Day 18-20 Battambang

Day 18. Once again, change of plans, instead of going straight to Siem Reap, we made a stopover in Battambang. Some people said it was worth it. So, early in the morning, we went to the bus station. I have already written enough about the bus rides, but I have to say a few words about this one. It was a bus for locals, all Cambodians. There was a lot of commotion in the bus. And it took 9 hours for just 290 km, really slow. And the road that passed as a highway, I have no words. From now on, I will only take tourist buses, too much contact with the locals. They transported everything in the luggage compartment, from motorcycles to live chickens, without anyone being bothered. The landscape is nice, but a bit monotonous: water, rice, cattle, palm trees, and huts.

Eventually, we arrived in Battambang, where I had arranged to meet Melani from Canada. She showed me around the center of the small town and we had some food at the night market. Later, we played cards with her daughter. Melani has roots in Jamaica and studied there for 5 years. Currently, like all foreigners here, she is an English teacher. She made some brownies (which the Filipino in Phnom Penh also offered me), but I stuck with beer. Those brownies must have been strong, you could clearly feel it. Her place was okay, a bit chaotic. I believe most foreigners who live here are not really happy with their choice.

Day 19. Had breakfast with Melani around the corner. Then she kindly took me to the new hostel. The hostel is okay. I walked to the city center and visited the main attractions.

In the afternoon, I rented a motorbike. The traffic here in the province is manageable, so I dared to do it. No driver's license needed. The faces of the two girls at the motorbike rental were priceless when I started the engine. They were afraid that I wouldn't bring it back in one piece. The first stop was the Bamboo Train, which is promoted everywhere, but it is not that impressive. Well, the next stop, about 15 km away, was the Bat Caves. Every day at sunset, millions of bats leave the cave within 40 minutes. Fascinating, but where they go is a mystery. I won't say anything about the roads, but when I got back to the hostel, I was covered in dust from head to toe. But the ride was good (I had an automatic scooter). I had some food at the night market and spent the rest of the evening on the terrace of the hostel, writing these lines (and honestly, drinking bad beer, but I had no choice). As always, you meet nice travelers on excursions and at the hostel, even though there were few people in Battambang during the low season. Halfway there.

Day 20. I went with the motorbike to a pagoda, located a bit outside the city. But there was also an old ruin nearby. The traffic here is relaxed, I'm doing fine. The pagoda is nothing special, but the old temple ruin is not bad. 2 little boys offered to guide me around. They were very agile climbers, I had a hard time keeping up with them. It was nice, I also gave them a small tip.
After that, I went a bit further to the Killing Caves. As the name suggests, it is a cave where people were presumably killed by the Khmer Rouge (you can see a few skulls and bones). Unfortunately, there is no information available on site. But there is more to see on this mountain. Of course, there are Buddhist sites, monks, cannons, a few more caves, a great view from the summit, and a hoard of monkeys (the animals are a bit creepy). On the way back to Battambang, I took some country roads to see more.
Unfortunately, it rained the whole afternoon and evening, but you have to expect that. In the evening, I went to a circus in an orphanage. It was a bit expensive, but it's for a good cause. The first 10 minutes were traditional Khmer dances. It seems that folk dances are boring everywhere in the world. The program itself was crazy, but surprisingly entertaining, mainly acrobatics. The boys and girls did a great job. On the way back to the city, I was given a ride in a tuk-tuk by 2 Englishmen.In the hostel, I had some beers with Gregor, a mathematician from Scotland, in the evening. Later, a Frenchman joined us. Here, I got the tip to travel in Thailand by night train.