Edited December, 2024
After thoroughly enjoying Siem Reap, our next stop was Battambang. A good-sized city of over one million people, Battambang is a few hours from Siem Reap by bus or a 6-8-hour boat ride down the Tonle Sap River. You can guess which mode of transport we opted for!
We grabbed seats at the front of the boat to avoid the noise and fumes of the motor. Once the boat was loaded with passengers, we headed up the river. Along the way, we passed many floating villages. Most were desperately poor – their homes were made of corrugated tin, plywood, and other scraps of building material. Many of these people were illegal Vietnamese refugees and had nowhere else to go.
Our boat acted as UPS and FedEx delivery as well – along the way, the boat driver blared the horn upon approaching the villages. If people had items needing to go to the next village or beyond, they rowed out to drop off their package, handed the driver a few riel, and paddled back. Soon, we had accumulated two ginormous barrels of fish, a dozen or so sacks of dried fish, two school kids needing a ride, and numerous parcels, boxes and bags that were fitted in under our seats and pretty much anywhere they could be stashed for the remainder of the ride.
Along the way, our boat stopped at one of the shacks to buy snacks or lunch, and young girls were coring and slicing fresh pineapple to sell us.
Another stop on Tonle Sap was more touristy – there were items to buy such as scarves, bracelets, snacks, and more – and while we were all milling about, a boat paddled by one especially enterprising mother with her three adorable children floated up to us, looking for “donations” in exchange for allowing us to take pictures. Her eldest daughter, perhaps 5 years old, had a large snake wrapped around her neck, smiling from ear to ear, while the two younger children played in the boat, blissfully unconcerned about the snake or the tourists.
We also viewed live alligators penned up and waiting to be sold for meat and their skins. Some writhed and wriggled, but most remained chillingly silent and still.
While we floated along, children lined the banks of the river to wave cheerfully, jump up and down, and gleefully shout out, “Hi! Helloooo!! Hello!!!” As we waved and shouted in return, it made me wonder why we wobble our hands to each other as a sign of greeting…how did this get to be a universal symbol of saying “howdy” or “hi”? (See? These are the things I think about when I’ve got 7 hours on a boat to ruminate about stuff.)
When we arrived in Battambang, we did a quick online search for a place to stay, choosing Asia Hotel, which was located in the center of town. We booked a large, very clean room with a king-sized bed plus a twin bed, private bath, balcony, and air conditioning for $15/night. Theresa and I had one room, and Jessie and James opted for the non-A/C room down the hall for only $12 per night.
We had nothing much planned for Battambang, as it’s kind of a sleepy town without many tourist must-sees, which was fine with us. We checked out the market – always good photo ops! This market offered the usual fruits, veggies, fish and meat selections, and also had a section for seamstresses with colorful and lacy bolts of fabric for sale and a colorful display of notions (if they still call them that – buttons, ribbons, trim, zippers.) There were also jewelers creating rings and necklaces in their shops, and bouquets of beautiful fresh flowers could be bought for a very low price as well.
We found a tiny music shop on the other side of the river that stocked traditional Khmer violins, mandolins, guitars, and other stringed instruments. For $30, my friend bought a very cool traditional Cambodian violin called the tro Che. The store owner played it for us, which had a surprisingly beautiful sound for such a small instrument.
Strolling around town and looking for a lunch destination, we discovered an amazing restaurant called Coconut Lyly, rated Number 1 in Battambang—and for good reason! We ordered a papaya salad that was ridiculously delicious—shredded carrots, papaya, peanuts, lime, cilantro—the flavors were fabulous!
For our main course we chose amuk, which is a traditional Khmer dish of coconut milk, curry spices and fresh fish served in banana leaves. Holy wow – it was so delectable! 
We were somewhat vocal and ecstatic about the dinner (to Jessie’s dismay!) and enjoyed every last bite. It was so fantastic that Theresa and I returned the next night to enjoy amuk again.
Finally – the day had come for our highly anticipated touristy activity – to ride the bamboo train. If you haven’t watched the hilarious series on Netflix called “Travels with My Father” starring stand-up comedian Jack Whitehall, please do. The season that covers Southeast Asia is only perhaps six episodes and chronicles Jack’s attempt to have a long overdue gap year. He decides to bring his 70+ year-old father, a very stodgy, prim, and proper Englishman, along with him. The episode that takes place in Cambodia, specifically in Battambang, led us to the bamboo train.
Back in the day, the bamboo train was an actual mode of transportation from Battambang to Phnom Penh, but for years, most of the track had been in disrepair. Locals would take the “train”, piling on as many men, women, children (and sometimes chickens) as would fit. The catch was – this was a one-track system, so when a flatbed car, called a nori, approached from the opposite direction, the locals would argue heatedly about which nori could proceed. The other car would have to be unloaded, disassembled (!!) and then reassembled and reloaded to continue on, as the “winning” nori sped off into the sunset.
The original bamboo train and tracks were decommissioned in December. In January, they were replaced in a different area nearby, with new fancy tracks laid. It is a total tourist attraction. We were told the experience wasn’t as quirky as it had been, but we still decided to go (of course!).
It was soooo cheesy and dumb, and we LOVED IT!!! It is about a ten-minute ride to the end, and then they use chains to lift the nori, turn it around mid-air, and then set it back on the track, heading back the way it came.
You couldn’t help but grin as your nori clickety-clacked down the track, with the wind in your face as you chugged along through a bit of the beautiful Battambang countryside.
Battambang was everything we hoped for – quiet, interesting, quirky – and delicious!
Next stop —- Phnom Penh. Chilling, incomprehensible and dark. Very. Learn about Pol Pot, the Khmer Rogue, killing fields and the genocide of the Cambodian people in the 1970s.
Never forget that your days are blessed. – Nadia Boulanger
