Battambang & Pursat 21/06 - 23/06

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After our very luxurious mini bus we arrived in Battambang to a flurry of desperate tuk tuk drivers holding up their signs in the window and begging for our custom. After gaining some breathing space and a startled British couple, we opted instead to walk the 1.5k to our hotel. We left the British couple (Shaun and Freya) to find their hostel 'Here Be Dragons' and said we'd drop by later for a drink. It was getting late so we decided to go for a walk and found an amazing park where there were aerobics classes, power walkers, joggers, foot shuttle cock, badminton, outdoor gym equipment and Jacks favourite - stoned path reflexology. This was the first time on our travels that we'd noticed any place solely dedicated to exercise with so many people keen to look after their health and despite the size of the city, had a really lovely community feel. We went in search of our usual 1 dollar meal and after a tasty bowl of rice soup and Char blowing her head off with free chillis we went to meet Shaun and Freya at their hostel. This consisted of a fierce game of table tennis with another lad and chatting with a rather arrogant American!



The next morning we hired yet another moped and headed north to what the guidebook described as a "Charming temple"........ very underwhelming and not worth the dollar entry. Despite this, the countryside in the north was beautiful. Char had plucked up enough courage to take the handlebars and rode us through picturesque fishing villages and jungle trails before heading south to Banan. We'd got wise of the Battambang entry fees and so this time snuck around the back and lounged in hammocks on the lake before summoning the energy to climb the 358 steps to a temple. We are really noticing our muscle wastage! After taking in the views and sneaking back out we rode onto a bat cave and sat for 2 hours watching a never ending stream of bats flying off into the night over dinner. That evening we went to the Here Be Dragons pub quiz where we put in a decent performance coming third last. It was great fun, especially it being happy hour all night and the winning team putting their tower of beer on the bar.



The hitch hiking begins! We checked out of our hotel the following morning and began walking in the direction of Pursat. Soon enough we got a lift from a great guy in a flashy Lexus heading for Phnom Penh. After chatting about Police corruption, his pregnant wife and his plans to emigrate to the USA where his sister has opened a donut shop we hopped out in Pursat. This place is NOT on the tourist trail - no English signs, no English menus, no English speakers meaning we were local celebs for the afternoon. It seemed like we were the first western people to walk along these streets for some time. Everyone was really friendly and we couldn't go 10 steps before locals greeted us in their best English. We stumbled upon a mental market which was mayhem. There was fish guts, fruit sellers, people pushing and shoving with mopeds trying to squeeze through impassable gaps. We loved it so decided to get involved by buying some bananas. We hope tourism doesn't hit this place and turn it into another Siem Reap.

After 45 minutes of mis-communication we managed to get some grub in a beautiful local restaurant overlooking the river. We watched as the sun went down and people came to wash and collect water. At last we're starting to see true Cambodia.



The next morning we set ourselves the mammoth task of heading 160km south to the Osoam community centre in the Cardamom Mountains run by Mr Lim without spending a cent. First we were picked up by a lorry driver and squeezed into the tiny cab, big bags n all. We gained a few km but before long he turfed us out again as his depot was close to Pursat. Next we were picked up by a local chemistry teacher - the nicest man ever! He took us as far as his family home/gas station where we sat and chatted via google translate for an hour or so. His family showed us the best hospitality and brought us mangoes, dragon fruit, tea and some delicious coconut banana dessert, we didn't want to leave. In turn jack offered his wife some free Physio advice for her dodgy elbow (she better do her exercises!) We then got our maddest ride - a local taxi/delivery van piled high with live chickens, TVs and boxes full of god knows what. We dolloped ourselves on top with another local who seemed to have a similar idea and held on tight! The journey was slow but we made good ground and arrived in Veal Veng. This is where our luck ran out for several hours. Just as we were giving up and considering a guesthouse for the night a taxi finally stopped and put us on the phone to Mr Lim - the exact person we were hoping to get to that night!!!

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