Battambang and the Bamboo Train

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The last entry was endless, I know. Don't worry though this one won't be as there is not much to say about Battambang.

The alarm woke us up at 5.45 as we were meant to get picked up at 6.40 and we wanted to have some breakfast. We got picked up at 7.45 eventually and at 8.20 the big bus to Battambang left Siem Reap. We arrived there around midday and got dragged to several hotels of which one was worse than the other. After a while we found one and at 1.45 pm we were in the room, had a shower and went for a nap. At 5ish we had a walk around and sat at the river for a while after we had dinner. As Ryan wasn't very well we went back to the guesthouse and spent our evening with reading and relaxing.

The next day we went for some breakfast and then got a Tuktuk to take us to the Bamboo Train. We sat down on the bamboo plank and off we went. It was quite a bumpy ride and felt a bit like a rollercoaster. As it is a one-way system one train has to be lifted off the rails to let the other one pass - this is always the one with less people or goods on. Fortunately, we only had to get off twice. haha. After 7 km we arrived at a little village with a rice and brick factory. We visited both before we drove back, got back onto the Tuktuk and continued our trip to the Killing Cave. It was a long way up the hill and there were loads of nice temples on the way. I really enjoyed seeing them even though I was exhausted once we had reached the top. We had a little rest and then walked down again and after half of the distance we came to the cave. It was used by the Khmer Rouge to get rid of bodies and to hide them. The people got killed and then they were thrown into the cave through a hole. Today it is a religious place with a big Buddha statue inside and colourful floortiles. The skulls and bones still remind about the crimes that have taken place in Cambodia about 35 (!!) years ago.

Once we got back to our room we had a shower and went for a few beers before we went to bed as the next day would be another long day of travelling.

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