Next Stops: Battambang and Banteay Chhmar

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01/17/10 - 01/20/10

I promise you now, this entry will be long... 30hrs of experience upon experience and it is hardly possible to explain without detail.

We left Phnom Penh for Battambang at 3:30 on Sunday. This was our first grand adventure on the infamous buses of SE Asia, and of course it was true to its word. Arriving at the bus station, we scrambled to find our bus and climb on board. The bus ride to Battambang was about 5 1/2 hrs of horn honking, weird Cambodian music (much louder than needed), some weird Chinese version of Charlie Chaplin type film, and of course random stops in the middle of nowhere to either pick someone/something up or drop it off and toss it to whoever was waiting for it. Our first experience said it all, wild driving skills and zero sleep! We arrived in Battambang around 800-830pm only to see a massive concert being held on the outskirts of town. We never did get the whole story behind it, but we have never seen so many people in one place in our lives. It was incredible, human bodies and motorbikes scattered the roads and any open space available. It took a good 20min to drive 1.5 km through the people.

Thanks to our great stamina and excitement, the bus trip did not stop us and we managed to get a hotel quickly with the help if a young ambitious Tuk Tuk driver and we were on our way. We stayed at the Seng Hout hotel (a classy little joint that was by far the cleanest place we've seen to date in SE Asia). We enjoyed a couple of beers and dinner at White Rose Restaurant and headed back for some sleep.

So here comes a bit of a long story. Before coming to Cambodia, we signed up for an NGO (Global Heritage Fund is the NGO) Village Stay in village surrounding Banteay Chhmar (a great temple in ruins that was built when Angkor Wat was abandoned). It is about 3 1/2 - 4 hrs away from Battambang (2 hrs away from the town of Sisophon). Our courageous tuk tuk driver insisted that he take us to this village and so we wheeled and dealed a few things (side trips along the way) and worked out what we figured to be a fair price.

6AM - We wake up and head down to catch our tuk tuk, and feeling that we don't want to be late we quickly grab some fresh baked goods at the bakery down the street (only later to go missing).

Our first stop was Ek Phnom, a small temple in ruins on the borders of Battambang. It was nothing special in the long run of temples, but it was a site to see as it was the first of the ancient temples we had been to on our trip and we loved the idea of climbing through century old rubble. As we explored the temple grounds, our driver stayed with our bags and the Tuk Tuk and chatted with the police officer that was monitoring admission fees for the day. In front of the temple ruins they have built a brand new temple, all white and shiny, with beautifully detailed paintings on the ceilings and a giant Buddha statue to the side of it that was never quite completed. So we finished our tour and hopped into the Tuk Tuk to continue on our way. As we reached for our baked goods, we sat in dismay as we realized the police officer (in all likelihood) had stolen our food. Yes, we assume when the driver came to find us to say it is time to go, the man in blue had indulged in our sugar twist donuts (unfortunately not surprising as police do as they please in this country).

Anyways... off we went... bombing down the highway ready for our 4 hr ride to the village. The first 2 hrs were great, we stopped along the road and tried some traditional rice that is cooked inside bamboo (tasty, kinda sweet), we enjoyed the various scenery we hadn't really been able to explore in the past, and all in all enjoyed the ride. Then we hit Sisophon, the mid point between the A and B and at this point, we thought we were doing good - both for time and because the time had passed quickly so far. As soon as the city limits ended the road went to hell... think of pot holes 2 ft deep and dust so thick you need to breathe through your shirt to maintain your oxygen intake. And to top it all off, our driver now admits he has never been to Banteay Chhmar and was so eager to take us because he himself was curious as to where it was. He told us later that his French girlfriend had been to it and told him he should see it sometime! A slow greuling drive down the dirt roads going a max of 10km/h. Stopping here and there to pull pieces off the side of the tuk tuk or motorbike that had been damaged from the pot holes, and to ask for directions (essentially directions to what seemed like the nearest person that could give us proper directions). The dust in our faces and mouth, bruises on our arms from the hitting them on the rails of the tuk tuk each time we hit another bump. A rest stop to discuss with our driver the circumstances and realizing that he didn't know what he was getting into by taking us there in his Tuk Tuk. 2.5 tiring and anxious hours later we arrive at our CBT homestay destination, we peel off our sunglasses and see the shadow of the frames left on our face by the mixture of dust and sweat. BAM! Here we are at Banteay Chhmar and one of the best experiences of our vacation. Worth it? We would do it again any day. By this point, our driver has decided he should stay at a homestay as well in order to maintain an investment in his customers (basically he knew driving home solo meant no money). After discussing with some locals the price of taxi pick ups, we decided to agree with our driver with a minimal additional price, as it was a win win situation for both.

We arrive at the small house (aka head office) of the CBT (Community Based Tourism) program. They welcome us with much anticipation and show us to our homestay so we can clean up before lunch.

