Although Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia, it is often overlooked by travelers who are more interested in the Angkorian temples of Siem Reap, beaches of Sihanoukville, or city life in Phnom Penh. However, Battambang ended up being one of my favorite stops during our time in Cambodia. With its laid back and relaxed vibe, beautiful French architecture, and easy access to nearby rural villages, it’s easy to understand why many travelers end up staying longer than expected.
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| Battambang, Cambodia |
Visiting the Outskirts of Battambang
During one of our days in Battambang, Sarah and I decided to rent a tuk-tuk for a day. For $12 (which you can split between several people), a driver will take you around to various sights of your choosing outside of Battambang. The first thing on our schedule was to ride the fabled bamboo train, or “Norrie” as it is locally called, that I had often heard of when reading about Cambodia. The Norrie was first constructed in the early 1980s; the Khmer people had just come out from the brutal ruling of the Khmer Rouge and were struggling to repair their country. The roads were in disrepair and there were few means of transportation. The Khmer people invented the Norrie as a practical solution to this. The bamboo construction is a bit flimsy but incredibly strong and can carry things such as rice, vegetables, livestock, or people in medical emergencies. For $5.00, you can take a ride on the bamboo train, which goes surprisingly fast, to a small nearby village and back.
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| The bamboo train ("Norrie") |
We stopped at the village for about 20 minutes. While wandering around, I somehow managed to have a wasp fly up my skirt and sting me on my leg FOUR separate times. I’ve literally had a nightmare about this exact thing happening to me. I managed to somewhat maintain my composure and not completely panic. However, one of the locals witnessed what happened and told a nice man and woman running a food stand what happened. They all spoke almost no English, but they picked some flowers off a nearby plant and the woman crushed it up and mixed it with some sort of natural oil she had (mint, maybe?). She then brought it over to me and gestured for me to put some of the concoction on the stings, which at this point were swelling up quite badly. I was so grateful for their kindness, and literally within fifteen minutes the swelling had completely disappeared and I could hardly even see where the stings had been! Amazing. This was the first of many times that I experienced the incredible generosity and kindness of the Khmer people.
After riding the bamboo train, the driver stopped at Chan Thai Chhoeng Winery, the only winery in Cambodia. It was pretty much deserted and after looking at the small section of vines with some green grapes hanging from them, we hopped back into the tuk-tuk and continued on to Wat Ba Nan. You must climb a long and unusually steep set of stairs in order to get to the top of this hill and see the temple, which is mostly in ruins now. It is an interesting thing to see and you can see great views of the area from the top.
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| View from the top of Wat Phnom Sampeau |
Cycling Through the Countryside
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| Cycling through Basseat village. |
Battambang is relatively small and easily walkable. There are several places around town where you can rent bicycles for the day and cycle outside of town to nearby rural villages. Sarah and I rented bicycles for a day from Sunrise Cafe for $1.50 each. We headed out to a place I read about in a local magazine called Prasat Basseat, or the Ruined Ruins. It is a little over 12km (7.2 miles) away, and there is a lot of beautiful scenery along the way. Since the article I read only provided very general directions to the site, we got a bit lost a few times on the way. At one point, Sarah and I turned down the wrong dirt road and found ourselves in a tiny little village. I stopped to ask a woman if she could point us in the right direction, but she didn’t understand a word of English and didn’t seem to know where the place I showed her on the map was. After a few minutes of smiling, gesturing, and laughing at each other, she called one of her neighbors over to help. He kindly jumped on his motorbike and guided us through a maze of dirt roads to the main road that leads to the Ruined Ruins. Another example of the incredible generosity of the Khmer people.
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| Prasat Basseat, the Ruined Ruins. |
The bike ride out to the Ruined Ruins goes through an endless number of beautiful, intensely green rice paddies and several rural villages. People often waved at us and shouted many friendly “hellos!” in our direction. I think locals were a bit impressed with us for taking bicycles rather than simply hiring a driver for the day as many tourists do. The actual site is very interesting and is just sitting on the side of the road outside of a temple. If you would like to visit the Ruined Ruins, simply cross the bridge over the Sangker River from the main part of town and head north out of Battambang on the eastside river road. Follow this road for a few kilometers until you pass a mosque on the right hand side. A little after the mosque is Norea village; turn right here and go straight on a dirt road that goes through brilliant green rice fields. Follow this dirt road for about 12 kilometers until you reach Basseat village, after which you will come to the site. The Ruined Ruins are on the right side of the road in front of the modern day Wat. If you get a bit lost, don’t be afraid to ask locals for directions. Few speak English, but they are always eager to help! Renting bicycles and doing this day trip on the outskirts of Battambang was a perfect way to enjoy the beautiful scenery, see rural villages, and experience the kindness of the Khmer people firsthand.
Places to Eat in the City
Most hostels and hotels in Battambang offer free pick up from the bus station if you book ahead. There are numerous options in town, and most budget places are conveniently located near Psar Nat, the outdoor market in town. While the French influence is clearly seen in the architecture in Battambang, it is also seen in the food (imagine lots of baguettes!). Two of our favorite places to eat in Battambang were White Rose and Sunrise Cafe. White Rose has a vast selection of both Western and Cambodian foods for reasonable prices. Also, they have a long list of delicious $2.00 ice cream sundaes, which is a big deal because cheap ice cream is not always easy to come by in Southeast Asia!
Our other favorite hangout place was Sunrise Cafe, a Christian-run restaurant that teaches Khmer women various cooking/baking skills and provides quality jobs for them. There are numerous Christian organizations in Battambang, including a YWAM base, so it is not uncommon to run into foreign missionaries around town. I fell in love with the hamburgers and cinnamon iced coffee at Sunrise Cafe. They also had several pastries that were surprisingly delicious, all for reasonable prices. Definitely worth a stop! One of my favorite memories from the cafe is spending several hours one afternoon eating and reading. It started pouring rain while we were there, and when we finally left we walked into the streets to find the main road back to our hotel completely flooded. We had to wade through nearly a foot of water in order to get back to our hotel. A great memory!
Overall, I absolutely loved our time in Battambang. The laid back vibe of the town is very apparent, and the people are unusually kind. It provides a great base for temple visiting or biking through rural villages on the outskirts of town. Sarah and I had many great experiences in Battambang, and I would urge you not to underestimate the charm and uniqueness of this lovely town!
A Few Helpful Tips:
All ATMs in Cambodia disperse USD instead of Cambodian riel. You can pay using either currency (when we were there, the standard conversion was 4,000 riel to every dollar). You can even mix currencies when paying in most places.
If you want to convert USD to Cambodian riel, the best place to do it is at jewelry stands (which are pretty common and usually have lists of the current exchange rate). These almost always give a better rate than banks.
It is a little cheaper to pay for things in riel instead of USD, but the difference is so small that the overall difference isn’t very significant.
Little kids will most likely approach you and offer to guide you to the killing caves or other attractions. Do not accept unless you are willing to pay the $1 that they will each demand at the end of the tour!
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