BIKING OUR WAY TO BATTAMBANG

There is a popular Cambodian song about Battambang that talks about its beautiful countryside, its nice people and its well-preserved colonial architecture. I cannot really argue with the song as Battambang simply is a breath of fresh air.

Reaching Battambang by land is easy from Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, but for tourists whose not bounded by time, riding a boat from Siem Reap, especially in the months of July until January, where the water level at Tonle Sap Lake is highly suggested. On your cruise, you are expected to pass bird sanctuaries, see floating villages and amazing flora and fauna of its surroundings. The overland adventure has its own appeal too. In here you will get the chance to see Me Chhrey floating village and inspect up close in person the workmanship of Artisans d’ Angkor’s Silk Farm.

Battambang may be Cambodia’s second largest city, but compared to other municipalities, it maintains that picturesque postcard-image where you can expect to see panoramic countryside views, temples, natural caves, cruising bamboo trains and beautiful authentic villages dotting the area. Arriving late in the evening didn’t help us much to see the city, but we are saving it for last. 

After an hour from our early breakfast, we started biking together with our Tour Guide David. Our journey sent us passing the river, the Central Market and straight into the countryside. Shaded roads are everywhere, which is a perfect cover against the tropical sunshine. We use the small river as our navigation on reaching the villages, where the wooden houses are lined up, one even prettier than the other. The beauty of biking is that we can stop at any given time, to take some photos, walk into a garden and talk to the locals. We even ask some of the house owners if we can take a look inside their houses. While this is a big no-no in other countries, but in Battambang, having a visitor, especially a foreigner appreciating your house gives a sense of pride. They are very accommodating and even teaches us how they have built their house, and how the family and others live their lives. This is to us what holiday truly means, getting in touch with people and learn about a whole different way of life.

We continue our biking over the sandy roads towards a massive pagoda. Along the way, we saw a few groups of families selling sticky rice in bamboo cones. I’ve learned that it is a specialty in this region, and people from all over the country come to Battambang just to buy it. While observing the process, we've got invited to taste it for free and it's delicious! Warm and moist, mixed with coconut bits and several seeds, all dancing in my pallet. We knew it’s a good source of energy perfect for bikers like us, so we bought some, together with a freshly squeezed sugar cane juice, from the family next door.

In Cambodia, it is customary that a couple, a family or an individual goes to see a monk and ask for a blessing. The locals believe strongly in Karma and pray for good luck, especially when things seem to spiral the other way. At the Pagoda, we met an elderly Buddhist monk waiting for us with a friendly smile. He blesses us for good luck by singing out the words we don’t understand. The rhythmic chants make us sway, feeling like we are dancing in a movie. After the mini-ceremony, we handed over a small donation, and in return, we got ourselves a red ribbon around our wrists. Our guide says, “it will bring us luck and prosperity.”

With our new-found fortune, we continue our cycling and visited a few more houses where people are busy making kinds of stuff made from rice, such as; noodles, cake, spring roll wrapper and wine. Wine tasting at 10 in the morning isn’t a bad idea, in fact, our host obviously already had a few shots of his own before inviting us. Learning all these processes and their complexities, makes us appreciate the things we simply eat on a daily basis. It’s truly rewarding and educational. How skilled you have to be to produce thin rice wrappers for spring roll? Very skilled is the answer!

We have passed through countless rice paddies and farmland and the view is absolutely breathtaking! The city of Battambang was known to be “Cambodia’s rice bowl,” and a big percentage of the good-quality rice came from this part of the country. It’s about noon time and the heat is picking up when we thought we have reached another local house to visit, but in fact, it's a small cool-looking restaurant for lunch. The entire family was captivated by our appearance and everyone tries to bring something to the table, like bottled water, soft drink, and more. The food is delicious! Just imagine for a few dollars, we are able to enjoy a decent local meal with a relaxing view. After the meal, we rested for a while in the hammock, before we continue on our tour and see more of Battambang has to offer.

This time, our bikes were exchanged for an air-conditioned van, and we move towards to Phnom Banan. It is one of the most significant temples in this city, with a stunning view once you reached the top. Colored-lizards, paradise-like sounds from birds and an ice-cold drink help us to enjoy the climb for about 300 steps. Back on ground level, we walked towards the water lily pond, and on to the famous bamboo train. We’ve learned that they have improved the carrier design from the original look, but still, the experience is the same, it's amazing! Sitting on a bamboo platform and making our way through the countryside towards sunset is a perfect way to end the day.

It is only after the ride we are told by our tour guide, that he has one more surprise for us. So, we followed him. As we reached Phnom Sampeau, he pointed at a cave about 40 meters above us that houses a million-bat. Every day at 6:20 PM, they fly out in search for food. Since we have arrived early, we decided to sit at one of the local cafés and ordered fresh mango Juice, while our tour guide ordered us some chips and peanuts.

Five minutes before time, the procession had begun. At first, only a few bats fly out, then it followed a stream of a thick black trail of bats behind. Minutes, a quarter, and a half an hour passes, still, it just keeps going. As soon as it started to end, our tour guide brought us to the paddy field, and there he let us observe a black shadow flying over the trees and disappear on the horizon. The feeling is surreal and the experience is indescribable. Educational, active, surprising and above all unexpected and fun.

We thank our guide David, he has done more than good. As he returns to his family for dinner, we dive into the swimming pool of our hotel. We order a fresh Pina Colada from the bar, drink it in the pool and let our impressions of the day slowly settle in.

Battambang, you have been great!