Toot Toot, All Aboard the Bamboo Train!!

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The next stop on our Cambodian journey was to a small town called Pursat a few hours drive North West of Phnom Penh.

The town was extremely small and there wasn’t really alot we wanted to do, or could do here. So we decided to make the most of our one night and as soon as we had found a Guest House and checked in, we were off in another Tuk Tuk a few kilometres out of town to the bamboo train (or as the locals call it ‘Norry’).

The owner of the hotel came with us to the tracks and agreed a price for a one hour journey through the country side. We were told that we could go for four hours, but thought in the 40 degree heat it might be a bit too long!

After buying some water and a couple of hats from the local sellers we clambered on board the bamboo train and slowly started chugging along.

The train itself it made of lots of bamboo slats with a couple of wooden boards in the middle and an engine (like a lawn mower) at the back where the driver stands and pulls the chain to start it with another piece of long bamboo.

After a few minutes we picked up quite a speed, we guessed around 10-20mph, and were whizzing through the Cambodian countryside. With rice paddies as far as the eye could see, a couple of mountains dotted in the far off distance, water buffalo going about their daily business and lots of crickets leaping on us from the bushes.

We also found out what happens when one bamboo train meets another coming the other way; whichever train has the least amount of passengers/goods on has to be dismantled. So everyone jumps off to one side, the driver from our train and the other train (and a couple of other men) pick up the bamboo part, lift it to one side then pick up the two heavy sets of wheels (they look like huge weights) and dump them on the side as well. Then the other train passes through, quite easy really!

The next day we got on another bus further North West to Cambodia’s second largest city Battambang. When we arrived at our Guest House, The Royal, we checked in to our rooms and went back downstairs and were greeted by a lovely Tuk Tuk driver who said he could take us all round the sites for $5 each.
Another Tuk Tuk ride, first took us to the villages to see how the Cambodian people live. Again, like when we were quad biking, lots of children (and adults alike) were all waving and smiling at us and shouting ‘Hello! Hello!’

After an hour’s drive we reached our first destination Phnom Banan. We were told when we arrived by our Tuk Tuk driver that we would have to climb 358 steps to the top, but the view was worth it and the temples are even older than Angkor Wat built in the 11th century. We were also told that the locals of Battambang Province are so proud of the temples they say that they were the inspiration for Angkor Wat.

The temples were beautiful, and we had a great view (slightly obscured by trees) around the surrounding countryside.

Slightly dripping and sweaty, we went back to our driver who sweetly told me that I looked like I’d just had a shower but not to worry as he would turn the air conditioning on in the Tuk Tuk. It was lovely being cooled down by the air conditioning (fresh air blowing through the sides) and a short journey later, after passing through some more villages we were at our next destination of Phnom Sampeau.

Phnom Sampeau is at the top of the limestone mountain, we were told we could either walk (which would take 2 hours) and after walking up and down all those steps earlier we wernt too keen on that idea. So we all opted for the easier and lazier option of getting a moped driver each and a guide who would take us all to the top.

The first stop was to a temple that has recently been rebuilt as during the rule of the Khmer Rouge, they destroyed all temples and holy places. We were told by our guide this because they did not want any one to learn or to be more intelligent than they were. They destroyed all of the schools, if there are no schools then children go to the monks who teach them. So all the places that housed the monks were demolished, and religion banned completely.

After the Khmer Rouge had been defeated, Cambodians who had enough money for bribes fled to Thailand, where they were then later sponsored to go to America. Many of these Cambodians have donated money to the monks to rebuild the temples that were destroyed.

One building next to the rebuilt temple that the Khmer Rouge didn’t destroy, was used as a prison for the local people who disobeyed them or stole food to stop them and their families starving to death.#

Our guide then took us to the ‘Killing Caves’ a short walk from the temple. The steps leading down to the cave were covered on either side in bright green plants and it really looked quite beautiful, that is before you learn what happened in these caves.

The Khmer Rouge stood people at the top, sometimes killing them and throwing them in, or sometimes pushing them in whilst they were still alive and leaving them to starve to death at the bottom amongst previous victims skull and bones.

It was very emotional stepping inside the cave and looking up at the sky light where people were pushed from. The victims remains have been collected and placed inside a memorial, the slope leading up towards the sky light had 2 small gold boats inside where locals come to pay their respects and leave the spirits food and drink.

There is a small reclining Buddha inside the cave and in front there was an old lady who lived there. She came to the caves in the 1980’s to search for her dead husband’s spirit, she has no idea where he was killed or how so stays there hoping to see him one day. The guide told us that she used to walk up and down the mountain every day, but when she got too old and frail she decided to just live in the cave and local people go there to take her food and water each day. Phil and I gave her $1 and she sat me down in front of her and chanted a prayer and then tied a red string around my wrist for good luck.

It started to rain heavily when we got to the top of the stairs, so we all took shelter in a hut on stilts where there was an old monk drying bark from the trees for a traditional medicine.

We shared some cigarettes with the guide, who started to ask Emma why she had her tattoos on her ankles. He asked her if they were a magic spell, when she said no he looked quite confused.

Cambodians have tattoos to keep bad spirits away, bring them luck and to keep them safe. He couldn’t understand why someone would have a tattoo for no reason, especially a woman as they think only ‘loose’ women have tattoos. We tried to explain to him that it is a fashion to have tattoos, he still didn’t really understand.

Awkward tattoo conversation over, we left the sadness of the caves and headed further up the mountain to another temple where there were great views of the surrounding countryside, unfortunately though it was raining heavily over the countryside so it was pretty grey and not too great for taking photos.

I went in to the temple and sat down and spoke to one of the monks about Buddhism and the meanings of the murals on the surrounding walls. It was quite special to actually sit down and talk to a monk; he was a really nice man and was telling me about their ways and their celebrations etc.

Our guide said that we could go down to the bottom again to get a drink before going back in the Tuk Tuk to see a cave where at sunset hundreds of bats fly out over the fields.

After a fun journey down lots of steep hills on the back of the bike, we reached the bottom and went to the cave to see the bats. It was a shame though as we didn’t see them because of the rain they tend to stay in for longer. So instead of waiting around in the rain our driver took us to a restaurant for dinner and then back to our Guest House.

We left the Guest House at 9:30am the next morning after checking out and being given a scarf each by the owner and asked to recommend The Royal to people. So......anyone going to Battambang, you should stay there staff are very friendly and helpful and the rooms are nice and big and comfortable (and cheap, only $8 per night!).

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Comments

[Southern Travels India]

Wonderful transportation
Wow! It’s amazing... Bamboo train.