Today we did a tour of Batambang.
It has been truly a lovely day.
Nith, our tuk tuk driver from yesterday agreed to take us around for $10, though in the end, as his tour was so good and he was such a lovely guy we gave him $15 in appreciation (the hotel would have charged $15).
One of the things we have been looking forward to since Rob's friend recommend we try it was the Bamboo train.
Basically the train is a platform sat on two independent axles with wheels and a small motor on the back. You sit on the platform and hurtle down the single track.
If there is another 'train' coming from the opposite direction whichever one has fewer people has to jump off and then the platform is lifted off and the wheels taken off the track so the other one can pass!
Rob and I loved it and had to jump off quite a few times :0
The bamboo train is in my top 3 experiences so far!
We then went to Phnom Sampeau. This is a temple set on top of a small mountain. The temple is a rectangular building built in the 1960s and has some amazing stone carvings outside.
The Khmer Rouge turned the first temple into a jail in the 1970s and used the 3 natural caves on the mountain to throw prisoners down to kill them.
They say approximately 10,000 Cambodians died in the caves.
As it is a steep walk or climb of hundreds of stairs to get to the temple and then even higher to get to the next level on the mountains and more temples you can hire a moped and guide to take you up.
Rob and I opted for the moped option!
Phnom Sampeau was a mixture of beauty and tragedy and a place to definitely visit if you are ever in Batambang.
After Phnom Sampeau we went to Banan temple, built before Angkor Wat in the 11th and 12th century.
To get to the top there are 359 glorious (ahem!) steps.
Little kids run next to you as you take the steep climb and fan you in the hope of getting some money after.
Ge, my little friend accompanied me the entire way, though clearly the 1,000 Reil (25cents) I gave him didn't impress as he asked for a dollar. - When he said that I shook my head and ran ;)
On the way back to the hotel we stopped to see the fruit bats which are renowned around Batambang. Not many were out at 3:30pm though we saw a few.
We also grabbed a sugar cane drink which was recommended to us by our friends in Vietnam.
It was surprisingly nice and is made from rolling sugar crane to squeeze out the juice. It is not as sweet as one may think and with some ice makes a lovely refreshing drink.
Rob and I had a good giggle with the mother and daughter selling the sugar cane through the translation skills of Nith, our tuk tuk driver.
They liked our white skins and also our 'long' noses. - Apparently ours are longer than Cambodians which they loved :0
The lovely mother kept touching her nose and giggling.
We pulled up a chair and had a brief chat with them as they were so lovely and took some photos.
They both loved the photos and gave us such a lovely goodbye.
All in all a truly wonderful day and another one for the memory banks.
Bleachy