Side Note: Our homestay is a traditional wooden stilt house that appears to have been temporarily vacated by a family in order to accommodate our stay, as old pictures and household items were crammed into a locked cabinet in the corner (we would later find out, that the homes change each time and the villagers volunteer this in order to maintain the CBT tourism and donations). The village had no hydro, no running water, and aside from the CBT office, no modern electronic technology. Many items within the village are supplied through organizations like Unicef etc... It was a whole different world. And we loved to experience it.


Lunch was a delicious plate of roasted tomatoes stuffed with pork and a delicious omelet type dish, soup and of course, rice. All in all the home cooked food in this little village turned out to be some of the best food we have had since we left Canada, as other dishes included roasted pumpkin and beef, banana soups and fresh fruit with every meal.

After lunch we headed off to see the ruins of Banteay Chhmar. Banteay Chhmar is 800yrs old, it was built after Angkor Wat was abandoned and it was later abandoned itself. It is a much smaller version of the great temple, but in its glory it was grand and beautiful in its own complexity - and still very large in size. Much of the temple was in ruins, as it does not get the same attention and funding as its companion in Siem Reap. However, the program that runs the homestay is the same program funding the restoration, so we were able to see the underlyings of the project and some digital images of what it will look like when completed. As Banteay Chhmar was our second visit to the ancient temples, it was by far more exciting then the prior Ek Phnom. Banteay Chhmar was huge in comparison and had many great carvings and stories behind its hidden past.

Side Note: This temple was used for filming parts of the Indiana Jones films - Harrison Ford is cool.

After an hour of touring we head to a different temple (much smaller) called Ta Prom. It was about a 2min drive down the road and surrounded by a moat. It was a simple structure with a 4 faces each on one side of the tower.

We then headed off to the silk factory. By foot? By Tuk Tuk? NO! By Ox-Cart!!! Yes, the village had set up a nice little cart pulled by some handsome oxen. We jumped aboard and took the long way to the Silk Shop. Cambodia is known for its silk production so we spent an hour learning the ways of the trade. We watched them pull the thread, dye the thread, weave the threads, and make some beautiful scarfs, pillow cases, purses, and in the end we head up the stairs to the embroidary shop to see some of the finishing designs for a few of their newer products. It was a straight up interesting and neat thing to see. We learned that depending on the thread count and the skill of the person creating the item it could take over 3 days to make one scarf. These ladies and gentlemen work hard!

When we were finished with the silk, we walked back through Banteay Chhmar only to realize we had seen merely half of the temple earlier in the afternoon. AS we wandered through and saw many more images and took a closer look at the reconstruction process, we ran into a man we would later know as "the people with money". To our surpirse our guide asked if we would be able to partake in the events that would be happening on the temple grounds later in the evening. As we questioned what was happening, we found out that we had chosen the same dates as the investors who were funding the temple recon. The CBT was having a small wine and dine for the VIPS (including the govener, mayors, and head security officials) of the surrounding areas. Feeling a little out of place but very honoured to be invited, we sat with these people and watched a small show of traditional dance put on by an orphanage/school for troubled and abandoned youths. It was a surreal experience and we were lucky to be there when we were. As the ruins began to form shadows in the evening sunset, we simply watched the show and slipped out to enjoy our private dinner at the Ta Prom temple ruins under a star filled sky and torch light. Third world village? We aren't sure anymore, they treated us as royalty.

As we finished our dinner, we headed back to where the Tuk Tuk was parked and head back to the CBT office for some chit chat. Unfortunately Danielle's quick eyes had realized that our drivers helmet was stolen off of his Tuk Tuk while we were eating dinner (he was sitting a little ways away with the guide). At this point we had now concluded that our driver was having a horrible experience out here. His tuk tuk is falling apart, his "very expensive" helmet is gone (which by law he needs to drive his tuk tuk), and he is probably losing out on money.

We head back to the office where the officials declare they will find the helmet. They give him one to have for the ride home and tell him that "when" (not "if") they find the helmet it will be returned to him. Their dedication to maintaining the integrity of the village was remarkable, they even talked to the chief of the village. So we tried to enjoy some chit chat, and luckily as we did, the VIP group was returning from their wine and dine and another show was being put on with traditional music and rice milling snacks. They showed us how they make this snack with rice where first the rice is fried a bit, then put in a shallow wooden bowl and smashed with two wooden sticks, much like a mortar and pestle. Once the rice is sufficiently smashed, they add sugar or honey or fruit to it and it's a treat. It smelled and tasted somewhat like popcorn - the healthy kind!

A long day of site seeing and driving sent us to bed a bit early, we climbed into our candle lit home as some man closed the door behind us (the door is located in the floor). We had wondered if the man had locked the door from the outside at this point, but we were too tired to care. Crawled into our mosquito net and quickly fell asleep.


January 19th, 2010 - The next day.

