Advertisement
Published: April 28th 2011
Edit Blog Post
Hello all
This weekend I found myself at a loose end, so I headed down to Battambang (pronounced 'Battambong') where some other volunteers are based. Battambang is Cambodia's 2nd City, and I had yet to visit so it seemed the perfect time! Battambang city, aka The Bong, is pretty big and is the provincial capital of Battambang Province.
I headed down to see Esther and Katie, who had by coincidence planned a day of activities which I was invited...Est & Kat would say invited to, I say invited myself along to!! I left mine at about 06:45, and moto'd through Sisophon and onto National Highway 5 that runs all the way down to Battambang - only in Cambodia can you get in a traffic jam at 7am in the middle of nowhere!
I arrived into Battambang about an hour and a half later, and got wonderfully lost! Esther was guiding me in, and amongst all of the talk of which bridges to pass when, I did a good 15km round trip whilst Esther, Katie, Oly and Adrian were waiting for me in a Tuk Tuk. Now, I dare say that the directions that I was given were slightly
misleading, as I was never told to actually take a left or right, just keep driving...which I did! Of course, Esther refutes this and blames me not listening....c'mon blokes, you're with me, women and directions!!! Mwah :-)
So I landed and we rode off to the bamboo train, where Oly and Adrian took a ride on the train. Now, when you think of a train, think less Virgin Pendalino and more warped tracks upon which a bamboo platform, attached to a couple of car axles and a moto engine powering at the back ramble along - we were not entirely sure we would see them again! But our intrepid explorers returned safety.
Esther, Katie, Oly and Adrian were in a Tuk Tuk, and I followed behind them on my moto. We then headed around the province, out of the city, to visit some Wats, villages and a Cambodian vineyard - the red was actually very quaffable! For lunch, we headed to a Wat that beside it had a number of small restaurants beside a lake - where there were huts with hammocks in that you just lay back, chillax and watch the world go by. Utter peace!
Well, peace until the rain came! What started off as a bit of thunder and drizzle soon turned into 3hrs of a tropical storm, but no fear, we had hammocks, a roof overhead and nowhere to be! Feeling smug, we didn't really notice the locals leaving until about 5pm...at which point we realised that our transport was a good 100m away along what was now a mud slide! At this point I must thank my friends for their support....I left the hut first to pay and get going, and as soon as I was on uphill slope from our hut I started sliding back down; I was like a drunk Bambi on ice wearing roller-skates! Did my friends rush to help? No. Did my friends throw me a branch to hold onto? No. Did my friends assist when the banister I went to grab came away in my hand like putty? No. My friends burst out laughing, rolled over in giggles and started taking pictures of me!
We all made our way back to the transport, and then headed back to The Bong which was now under about 1ft of water....very interesting driving conditions on the moto...and headed for
dinner and drinks. Sunday came, brekkie was eaten and homeward bound I drove. The Bong. Done.
This week has been good, I'm starting to get into the swing of things with the partner organisations and colleagues and getting some wheels in motion. This weekend I am off to Phnom Penh to see my lady, and as Sunday is a Bank Holiday it rolls over onto Monday - you see, you don't need to be a Subject of HRH to get a day off work this coming week!
So, there we go, a timely update - I did it!
I hope you are all well and looking forward to the weekend. As a bit of trivia, I was actually born on the same day as Prince William, I think I am about 4hrs older than him. You know what, I think often just how similar our lives are.....today, Prince William will be rehearsing his marriage ceremony to a soon-to-be-Princess along The Mall and Westminster Abbey...today, I am looking forward to getting back home as the car batteries that power my house have been recharged meaning that I can turn on a light switch!
Glory days, my family and friends.
Big love,
Pete
Advertisement
Tot: 0.047s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 10; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0292s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb