Day 5:.Of boats, bare children, branches, and bamboo
Today we said goodbye to Siem Reap and headed by boat to Battambang, the second largest city in Cambodia after the capital, Phnom Peng. The boat ride was leisurely, taking 7 1/2 hours. Along the way, we encountered groups of children who are always happy to see foreigners passing by. My shoulder actually got tired from waiving to them. Many of the youngest kids were bare-assed, so I was sparing with the pictures. They were all very cute though. Occasionally, we passed though narrow waterways that were hemmed in on either side by brush. The boat had canvas covers that we could lower to protect us from the whipping branches, but I still managed to get a nice bruise on my arm.
Finally we reached Battambang, a city still steeped in the architecture or its French colonial past. We were dropped at our hotel for a brief rest before heading out for our afternoon excursion, a ride on the bamboo train.
Neither of us knew what to expect, but what we got was a bamboo platform lying across 2 wheeled axles. A popular for of transportation before the Khmer Rouge tragedy, now the bamboo train is mostly a tourist attraction. The train travels at about 22 mph and is hands down the most fun I've ever had via motorized transportation. The platform is completely exposed to the elements, and we got to experience both rain and bugs flying in our face just to make the journey more authentic. Just to top everything off, Lee brought us a bottle of Russian vodka to enjoy with some mixers of our choices, 7up and fruit juice. Riding on an open air platform at 22 mph while tipsy...not to be missed.
Our destination was a small village where they make kiln-fired bricks to sell for construction material. They also make incredible food, which they graciously shared with us while we tried our best not to embarrass ourselves and our country. Hard to-do while complete unsober. Heh. This region of Cambodia grows the best rice in the country, and we got to partake of the yummy staple crop mixed with beans and bananas. Delicious. We also enjoyed fresh veggies straight from the river banks along with a tasty chile sauce for dipping. No wonder Cambodia is known as the food pantry of Southeast Asia.
After eating our fill thanks labour hosts, who kept insisting we eat more, we headed back out on the bamboo train. We got to enjoy the vivid sunset and see the first few stars peek out. We also saw how the train operators handle two-way traffic on a single set of tracks. Oh yeah, and there was more vodka. After leaving the train, we giggled our way back to our hotel where Lee left us the rest of the bottle to finish off. Right. As of this writing, which was done to the sound of somebody snoring, the bottle remains half full. After all, tomorrow awaits with
an early start and brand new temples to see.
Finally we reached Battambang, a city still steeped in the architecture or its French colonial past. We were dropped at our hotel for a brief rest before heading out for our afternoon excursion, a ride on the bamboo train.
Neither of us knew what to expect, but what we got was a bamboo platform lying across 2 wheeled axles. A popular for of transportation before the Khmer Rouge tragedy, now the bamboo train is mostly a tourist attraction. The train travels at about 22 mph and is hands down the most fun I've ever had via motorized transportation. The platform is completely exposed to the elements, and we got to experience both rain and bugs flying in our face just to make the journey more authentic. Just to top everything off, Lee brought us a bottle of Russian vodka to enjoy with some mixers of our choices, 7up and fruit juice. Riding on an open air platform at 22 mph while tipsy...not to be missed.
Our destination was a small village where they make kiln-fired bricks to sell for construction material. They also make incredible food, which they graciously shared with us while we tried our best not to embarrass ourselves and our country. Hard to-do while complete unsober. Heh. This region of Cambodia grows the best rice in the country, and we got to partake of the yummy staple crop mixed with beans and bananas. Delicious. We also enjoyed fresh veggies straight from the river banks along with a tasty chile sauce for dipping. No wonder Cambodia is known as the food pantry of Southeast Asia.
After eating our fill thanks labour hosts, who kept insisting we eat more, we headed back out on the bamboo train. We got to enjoy the vivid sunset and see the first few stars peek out. We also saw how the train operators handle two-way traffic on a single set of tracks. Oh yeah, and there was more vodka. After leaving the train, we giggled our way back to our hotel where Lee left us the rest of the bottle to finish off. Right. As of this writing, which was done to the sound of somebody snoring, the bottle remains half full. After all, tomorrow awaits with
an early start and brand new temples to see.