Battangbang - Cambodia

Sorry it took me a while to write again, but fast internet is not really always available.

So from Siem Reap (Ankor Watt) we went by boat to Battangbang. We heard that is an amazing trip therefore we took the boat (8,5 h, 20 USD) instead of the bus (2 h, 5 USD. The pick-up was already at 6:10 in the morning. At 7 we stopped at a little cafe and a lady told us that this was the last opportunity to get something to eat or to drink, as there would be nothing on the boat. It smelled a lot like a scam but I anyway bought some breakfast and a water just to be safe.

The boat was quite small and packed with people. We sat for 8 hours on a small wooden bench our knees kind of in the but of the person in front ... extremely comfortable. But the worst issue we hadn t recognised so far.... THE ENGINE. It was CRAZY loud. For the first hour or so, that s fine but after 4,5 I had a terrible headache and after 8 hours I was close to swimming the remaining way just to get away from the engine. Never the less, the landscape was very nice and we passed lots of floating fishing villages. We spend those 8,5 hours waving a small kids from those villages as there was nothing else to do cause listening to music or talking was impossible.

That night in Battangbang we just fell in our bed and that s about it. The sound of the engine killed us!!

The next day we rented a Tuk Tuk and went to visit the sights nearby the city, as the city offers rather little. First we visited a crocodile farm, where we just arrived to watch the crocodiles being fed. A little disgusting but interesting as well. Pls check the foto where the crocodiles tear apart the mouse:

Next we had a ride on the bamboo train. This so called train combines according to Fabi the "DON'Ts" of engineering. Just a platform and 4 wheels powered by a maw loaner engine. Great!!!! If two trains meet, one is just disassembled so that the other one can pass.

After that we tried the wine in a cambodian wine yard. Hmm Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvingnon hmmm well they still have to work on their wine making skills... But anyway hanging out a bit in a wine yard is pretty nice. Battangbang is a nice place to visit... a rural town, in my opinion typically Cambodian, where people don t try to constantly rip you off because you are a tourist.