Cambodia Part 3 : Battambang

Peace Naga.

Another long bus journey, this time to a terminal on the outskirts of Cambodia's second city (population around 150,000!), Battambang.  Immediately I sense a contrast to bustling Phnom Penh, here traffic seems much lighter, and the tuktuk drivers far less aggressive, this is all good, and makes for a pleasant walk to my hotel, which is itself rather nice - my room has actual furniture, and there is even a rooftop jacuzzi!  So, liking the place so far, it has a laid back feel to it, there seems to be more of a French influence surviving here than the rest of the country - where, beyond the availability of demi-baguettes and patisserie, you wouldn't really guess at the colonial history.  Here, there seem to be a lot of French tourists sipping wine in restaurants of an evening, and why not.  Seems to be a very artistic place too, lots of sculpture about, I pass wood carving workshops, there is a performing arts school here too, their circus shows being one of the city's attractions - a bit pricey for me I fear.  I do splash out on bicycle hire - three whole dollars per day, this gets me a machine with actual gears, and even disk brakes, well worth it.  For it is only a short ride out into the country, and there is much to see - though in fact, it is enjoyable enough just to be out riding around, the wind in my face more or less compensating for the scorching heat.  I find a convivial place to pause anyway, a few kilometres south of town is what purports to be Cambodia's only winery - well, they certainly have a lot of grapes growing, all under curved translucent shelters to protect them from the monsoon rains.  Not sure if any fermentation goes on here though - I partake of a little 'wine' tasting, and while I am no connoisseur, it's my impression that these beverages have been created with a mixture of grape juice, grain alcohol, and spices such as ginger.  Hmm.  Back to town where I visit various substantial statues, one of Vishnu, a large 'peace Naga' constructed by welding together various firearms handed in during a (fairly recent) amnesty, and most impressively the huge 'Battambang Man'.  Apparently the latter refers to the local legend of a man who found a magic stick, and used it to become king - as you do.

Temple art here is so entertaining.

I am sure you are wondering, are there temples here?  Well of course there are... again, bicycle is the best way to reach them, a notable example being Ek Phnom, a little way to the north, here there is a modern Buddhist temple, complete with massive Buddha statue, and nearby an 11th century Wat in the Angkorian style, as big as many I saw in Siem Reap, though clearly it has suffered over the centuries - there is hardly a single intact piece of carving to be seen.  I manage a longer journey, some twenty kilometres to the south, to visit Wat Banan, a rather better preserved Angkorian temple, this time built on top of a substantial hill - I am getting some exercise here for sure.  Also interesting is a nearby complex of huge caves, where I actually pay for a guide - well, it was either that or just push past him to get in.  Worth a dollar to have him point out stalagmites, veins of quartz in the rock, and even a colony of bats on the roof high above.  I ride on, heading west on what turns out to be a dirt track alongside a canal, well my $3 bike copes well enough, there is another temple this way, Prasat Snung - again, modern Buddhist next to the crumbling remains of ancient towers.  From here I can head back to Battambang along National Highway 57, taking in the most famous local temple, Phnom Sampov, on the way.  The route looked good when I planned things, but two problems arise, firstly I don't get far before the 'National Highway' turns into a surface of dirt and gravel - I guess they're rebuilding it?  Worse, it's starting to rain, just a few big fat drops at first, but before long I'm riding through a storm, into the face of a stiff headwind and a deluge of water, lightning bolts crashing into the surrounding hills and fields.  Not entirely pleasant, but the real problem is it is turning the already poor road surface into a sea of mud, increasingly hard to get any traction on... I push on, the rear tyre spinning in the mud, but after half an hour or so when I pass a shelter on the side of the road, packed with locals whose mopeds are parked outside, I have to stop for a bit.  They look at me curiously, I am the only cyclist here... well, the rain doesn't stop but maybe eases off a little, so after a rest I head back out, and thankfully after a kilometre or so the road returns to a tarmac surface.  I reach Wat Sampong, and though it is raining I still climb the many steps to reach the temple, more because it is there than anything else really.  The vaunted view from the top is of a landscape blurred by the torrential rain falling... still, I do get to see a life size diorama of Monkey, Tripitaka and all, so that is cool.

All aboard the bamboo train.

Food here is good, I mainly eat at a French owned place opposite my hotel, where there is also draft beer for $1 (or less during happy hour!) and a pool table, good to see my pool skills have not left me.  Am liking amok I must say... another local speciality around here is apparently spring rolls, well go on, I may have had these before somewhere, they're good though.  I find a handy local newspaper by the bar, in English, with details of various local attractions, one that catches my eye is the 'bamboo train', so I head off on my bike next day to check it out.  This turns out to involve a ten kilometre or so stretch of railway, surviving from the network built by the French back in the day - much of it now defunct, although reconstruction work is now underway, trains will be able to run all the way from Bangkok to Phnom Penh within a year or two.  But here there are trains, of a sort, still running - each consists of a wooden frame, resting without suspension on metal bogies, and topped by a bamboo platform.  The thing is driven along by what looks like a lawnmower engine, attached to the axle via a car fan belt... supposedly these were used by locals to move themselves and goods, back when the roads in this region were more or less unusable, but now it is the preserve of tourists, me and three others pay $5 each for a trip up and down the line.  Turns out to be something of a thrill ride, maximum speed is perhaps fifteen miles per hour, but the way the 'train' rattles along the warped rails, over rotting sleepers and bridges, with us passengers crouched inches above the track is, exciting to say the least.  Amusing to see what happens when two trains meet going in opposite directions - whichever one has fewer passengers has to offload them, and then the entire thing is dismantled and carried off the rails.  I take a turn carrying one end of the carriage, it's actually pretty heavy for all that it's made of bamboo.

Sheltering from the monsoon at Wat Sampov.

Well, that was Cambodia then... from here, it's just another long bus back to Thailand, where I have more planning to do - this world travel thing does not organise itself you know.  Have to say I was rather impressed by this country - it is certainly amazing how the place has been reconstructed since the horrors of last century - even after the Vietnamese invasion, there was an on-off civil war going on for years afterwards, with the last remnants of the Khmer Rouge not surrendering until 1999.  Nowadays the place seems to be thriving, there is new construction everywhere, and a general atmosphere of optimism - I can certainly see myself coming back at some point.  I might well pass through here on my way to Viet Nam at some point I suppose - need to check off the last bit of French Indochina as was, after all.  Was talking to one of my fellow passengers on the bamboo train, he reckoned a good cycling route was to go from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City,  Hmmm...

Photos to go with this post can be found here.