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Day 14 - We were getting a 09:30 bus from Phnom Penh to Battambang so we had a leisurely breakfast before checking out and getting our usual tuk tuk driver to take us to the bus station.
A chaotic bus station but we found the correct bus and waited to board. We had been quoted anything from 4 to 6 hours so who knew how long it would take.
After what seemed like an age we stopped at a roadside shack for people to get food if needed. Back on the bus and another hour or so passed with a few random stops to drop off and pick people up, sometimes without actually physically stopping the bus. We stopped again for lunch at about 13:00 at a roadside restaurant and with a grand total of 6000 riel to our name we had no idea whether we could eat. We had 150 dollars in cash but only in a $100 bill and a $50 so paying for a $1.50 meal with them was out of the question. Luckily a beef, vegetable and rice dish was 6000 riel so we tucked in. With an upset stomach, I ventured to the toilets out the back, bad move as they were squat toilets with no toilet roll, imodium calling?!! Alice went as well saying her toilets were ok, must just be the gents then!
With the child on the seats in front of us being sick on his parents twice on the journey and the child behind screaming along to the loud Cambodian tunes we couldn't wait for it to be over. There was also a film being shown that i hope was a comedy because it was so badly filmed that it was hilarious. It kept me amused anyway as i also had Alice's ipod in with such tunes as Buffy the Vampire Slayer theme tune and Newton Faulkner mixed in with some Incubus, groovy!
6.5 hours after we'd left Phnom Penh we arrived in Battambang and it was good to get off and walk around. Climbing off the bus there were loads of tuk tuk drivers grabbing you and shoving signs in your face so we just went straight or our bags and made a beeline to the other side of the road where an Australian couple had gone. We knew where our hotel was in the map just no idea where we were which didn't help! Daring to ask a tuk tuk driver expecting him to offer to take us (which he duly did) we all walked off down one of the dusty streets. A tuk tuk would only have been a dollar but out of principle we didn't get one and it was nice to walk after the bus journey. We eventually came to a crossroads where Alice spotted the big sign for the Royal Hotel and the Aussie couple could work out where their hotel was from there. Not too much 'royal' about the exterior but looked ok. When we arrived there was a tuk tuk guy there with a printed sign with my name on it, he had been at the bus stop to pick us up. To be honest with the scrum that was occurring we would never have spotted him. Checking in we were shown our room which had a double bed and a single, air con, a half decent bathroom so all good. Third floor though so a bit of a slog up with the bag, of course Alice had hers carried for her.
We pretty much just dumped the bags and headed out as it would be dark soon. We headed over past the market and onto the other side of the river into the park area. Guess what, more Cambodians exercising at dusk, such a great idea and up and down the country thousands of people will be exercising, could never imagine that back home.
We wandered around town for a bit checking out the old colonial buildings and looked for a place called the Gecko Cafe (set in an old colonial shop) which is in the guidebook as a good place to have a bit of food and a drink. We decided not to eat here so a quick Angkor on the balcony and then down the steep wooden ladder that replaced the stairs. We headed to Nary's Restaurant as we had heard this is a great place to have dinner.
Nary's is predominantly a cooking school and you eat what you cook from the local market but is also a restaurant in the evenings. There were a few others in there who had been in the cooking class. Spring rolls to start and when they were brought to the table, one of the groups all looked over so guess they may well have prepared them. Anyway, what a great meal, a chicken curry and a fish amok, amazing but not sure the stomach will hold up :/
Another early night ready for tomorrow where we travel to Siem Reap in the afternoon.
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