian
Kids everywhere would like his job!Ok - this is the draft of what will be a pretty long entry - done so much stuff in 3 days - will add more photo's to this blog as i find a place with better internet
Phnom Penh in 12 Hours
We fly in to PP via our cheap Air Asia flight from KL - think easyjet and you will be in pretty much the same place. The arrivals hall was interesting - a large number of uniformed police, who initially looked pretty scary, but were really just part of the initial plan to fleece tourists, being that all foreign nationals have to spend about US$20 to get a visa. This process was slightly delayed by us not having a passport size photo - I say slightly because it just cost us an extra dollar. Anyway, after about an hours wait were we the owners of shiny new Cambodian visa's, and had cleared customs, with all our baggae - I was impressed. We had even managed to get someone to meet us and take us to the hotel, which was a boon cos it was after dark and the taxi/tuk tuk industry is pretty dog eat dog.
After an introduction to Cambodian driving (huge numbers of ~100cc motorbikes and scooters, weaving through cars with scant regard for the signs or traffic lights etc) we reached the hotel, which was very comfortable, and sat down for a Cambodian curry and bed. The next morning we decided that capital cities are best faced after a bit of time in the country, and got the bus out to Battambang.
Bussing to Battambang
The bus was pretty luxurious, especially when you consider the whole 5-6 hour trip only cost US$4 each. The music system played a Cambodian remix of Rick Astley's "Never Going to Give You Up", putting me right back in the 80's. We stooped for lunch at a place with the most amazing wood carving, and the even more amazing bit was that it was for decorating the temples rather than flogging off to tourists (as each carving was a whole tree - get that through customs!). The journey did give you a chance to view the countryside, which is a LOT of rice paddies with not to much else going on - very heavily cultivated. It's harvest time now so everyone was drying their rice outside the
Cambodian Road Works
There will be slight delays... homes - as we later learned the old traditional way of seperating the rice from the husk (getting your cow to walk all over it) is on its way out, and now everyone goes to the mill (and the mill owner is usually a rich man with political leanings).
The bus arrived in Battambang, but we were not on it as we fell victim to one of the many scams that exist, being that almost all transport drops you off miles out of town, making you take a Tuk Tuk or moto in to town where they deposit you at a guest house they are affiliated with. We had some idea this would happen, and felt strong enough to walk in with our packs, much to the amusement of all the street hawkers along the way. We found a nice hotel (for the outrageous price of US$10 per night) and settled in.
Battambang - the lowdown
Battambang is actually the second biggest place in Cambodia, but it's not really on the beaten tourist track so it's fairly quiet, and seemed pretty safe to wander around, even at night. There were a load of hotels there, and loads
Deep Fried Watersnake Mam?
Looks so tasty... How can you refuse... more going up, as a result of speculation that the countries second major airport will be moved there from Siem Reap (because the planes are damaging the temples) in the near future. It's obvious the French got there at some stage, as there are the giveaway boulevards with statues of little boys peeing. Like the rest of Cambodia (40%!o(MISSING)f the country are under 15) its full of kids. A river runs through the middle, but most of the tourist stuff is on the West bank. The town itself is pretty quiet on the tourist front, but the moto riders have found a load of funs things for tourists to do in the surrounding countryside. They charge about $8-10 per day for their time, and take you around the villages, temples and what can only be called the "killing cave". "
Killing Caves
We hooked up with a couple of guides for two days - the first was a bloke called Mr Tin (known to most westerners as Tin Tin) who was old enough to have lived through the Khmer Rouge regime - but only just. He told us his personal story before showing us around the "killing caves".
Monk in Temple
Doing what monks seem to do - Monking! It really brought a lot of the place into perspective, and made you realise just how much folks here have suffered. This website has loads of other peoples stories on coming into contact with the history of genocide here, and I wondered how Jane and I were going to find it. It was pretty mind blowing and hard to get your head around! Basically, Mr Tin's major crime in the eyes of the KR was living in a city - hence his family (he was a young boy of about 12 at the time) were forced to relocate to the countryside. Over the couple of years they were forced to labour in the fields, to produce rice for the regime. They were split up according to age and gender, and sent to different camps in the countryside. The were fed on starvation rations, and each camp had weekly meetings at which they were taught patriotic songs and given the chance to denounce their "comrades" for crimes such as working too slowly or stealing food, which usually resulted in them being taken away and never seen again. The meetings were presided over by local leaders of the "organisation", but no one
New Temple
Seen through the exit of the old temple... knew who the leaders were on a national scale. Over the next couple of years both his parents and all his siblings died of sickness or starvation. Eventually, when the Vietnamese army came through and drove the KR out, he went up to the local temple site which had been used as a "re-education" centre. What they found when they arrived, was that the temple rooms were covered in blood and equipped with implements of torture, and the nearby caves had been used for disposal of the bodies. They found a huge number of bodies in the caves in various stages of decomposition.
