Battambang

I love Battambang. 
I arrived yesterday evening, found a nice hotel and walked around town for a while.  Battambang is just south of Siem Reap and is Cambodia’s second largest city.  Although, you would never know it.  The city pretty much shuts down around 9pm and during the day, the streets aren’t nearly as crazy as those in Phnom Penh.

I made my way to one of the restaurants listed in Lonely Planet and wound up eating with a great guy from the Checz Republic.  Before I knew it, we were on a hunt to find a decent bar to sit and talk (and drink beer, of course).  After a motorbike ride around the city and a few failed attempts at finding “the spot”, we took to the streets and walked back towards our neck of the woods.  On the way, we came across a carnival - ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds and games.  We couldn’t resist a few rounds of the dart throwing game.  Although we didn’t hit the balloons we were aiming for, we did manage to pop quite a few.  The best part about the carnival was that we were the only white people there and Ivo (the Checz guy) is almost 6.5 feet tall.  The Cambodians went nuts.  Everyone was pointing at us and laughing; people were even jumping in front of him to compare their size with his.  It was hilarious.  He had a great time with it too.  In the end, we ended up back at the same restaurant we started at but the journey was fun and the evening was really great.

This morning I woke up and began what turned out to be a a wonderful day, absolutely wonderful.  I took a cooking class at the Smokin’ Pot restaurant.  The class included a market tour and then three meals – one fish, one beef and one chicken.  I wasn’t as impressed with the Cambodia dishes as I have been with those in Laos and Vietnam but the class was fun and I met some good people. 
Afterward, I asked a motorbike driver to take me to the outskirts of town so I could explore the nearby temples.  The 1-hour ride on unpaved, rocky, dusty roads was breathtaking.  It is, hands down, some of the most beautiful landscape I have seen in South East Asia.  Cambodia is so strange because it is far less advanced than both Thailand and Vietnam.  I literally felt like I had stepped back in time as I watched the local people plow their fields with their oxen, transport their hay and rice in ox carts, bath in the local ponds and transport carry various objects in baskets balanced on their heads.  It really was an experience.  And, of course, the local children were welcoming and adorable; they stopped what they were doing to wave to me as I rode by. 

My first stop was Wat Battam.  The local people say that Angkor Wat was actually designed after Battam.  I don’t know if that’s the case or not but Battam was beautiful.  Built in the 11th century, it still stands with very little rubble or structural damage.  Each dome is made up of stacked stones, some with designs carved into them.  The climb to the top was difficult as there are a total of 331 steps but the view was well worth the sweat. 
After wandering around and poking my head into different holes and doors, I got back on the motorbike for a 30-minute ride through the country to the bamboo train stop.  The bamboo train was wicked.  It is one of my favorite experiences so far.  The track is really old and not of the rails are connected correctly so the ride is a bit bumpy.  But, each “train” is made up of a wooden platform with a bamboo floor.  They set the cart onto some metal wheels, stick the motor on the bike and away you go … flying through the country side.  It was so fun!

I’m really glad I decided to visit Battambang.  It is one of my favorite stops in Cambodia so far.  Sadly, I’m leaving tomorrow morning.  I’m catching the 7am boat for a 5-hour (supposedly incredibly beautiful) journey up to Siem Reap. 

Look out Angkor Wat … here I come!

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