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Published: March 17th 2011
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There are two ways of getting from Siem Reap to Battambang, neither of which could be described as quick given the short distance between the two cities (less than 80km as the crow flies). The trouble is that the Tonle Sap lake is in the way, meaning that the bus has to go all the way back west to Sisophon - not far from Poipet and the Thai border - before turning south towards Battambang. The obvious alternative of going across the lake is apparently scenic, but at this time of year we're most of the way through the dry season and the water level is so low the boat keeps bottoming out and reported travel time in the other direction, from a traveller I talked to at the guesthouse in SR, was 11(!) hours. Needless to say I said thanks but no thanks, and took the bus.
The two best-known attractions in Battambang are the 'bamboo train' and Phnom Sampeu, both to the south of city and as I guess most visitors do I took a tour, by 'moto' - basically a motorbike that you ride as a passenger - to see both on the same day.
(a
digression: The motorbike is the main mode of transport in Cambodia: what the drivers and most visitors refer to as a tuk-tuk here isn't a miniature 3 wheeled vehicle like in Thailand, it's a motorbike with a cart hitched to the back. There aren't many cars on the roads, and taxis are a rare find indeed. You would scarcely believe a) the number of people that will fit on a motorbike - the most I saw was 5; two adults and three kids all on the back of a bike and b) the types of stuff that is loaded onto them. As well as motorbikes there are many bicycles. One of the first things I noticed that was very different between Thailand and Cambodia after crossing the border at Poipet was the number of bicycles on the road. The country is mostly very flat and the roads, nowadays, between important places are sealed and smooth so good for cycling)
The bamboo train is an unusual experience, and the word is that is not long before it is closed down as the line is to be opened to more conventional, faster traffic. It runs on rails (some of which aren't
very well joined together so it's a bit bumpy at times!), but it isn't what you might imagine on reading the word "train". It' s a flat wooden raft-type thing no more than 8ft long which can seat 3 people side-by-side, with an engine on it, resting on two axles. It's just as well that it is this simple, mind you, because every time trains coming in opposite directions meet everyone has to get off and then one of them is physically taken off the tracks so the other can pass. It was previously used for transport of rice, but I don't think it's actually used as anything other than a tourist attraction nowadays. After going up and down the line I moved on to Phnom Sampeu, a temple on the top of a big hill (described elsewhere as a mountain - that's a bit of an exaggeration, it was a mildly strenuous walk up to the top). The views over the countryside from the hill and the macaque monkeys at the top made this worth the trip, especially as I missed out on seeing any when I was in Malaysia.
It was the city itself that provided the
highlights of my time in Battambang, though. I visited three temples (wats). At Wat Kandal, which is on the east side of the river (opposite the busiest part of the city where most amenities including the hotel I stayed at are). I got talking to a monk there who was studying English and was very well-informed with a better vocabulary than many native English speakers. He listened to Voice of America on the radio and watched BBC and CNN when he got the chance, and talked about some of the history of Cambodia as well as of his temple. Apparently there was a westerner called 'Bob' who used to live at the temple, there was a building no longer in use that had a wall covered in peace-and-love type posters. When I told him I had travelled through Thailand he was interested in how Thais perceive his country, though as I hadn't had this kind of conversation with any Thai natives I couldn't provide much insight. On the way back from Wat Kandal I stumbled across a very good restaurant that wasn't mentioned in any guidebooks, called K-O restaurant. It was very popular with local people, there was authentic live
Khmer song and dance ongoing performance on a big stage and the food was excellent and really good value (so much so that I went back the next night for their eel dish). I was a bit baffled by the menu, though, as I ordered "Beef on fire with cheese cambodia sauce" and when the food came there was no trace of any cheese. I asked the waiter where it was but he didn't understand, and the food was tasty enough anyway so I left it. I asked the moto driver what the Khmer meant and apparently "cheese" means French, and the 'cheese cambodia sauce' here was actually fish sauce!
Battambang was definitely worth visiting. After Angkor, its main attractions for visitors were never going to be the reason to go out of my way to come here, and in the main they weren't. In a strange way that was sort of the point - in a way it was what Battambang didn't have that made it stand out. Other than maybe Hat Yai which I only stayed in for one night, Battambang was the only place I've visited so far where you could walk around in the centre
of town without seeing another foreigner for an hour or more. There were far fewer beggars and hawkers, and I could walk around without constantly hearing the call aimed in my direction "tuk tuk, sir" - unlike Siem Reap. I wouldn't go so far as to say the place is peaceful - it took a while to get across roads at times - but there's a happy medium between being too out-of-the-way with little to do or see and being a tourist draw with all the negatives that come with that and Battambang strikes that.
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Mark Iles
non-member comment
Glad my expert tutelage paid off
Am pleased to hear you enjoyed Battambang. See the bats as well? Mark