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Battambang has been a true insight into rural Cambodia. The people are so friendly and so interested to hear where we're from, where we've been and also what football team we support. Unfortunately they haven't heard of Fulham, just Manchester United!
Our hostel here has had everything we've needed and nothing more. We've had clean towels and its relatively clean. It's pretty much in the middle of town and the market is a minutes walk away- perfect for the mid morning fruit run! The temperature has dropped and we've even had a few blue skies today. All in all, Battambang has been surprisingly good and it's still growing on me.
Last night we hired motorbikes which has been great fun and also a very cheap way to get between places. Our first destination was the 'Bamboo Train'- a kit-train that George and I helped put together which was powered by a moped engine and used a disused rail line previously installed by Pepsi in the 1960's. Our ride took us through some of the paddy fields and a few farms where we got to meet some great people who couldn't understand a word of English.
Next stop was a mountain called Phnom Sampouv, used in the 70's by the Khmer Rouge to kill men, women and children from local farms. The soldiers would push the families down a 30m drop into a cave, now known locally as 'The Killing Cave'. Seeing the number of skulls left at the bottom and then the view from the top, where the victims were pushed from, made it a chilling experience.
Our last stop was a crocodile farm on the other side of Battambang so it was back on the motorbikes for what seemed like a long journey. As it turned out we'd just driven past it a couple of times and half of Cambodia in the mean time. The strong smelling combination of 100 or so crocodiles and a few buckets of catfish heads meant we didn't stay long but we did get some interesting photos.
Unfortunately our time in Battambang is up and tonight we're catching a night bus down to the beaches of Sihanoukville. They say a change is a good as a rest which is reassuring because I can't see us getting much sleep on a 13 hour bus journey with questionable air con!
- comments
Katy Hi JP, already sounds like you've had some amazing experiences! Good luck on the night bus, have fun. Thinking of you x x x
Ma Sounds as though you are having very busy days and getting to see lots of interesting things! Glad I read about the motorbikes after the event! Your bus journey sounds very long and painful! Hope it goes by quickly. The beach will be a welcome sight! Not much to report here, back from a lovely week with Diane and Jan. Their mobile home is very plush, you will have to fit in a visit! Grandad had a great time too, I think. He seemed to enjoy the company! The dogs have slept all day after a busy week with Charlie and George! Now we're back at work sadly. Keep safe and keep the blogs coming, it's lovely to hear all your news. Love you x