Battambang

When you look at Battambang the city doesn't really have much to offer but a decent fruit market and a murky river that gathers people to it in the evening. The lonely planet says it's a charming riverside city that has well preserved French architecture. Well, I'm not sure what drugs they were on that day but it isn't exactly charming. It is however a nice change and a breath of fresh air from Siem Reap. The people here are much less aggressive on the begging stakes and the city does have a bit of Character .
I hired a motorbike and a guide today with 5 others and we went on a tour around the Villages and to the Killing caves were the Khmer Rouge killed hundreds of Cambodian and Chinese alike.
It was heaps of fun cruising the streets in our little gang our little convoy bouncing along the roads. My guide Chin Chin was really funny and full of really good info and many sad stories.
We went to the killing caves on top of a mountain were the Khmer killed and tortured men women and children and threw their nearly dead bodies down a large hole at the top of the cave. It was really sad but beautiful place all at the same time. One of our guides told us of his personal experiences and about what he saw at the caves. It's amazing that people still smile after all that they have been through.
The hike up the mountain was enough to kill me but the temple we went to next sealed my fate. We had to climb over a thousand steps up the side of a mountain to reach the top! Why do I keep doing this to myself??
The view from the top was spectaular and I definitely felt closer to Buddha.
We then all headed to ride the Bamboo train back to Battambang. On the way we passed through towns where the kids lined up along the road side to grab our hands to scream hello at us. Now I know what it's like to be royalty and I'll sure that's the closet I'll ever come to knowing.
The bamboo train is just that. Basically it's a slab of bamboo slats tied together and placed on top of train wheels with a little motor added on top. The local get around on these things and pretty much have for ever. The basic rule is that anything bigger or heavier coming in the other direction has preference and the smaller or lighter disassembles and moves for the larger.
It was great fun and we all thought this was a hilarious way to get around but not something we'd like to do all day every day.
Then we headed home for a great Khmer chicken curry and some laughs. The day was fantastic!
Chin Chin gave me some great and funny info on Cambodia...But you'll have to wait for another day