Cambodia (Battambang-Siem Reap)
I didn’t stay too long in Battambang – Actually, there isn’t much to do in Battambang. Apart from the daytrip on motorcycles that Ruth and I took, it rained most of the time. I am talking torrential downpours that soak you to the skin before you’ve taken 4 steps in any direction! As a result, we were stuck at the hotel, including eating all of our meals there – thank goodness they had a decent restaurant! The only transportation for tourists right now is by motorcycle. There are no tuk-tuks or taxis, so no protection from the torrential downpours of rain here, you’d get soaked before you got anywhere!
So, for our one daytrip, Ruth and I booked a couple of motordops and set out early in the morning. We wanted to start at 8am, but settled on a 9am start because our guide, Chris, couldn’t do it because he had ‘responsibilities’. Like many of his friends, he shoulders responsibility for his entire family, and one of his morning obligations is to drive his younger sisters to school.
First on our itinerary was a tour of the countryside where we were able to get some fabulous shots of the local farmers working in the rice fields. Many waved to us and allowed us to get up ‘close and personal’ to take some pictures. Next was Phnom Sampeau, a hilltop temple, and also home to Battambang’s Killing Caves, used by the Khmer Rouge Regime. This was a very emotional part of the day. For those of you have been reading my blog, I have been learning a lot about the history of the Cambodian people, in particular, the invasion of the Khmer Rouge. It appears that Killing fields, or caves exist in most parts of Cambodia. The caves in this particular area are where the soldiers bludgeoned victims and threw them into the caves to die. After a long hike up the mountain, Chris sat us down and told us more about the Khmer Rouge and their effect on his own family. After that, we hiked down to the caves where many of the skeletel bones are on display, and one can see exactly where the victims spent their last days. I can’t explain why, but I burst into tears in this dark and dreary place. And Ruth was choked up as well. We felt so much overwhelming emotion – the atrocities we have read and heard about just seemed to magnify themselves in this place. This is such recent history – It’s difficult to believe that this all happened in the late 1970’s. The result is that most Cambodians are carrying physical and emotional scars from that terrible period, having been directly involved.
After lunch we were promised a sighting of some ‘Fruit Bats’. I thought Chris would be taking us to some cave, point it out to us and then say “they’re in there”. But, no, we arrived at a buddhist temple to find hundreds of fruit bats hanging from trees right in front of us! And it was 12:00 in the daytime! These bats are quite huge; taking into consideration their wing span, I would say they range from 2.5′ to 3.5′ in size. It was quite difficult trying to catch a picture of them in flight – they swoop down at such incredible speeds – my camera couldn’t cope!
Last stop of the day was the infamous “Norry Train”, or the Bamboo Train. I read about these in the guidebooks and couldn’t wait to see them. Apparently the local people have built their own ‘shuttle trains’ to move animals, people, and various goods from town to town, rather than rely on any conventional train service. If a real train does approach, or a bamboo train comes from the opposite direction, the norries can be dismantled in less than a minute.
Two ancient steel axles with cast-iron wheels at both ends are placed on the track. Atop of these is placed a long semi-rigid Bamboo Mat (3′ wide x 8′). The axles fit into two steel forks on the underside of the mat. The mat simply sits on top of the wheels, unsecured except by the steel forks. A rubber drive wheel links the tiny gas engine to the wheels, and that’s it! Two people can easily dismantle the norry, let the train go by, and then put it back together quite easily. I am sure that running a Norry Train has become a very profitable business!
Ruth and I originally planned to take a ride on one of these trains, but due to the approach of some extremely dark and ugly rain clouds, we decided to drive just to the outskirts of Battambang where we could ‘see’ the Bamboo Trains in operation. Our timing was great – we saw three Bamboo Trains and their owners had to disassemble and reassemble them in front of us before continuing on their journeys. As a result, when the torrential rains hit, we didn’t have too far to drive back to town!
Due to the rain, dinner was once again, back at the hotel! Tthere was really no reason to hang around Battambang a day longer, so I booked a ticket on the boat back to Siem Reap for the next morning. I did take a run through the local market before my departure, to check out the ‘gems’. Apparently, the gems mined in nearby Pailin are brought to Battambang to be cut and sold. I wandered through the jewelry aisles and observed a ‘jeweller’ using crazy glue to attach a ‘gem’ to an earring. I had wanted to see if I could tell the difference between a real gem and a fake – I still have no idea. As a result, I didn’t take a chance on wasting my money on buying a Cambodian ‘gem’. The crazy glue didn’t give me much confidence either!
Back in Siem Reap, I checked into the Chao Say Guesthouse again. I really wanted to stay at the Shadow of Angkor but, because it has been getting lots of writeups on the internet lately, all the rooms were taken. This is the 3rd time I have tried to get in!
While in Siem Reap, I visited the Artisans d’Angkor which is a school for teaching wood and stone-carving techniques to young epeople from impoverished backgrounds. The products produced here are some of the best in Cambodia. I discovered later, that they have a beautiful souvenir shop at the Phnom Penh Airport as well.
I am staying in Siem Reap for a couple of days so I can spend more time at Green Gecko with all those beautiful children. I have met some really wonderful volunteers there, mostly from the United States. One girl is coming to the end of her 5-week stint, aready dreading the thought of leaving her kids behind. I am sure her time at Green Gecko has made a significant impact on her.
I checked out another restaurant for dinner. Siem Reap has tons of wonderful restaurants and, some have beer specials too! A bunch of young Austrian boys sat next to me and did a bit of singing for their beer. They had wonderful voices and added a touch of zing to my evening! After several beers, and several more songs from the boys, I headed back to my guesthouse, trying to dodge all the beggars and motorcycle/tuk-tuk touts along the way.
Tags: Travel
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