Cambodia is a country with loving people and a troubled past. A band of communist guerrillas, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, defined the darkest period in Cambodia’s history. Our next stop was going to be Battambang in Western Cambodia, the home to this regime for nearly 20-years. Battambang is Cambodia’s second largest city but only 10 years ago there were no street-lights and only one vehicle in the entire town. The resourceful people are changing all that and have changed many of the French colonial era shop houses into quaint bars and restaurants.
We decided to take the scenic route there from Siem Reap so opted for a boat ride through Tonle Sap lake. The lake and river system, which swells to more than 8000 square kilometers during rainy season before contracting significantly during the dry, is home to dozens of picturesque floating villages. Sitting on a wooden bench was not the most comfortable way to reach Battambang but it was certainly the most relaxing and scenic. It reminded us of our journey down the Amazon.
Our riverboat, a floating village on the lake portion, local transportation and Jon enjoying some sun down the river.
The area around Battambang is considered the nation’s agricultural heartland. We signed up with Battambang Countryside Trip for a full day adventure. Savet, the owner started the company only a year ago and it is already #1 of Things to Do on TripAdvisor. I immediately felt a connection to him as he had given up his “real” job as an English teacher to pursue a less stressful career. The tour combined all of the sites in the area plus we were able to learn a little bit about daily life for Cambodian’s.
Our first stop was the super touristy but fun Bamboo “Train” where a flat bamboo platform sits on top of a metal undercarriage powered by a motorbike engine runs tourists up and down a track. There is only one track so if you are on the wrong side of traffic you have to quickly disassemble your carriage and get of the track.
Our group on the Bamboo Train and people on the side of the track waiting for traffic to go in the other direction.
Afterwards, we biked around the village Savet grew up in and met his mother and aunt, learned about the plants they grew in the garden and sold in the market to make money and visited the local temple. This was by far my favorite part of the day biking through the lush village and learning a bit about the people who live there. Savet’s finance, now wife, made us a beautiful lunch and after we lazed around in hammocks.
Biking through the villge.
Another unique experience was being able to stop at some of the local vendors. One of the most popular snacks in the area is sticky rice, we learned how to make this delicious treat and sampled some. Jon and I liked it so much we bought another. Other stops were a rice paper production (aka one woman operating an ancient machine fired by wood chips), making of banana chips, and fish sauce factory which is basically small fish fermenting in barrels. Jon and I were also able to try out weaving on a machine that was over a hundred years old. The women had received the machine from her grandmother and was still making traditional Cambodian Krama using it. Jon and I each purchased one of the versatile scarfs for $3 each. What a souvenir!
Sticky rice made in Bamboo, stinky fermented fish, women making rice paper for spring rolls, Jon trying out the weaving machine and banana chips drying in the sun.
At the end of the day we visited the hillside temple complex of Wat Sampeu where we had stunning views of the countryside and were able to watch monkeys chase tourists around trying to steal their ice cream (no joke). The temple while beautiful, left one feeling heavy with its gruesome use by the Khmer Rouge as a prison with many of the prisoners pushed to their deaths through a hole at the top of a cave. After we sat down to enjoy a cold Angkor Cambodian beer and watch the bat parade. Each night millions of bats come out of Laang Lacaun to feast. There are so many it takes over an hour!
Battambang countryside and a monkey licking the leftover ice cream.
Bat cave of Phnom Sampov.
What we ate, while we favored the spicy dishes of Thailand, this area had some great restaurants. We tried the Cambodian version of mild yellow coconut curry, Amok as well as a sweet and sour soup which was very tasty. My favorite was Khmer Noodle at the night market where I ate a delicious curry noodle soup for about $2.
Me enjoying my curry noodle soup and fresh fruit juice at the night market.
Where we stayed, Seng Hout Hotel, we had a room with air con and a bathroom for about $15 a night. The property had an attached restaurant to grab breakfast. Once again, the best part was the small roof pool.
Journey with Christina 