Hanna and Dan Adventures: Battambang

We ended up coming to Battambang a day earlier than expected...we decided we couldn't stay forever at our wonderful hotel in Siem Reap, although we would have liked to :>) Our tour through the countryside around Siem Reap was nice. We got to sample some sticky rice cooked in Bamboo that was very tasty! This method of cooking was originally used by the army because they couldn't carry pots around to cook the rice, but now it's used as a snack food for the locals. The rice is mixed with coconut milk and a few beans and cooked inside the bamboo over an open fire for an hour. We also went to see some remote villages where the homes are built on very tall stilts because apparently in the wet season the roads floods and becomes a river! It was a bit shocking to see how little the people have and how simply they live. It is such a stark difference from anything that we are used to. It is unfortunately not difficult to see how much poverty there is here. We feel it much more so than in any other country we have visited. There are beggars everywhere, many of them amputees and children. What you really want to do is fix their social system, but since that's impossible for the average tourist, we have to content ourselves with giving small amounts of money and food to the children.

On our arrival to Battambang, we were totally unprepared for the mayhem at the bus station! Before we even got off the bus there were tuk-tuk drivers tapping on the windows at us and furriously waving signs for various hotels. We could barely get around the bus to get our luggage because we were totally surrounded! It was worse than both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh! It didn't really make sense for us to accept a ride though since you could see our hotel from the bus station!

Yesterday we visited Phnom Sampeau, a temple at the top of a limestone outcrop, with beautiful views over the surrounding countryside. It was a bit of a trek to the top, especially since I didn't think it was possible, but it seems to be getting hotter here! In the afternoon we went to some other temple ruins outside of town, and tried unsuccessfully to find an old Pepsi bottling plant. After circling the area 5 times we gave up :>) Today we rode on the famous bamboo train. A little touristy but very fun! When two trains approach each other in opposide directions one train is dis-assembled and removed from the tracks and then put back on! I continue to be impressed by Khmer cuisine as well. Most everything I have had here has been delicious and there are so many veggie options too!

So tomorrow we are taking the bus to Bangkok and we officially begin our journey home....but we'll probably make one more post before we fly out. I have also added some pictures to the Phnom Penh and Siem Reap/Kampot posts if anyone is interested.

Bye for now!

Hanna and Dan xoxo

Fruits and veggies at the local market - the big red ones are banana flowers. I ate banana flower soup at a restaurant one night and it was amazing!