Blogs from Battambang, North, Cambodia, Asia - page 11

Following our 3 slightly harrowing days in Phnom Penh we booked a couple of bus tickets for a 6 hour journey to Battambang, "an attractive colonial town with riverside views". Lonely Planet writerrs must get paid to make places sound attractive, I assure you that nowhere in their pages will you find the words that escaped my lips after an hour of walking round Battambang. I should know better of course, this very same publication described Dalat in Vietnam as "little Paris" when it is anything but. I haven't checked, but it wouldn't surprise me if they also describe Bradford as "a Jewel in the crown of Northern England". So, first impressions of Battambang were a little disapointing. Yes there is a river, and yes there are buildings along the riverfront that could, at a stretch, ... read more

We could've saved some money and had breakfast at our hotel which was included in our nights stay but we read online that its gross so we went down to Centre Cafe. We bought our bus tickets to Phnom Penh and hired a tuk tuk for the day. First stop was the Bamboo Norrie Ride. The Norrie is an assembly of a bamboo and wooden platform, with wooden struts resting on the axles of salvaged railway rolling stock wheels, the engine sits at the back with a fan belt attached to a flywheel on the axel. The Norrie was built in the early 1980's after the Khmer Rouge had ended. Roads were in really bad conditions so there were few means of transport and building the Norrie just made sense. With it being built, Cambodians now ... read more

It was still pouring rain when we woke up. We walked down to where we had breakfast slipping and sliding. The roads aren't paved and when mixed with water it turns into a huge mud pit. I ended up taking off my flip flops and walking in bare feet because it was easier. We finally arrived covered in mud. We had decided that we didn't want to do the rest of the tour because of the weather, and our dissappointment in everything the day before. Of course our guide wasn't happy that we were leaving as he booked everything, and they insisted we pay 50% of what we hadn't done. So when we started adding it up off the price sheet on the wall he says , " oh no, thats different price then package tour." ... read more

After 4 days in Siem Reip its time to move, I'm meeting my buddy paul in about a week in the capital and prior to that myself and Niamh decided to head to one other location prior to making our way to Phnom Penh. Sihanoukville is the happening place to go. Ash texted me saying that its a hopping place full of bars and beaches. Shinouville is also a great spot for diving and being freshly qualified I'm raring to go. Unfortunately its big hike and since Paul is here in a a few days sitting in a Cambodian bus for 11 hours listening to Khmer karaoke at full volume on the buses tv screen is just to horrific to contemplate. As a result we have compromised and headed to Battambang, its only 3 hours away ... read more

The way to go from Siem Reap to Battambang is by boat. Do not take the bus. The boat gives you the chance to have a quick view of what the real Cambodia, the one living in the countryside, looks like. It's poor. Yes, in Siem Reap you have signs of poverty, but tourism has brought money and you can also see that. 9 hours on the boat, sharing it with local people, seeing floating villages, the landscape and the small house constructions on the riverside is really interested. However, do not forget to take earplugs and to sit on the roof when possible! It has been in Battambang, a not so touristy town in the Northwest of Cambodia, where I have decided to declare a new race. I have been on the road for over ... read more