Going Batty in Battambang

Enjoying Battambang

Battambang looks like a nice town with a friendly feel so we decided to make the most of our day here with a full schedule.

The hotel staff are lovely but at breakfast on the first day we felt a bit like zoo animals at feeding time. We haven't seen any other guests so think that's why we're getting so much attention. After breakfast we took a walk to a nearby art gallery the hotel had recommended. Our side of the town/river is the less busy part, so although hot we took a lovely stroll along quiet back streets with lots of trees to the gallery. Unlike other towns we've seen recently there were proper made up roads without holes to dodge.

Battambang Culture for Guardian Readers

The gallery was Romcheik 5 and was 95% the work of 4 Cambodian artists. Their styles were different but all very good. It was really interesting walking round and spending a morning there. The 4 artists had been separately trafficked by their families to Thailand but eventually finished up in the same art school. They were then deported back to Cambodia and settled in Battambang where they set up the gallery, gradually improving it to the current building. The gallery has been ranked top 10 in South Asia by the Guardian.

Hop on the Bamboo Train

The afternoon was a tuktuk tour organised through the hotel. We stopped at a few photo opportunities and the driver gave us details about the town. He was a little fanatical about Buddhism but very interesting. Our main stop was for a Bamboo Train. This was excellent, although definitely not health and safety gone mad. We sat on a bamboo base which was then placed on axles and fitted with an engine. Luckily we were also given cushions to sit on before the "train" raced down the tracks at around 25 to 30 kph but being so close to the tracks did make it seem faster and the scenery whizzed past. Other than a couple of bumps having nothing to hold onto wasn't too frightening! On the way back we saw a cow and it's calf either side of the tracks. The train slowed, which was fortunate as at the last moment the calf crossed the track to join mum!

The track was built to transport stuff after the civil war but is now just used as a tourist attraction.

Batastic

After this we stopped at the killing cave. Again sadly connected to Khymer Rouge. The guide mentioned it was an hour walk up there or take a moto taxi, the taxi turned out to be motorbikes with scary drivers. At the top as well as the cave we saw a temple and shrine with a fantastic backdrop of countryside vistas. Also quite a few monkeys up there ready to steal food and belongings.

We then waited until dusk to watch the bats leave the bat cave. First the swallows go in then between 10 and 30 million bats head out. Watching the late swallows fly against the tide of bats was amusing. The flow of bats lasted 15 minutes before we headed back and even then they were still coming out. At weekends lots of locals come here so it was busy. Before the bats appeared the younger locals entertained themselves by staring at us or coming up to us. High fives, waves and hi's were exchanged.

Moving On

My only gripe is over the money. Their currency can't be exchanged out of their country and is tagged against the US dollar. The locals prefer to paid in dollars and so far everything has been priced in dollars. Once paid the smaller traders or tuktuk drivers will claim to have no dollars for change so pay this in Cambodian riel but always giving a slightly worse exchange rate. It isn't much but when we pay we are just waiting for "no dollars, riel OK?"

The hotel staff have been really lovely at this hotel and all got a bit emotional as we left. They had already taken our picture and given us a print but as we left they had one from the guide as well. The hotel is the Muni Residence and we would definitely recommend.

After a lift to the bus station we are heading to Phnom Penh.