We were taken around the temple, which is now back to being a holy site, and then into the caves, and shown the bones they had recovered which are now housed in a cage. It was really hard to know what you were feeling. I was unable to take it all in, just how people could do such awful things to others, but I suppose there is something just fundamentally wrong with human nature which surfaces when fear and self-preservation are the major drives. It felt a bit morbid and wrong looking at everything, but talking
Delightful Waterfront Residence
Large, open-plan living area, river views from open balcony. Ideal for first time buyer looking to get closer to water... to Mr Tin he felt that telling his story and showing people what had happened was good for him, as it helped him to come to terms with it all and he hoped it would stop it happening again. Made me think of George Clooney in Darfour in a whole new light... Anyway, enough morbid soul searching, on to the next fun tourist activities...
Temples
We saw a few of the temples around the place, which were pretty impressive, despite being not a patch on Angkor Wat according to other tourists we met. They were remarkably untouristed, and all still used for religious purposes locally. Everyone (well, almost) is Buddhist, and it seems most young men try for a period of being a monk as part of secondary education.
Village Life
We travelled around the local villages on the back of the motos, amd got to stop at places which showed local life. We had a tour round a rice mill, a local fruit and rice wine farm, saw people making rice paper (for spring rolls), growing mushrooms (an NGO sponsored prject using the straw from the rice plant, as otherwise people pick their own mushrooms, risking loss
Easy Rider
Jane and Mr Tin (note the helmet beingworn parents)! of life (through poisonous mushrooms) or limb (through landmines). We also saw the ubiquitous "fish paste" (also described as Cambodian Cheese by Sambath, our other guide - although I don't think cheese could ever get this foul). The fish paste is made by putting large amounts of small fish out in the sun with salt, and then as they "ripen"placing them all in a big vat and stirring occasionally. Apparently it can be stored for up to 3 years after this... We also got to see a lot of poeples daily life and houses, which are pretty basic. Most houses are made of bamboo and palm leaves, although there is an increasing trend to build brick houses. A lot of the older houses have their own little Buddhist Stupa's built out the back containing mum and dads ashes, although these are unpopular among the younger generation as they make the house unable to be sold on. As ever, hundred of kids were around, shouting "hello"whenever you passed. All in all, we had a great time, and would heartily reccomend our guides. Not sure if this counts as advertising, but other travellers can find the two guys we used on the
Bargain in the market
Getting the ingredients for the cooking web - Mr Tin has email at tintinincambodia@yahoo.co.uk and Sambath has his own website as he is setting up a homestay - check out http://www.geocities.com/battambangvillagehomestay/ for all the details.
Riding the Bamboo Train
OK - forgot this bit in the first draft, but was fairly unforgetable in life - on the way home from our day with mr's Tin and Sambath, we got to ride the bamboo train - which is literally that. Few photo's as the battery was dead, but the experience was great. The train is a bamboo platform about the size of an industrial palatte, placed on to mobile rail wheels, to which a large Honda motor is attached. This is then run along the rails, reaching a speed of probably about 30-40 mph. The exciting thing is when you meet one going the other way, as you both stop, and then an arguement ensues as to who has the heavier load (lightest load has to dis-assemble and then re-assemble once the heavier has passed). The best bit of all is that we caught up with the freight train carrying deisel to Battambang, and I got to jump from our bamboo train onto the moving locomotive
Yup - these really are what they look like
The mindblowing contents of the Killing Cave - a lifes ambition realised in one (after watching the kids do it first...) All good fun.
Cooking up a Fishy Feast
One of the most fun things we did in Battambang was spending a day at the Smokin' Pot, a local restaurant run by a very enterprizing bloke called Vannak. They offered a days learning to cook Kmher style dishes - complete with a tour of the market and introduction to most of the local ingredients (and when I say introduction, I mean it - most were not yet dead!). Vannak speaks fantastic english, even to the point of getting the joke when someone explained they love "Morning Glory" (a local vegetable) for breakfast! After having seen some of the ingredients, I am a bit keener to return to my heavily processed Western diet. The classes were great though, and really good fun. Couldn't recommend them more.
Boat to Siem Reap
OK, we've probably had river boat rides ruined for us by traveling on the rivers in Guyana with just us and the guide in the remote rivers at sunset etc, but this was still an experience for the first hour. Unfortunately, this is the dry season,
Jane Chatting With Sambath
Having climbed all the temple steps, time for a break! and the rivers are low, so the experience lasted about 8 hours... 8 fairly long hours of being cramped into the boat with about 30-40 other poeple on board. Think of those pictures of boat people seeking sanctuary in Aus after fleeing indonesia and you'll have a reasonable idea of the confined quarters... Still, it was awesome to see just how close people are to the rivers here, and how much they rely on them for daily living. Fishing is hugely important here, and mostly done using nets (dynamite fishing is techinically illegal now, although still practiced in some spots according to our guide).
After a bumby ride we were met off the boat (thankfully avoiding the tuk tuk driver scrum) by Mr Bean (honestly) who is an associate of Mr Tin. He slowly drove us into Siem Reap, where I am typing this missive. Siem Reap is the Vegas of Cambodia, with prices being a lot higher than Battambang for food and transport, although accomodation is still mercifully cheap. Anyway, time for me to go and return to the tourist rat race - have to get up early tomorrow for the great Angkor Wat experience. Will add more
Hey Lady Boys
My wife makes me and Sambath look ridiculous for the camera... poctures to this blog in a bit.
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dan
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go man go
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