As we awoke for breakfast around 700am we were greeted to the fear of the locked door to be wrong and we were on our way to the office for some eggs and fried rice. This day was a much simpler and down to earth day. We wandered the village through their little market that supplies the whole village. An interesting point was the meat being sold. The whole cow would be on display with the meat sitting out (uncovered) and the head of the cow along with the insides sitting next to it. They use all the pieces for something, which is respectable knowing they have little food. We continued to walk around the village where we were allowed to enter peoples homes and properties to see how they lived and their job within the village. We went to a rice mill, where they would process the rice and how each part was used (majority for eating, and powder for paper etc). Many people also had giant soil ovens. These big mounds of dirt had been hollowed out in order to burn logs for days in order to create charcoal (as charcoal has a longer burning capacity). It was impressive to see these mounds in action as they had different holes to control air flow and ways to know when it was done (the smoke would turn a white clear colour). We were also taken to a home who specialized in bamboo weaving. They weave the roof slabs and any other form that the bamboo tree provides. Beside this house we indulged in a tasty treat of bamboo juice, it was extremely sweet as it is compressed straight from the flower of the palm tree. Lastly, we visited a cassava farm. Cassava is a incredibly starch-filled vegetable (like a hardcore potato) that is either compressed for cooking oils (which was initially described to us as gas for cooking!) or exported to the Chinese (for who knows what), as they seem to be the only people that love this plant.

As we walked back to the office we made a quick stop at the local school. Many of the learning materials were in horrible shape and most things were labeled with the UNICEF logo and other NPO's that have helped out this small village. One thing that was really sad - a few years ago the received a great electronic piano donated from a Korean man. The unfortunate part is that no one had sent books or any information on how to learn this instrument. So (prior to learning that it was electronic) I had mentioned that I would be able to teach them the notes and how it works, but I later disappointed them when all they wanted was a song and to know what each electronic button was for (I did not know, and could not remember a song with out the book). Ouch!

As we wandered further out of the city, we visited our last temple - Banteay Top. This temple sits a top of a hill far into the outskirts of the village. You can see the ruins of Banteay Chhmar and the mountains off in the distance. It is said it was a strategic temple in both defense and retreat. The temple had high towers and still remained mostly intact. The most notable part of this temple, however, was the big tree growing out of the top of one of the towers! And here, we would enjoy our last meal in the village. We had more stuffed roasted tomatoes, and beef pumpkin stew it was heaven.

To top it all off, as we were heading back to town... the guide had set up an opportunity for me to drive a Kuyon. A kuyon is pretty much a Cambodian tractor. It has 2 wheels with a motor mounted on top. You simply start the motor and increase the throttle for driving and release a clutch for steering. It was quite the experience, and it was a strong little machine. It is used for farming and hauling, however we have seen it as a major mode of transportation as well. 😊


As we said our good byes and gave our gratitude for an experience we will never forget, we climbed into the tuk tuk and headed off for our 4-5hr journey back to Battambang.

The End? haha... no... of course not. With daylight left, would could hardly head to the hotel. We weaseled our driver into taking us to the infamous bamboo train. Battambang has some old french colonial tracks that ran through the city. These tracks are incredibly out of shape and have been scarcely held together over the years. But, the bright young people of B-Bang had designed a system of 2 axels (with wheels) and a simple motor mounted on a bamboo platform. The motor attached to the axels with a belt, you light it up... and away you go. It was quite the ride. What happens when you see an on coming bamboo train? The person with the lightest load disassembles his train in a simple 4 step process (and about 25sec) and gets off the tracks. So we had or fun on the train for about an hour (nearest village and back) and rode into the sunset (which was one of the best sunsets of the entire trip!). We were satisfied. We jumped back into the tuk tuk and headed to the hotel for a good nights rest. Before we left our devoted driver, we had decided that he deserved much more then the original $40USD, so we doubled it and helped put a smile on an exhausted man and a good helmet back on his head. Of course, with this... he picked us up the next day (dawning a shiny new helmet) for our 6am wake up to take the mighty boat trip down the Mekong River to Siem Reap and the sights of Angkor Wat. He also told us we were his best customers which helped to make us not feel completely responsible for his broken tuk-tuk and stolen helmet!


Tune in next time when Mike and Danielle take on Angkor and the dreaded food poisoning.

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Photos

Wat Ek Phnom in the early morning light
This was the first of the many many ruined temples we visit in the next 5 days!

Snack time!
we stopped roadside for a quick break and a snack - rice that is cooked inside a bamboo shoot! The bamboo makes the rice a bit sweeter than usual!

Our first meal at the homestay
Tomatoes stuffed with pork, vegetable stirfry, soup and omelet-type egg patties - delish!!!

Safety is always our first priority!
These signs were at most tourist attractions ensuring everyone that all landmines have been cleared from these areas. Landmines are still a problem in a large part of the country.

Home Sweet Home!
This is the homestay where we slept in Banteay Chhmar

The living room at our homestay
We think they cleared it out for us, because in that armoir on the side wall, there are tons of knick knacks, picture frames etc.