Cambodia, Battembang and the bamboo train

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I decided to cross the Cambodia / Thailand border by bus from Battembang to Bangkok, this only involved a bus to Poipet on the Cambodian side, a ten minute walk across no mans land and through Thai immigration and on to a minibus for six hours straight to Bangkok. This area of no mans land is known as the casino zone, I think because the usual rules do not apply to either country (not that there are many rules in Cambodia) so there are loads of casinos! It was full when I wanted to go so had an extra day in Battembang, a dusty town set on a river to the north west of Cambodia. There isn't much there except for a market and not many westerners, but there is the bamboo train.

It's just a short railway line of about 20 kilometres and the only trains that run on it are flat panels of bamboo with two axles and (probably about) a 125cc motor. The locals use it for transport but since I had an extra day I thought it was only fitting that I had a go. It's a single track line, and when a 'train' comes the other way, the train with the lightest load is simply dismantled and taken off the track, allowing the other train to pass. Simple enough, but there could be four trains arriving at the same point at the same time and if another one can be seen along the line, they have to wait for it. There are several trains running along the line so the process of dismantling and reassembly could take place several times. It could take an hour to make the journey to the other end.

When I got the the other end, there was a tiny village linked only by the train. The kids showed us around, possibly just to see some westerners, possibly for some money, but we had a great time and saw a little piece of Cambodia that people probably wouldn't normally see.

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