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Published: January 7th 2007
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Battambang
I've spent the last week visiting the magnificent temples at Angkor Wat, with a short detour beforehand to Battambang in the west. Battambang (pronounced Battam
bong) is a 5 hour bus ride away, is a rather nice little town and there are various temples and sites to see in the surrounding region. It's also a convenient stopover on the way to Angkor, travelling onwards by bus or boat in my case. In Battambang a took a moto for the day with guide ($15) and went to see a couple of wats (temples) and some old ruins (I can't remember the name without the guidebook to hand). The highlight of the day however was a ride back to the town on the bamboo train - basically just a single track railway line which the locals use to scoot up and down on, using a small bamboo platform pushed by motorbike motor. When another comes the other way, they simply take off the cargo, take off the 'train' part and the wheels and let the other continue. Seems that the one with the largest cargo gets the right of way (in our case 2 motorbikes)!
Siem Reap and Angkor Wat
Getting to Angkor
involved a 5 hour boat trip up the river and past the huge Tonle Sap lake. It was a fascinating trip as the boat was used by the locals (complete with chickens) and tourists alike, and made very slow and winding progress past floating villages and houses on stilts. One thing that strikes me about Cambodia (and Vietnam to an extent) is that so much litter is dumped into and around the rivers - plastic bags which detract from the beauty of the environment. Many locals also have no qualms about throwing litter and cans etc on the ground at temples and historic sites, which seems a shame. Hopefully this situation will improve in future!
Siem Reap is the nearest town to Angkor, actually about 7km away from the main temple sites. It's a huge bustling town with hotels and bars springing up all over the place, and it's completely over-run by tourists. Having said that it's quite a good place for a night out...
I bought a 3 day pass and set off very early with a tuk tuk driver to do the tour - the temples are spread over vast distances - Ankgor Wat itself is 7km away,
Battambang to Siem Reap
Floating house on river trip between Battambang and Siem Reap and there are others 25 km away, and much further afield. The temples are certainly impressive - check out the photos. I'd loev to go back and spend more time there, although without the mass throngs of tourists and coach loads of people! I had to return to Phnom Penh to collect my Cambodia visa extension (an extra month, probably only using an extra week) and my Laos (2 month) visa - both cost $45. I extended my Cambodian visa so I have a few more days or a week if needed, as there is still a lot to see in the east and north, and didn't want to have to move on if wanting to hang around and do a few more activities. I've spent the weekend again in Phnom Penh, which was quite handy as I had toothache last week and decided to visit a dentist (a scary prospect!!) - actually it was very clean and hygienic and apparently all is OK, I have had my teeth cleaned ($15) and told to floss more!!! I have booked a bus ticket to Kratie (pronounced Krah-cheh) tomorrow (at 7.30 am, a tad early) which is a convenient place to explore
Battambang to Siem Reap
Me, on the top of a slow boat! the province, located in the east of the country bordering Vietnam. There are also extremely rare Irrawaddy dolphins (freshwater ones) in the area, which are however supposed to be fairly easy to spot with the help of a guide. I stayed at the California 2 hotel in Phnom Penh which is a popular spot with bikers, it's about 20$ a night which is a tad expensive for a student backpacker (but for me OK) but does include a free breakfast and hot water, plus TV etc. The Canadian owner really knows a lot about Cambodia and it's right on the river front so if you want to splurge for a day or two it's a really great choice, and centrally located near all the bars and is very popular with bikers too. I stayed at the Angkor International near the old market for 10$ the previous night but it was not so great, with mouldy walls, cold water which was only a trickle. I've now added the photos so take a peek...
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Paula
non-member comment
fairly jealous!
hi Roly, just thought I'd see what you have been up to, and I have to say I wish I was there!... not sure Xander would be safe travelling on the back of a motorbike though! Glad you are having a great time and I can't wait for the next installment. The small child seems pretty interested in the photos too! Keep safe.