Well what a contrast from Siem Reap, a real tonic. Battambang (pronounced Bat-Dam-Bong) is a real Cambodian city, not a tourist city and because of this it was a wonderful place to stay. The only tourists we could see were the ones that disembarked from the boat at the same time as us, a mere handful, so we could really soak up the spirit of the place in peace. Here Cambodian children were genuinely interested in us because we looked so funny to them and because they wanted to practice their "hellos" before giggling at us and shyly running away. No "only one dollar meester" here.

We arrived after a slow boat up the Tonle Sap River. This river is the Cambodian lifeblood, they live all along its banks and fishing is an important livelihood. Fish is an essential food source for them, whether it's eaten fresh, dried to eat in the dry season or turned into the all important fish sauce. So it was very interesting to see Cambodian life in full swing along it's shore. The villages along the banks we very lively with many, many children waving and shouting hello to us as they swam or helped their parents. We'd recommend this trip to anyone - in Cambodian terms, US$18 is an expensive journey, but it's well worth it (just don't expect to be transported in a boat that looks ANYTHING like the one on the posters and tickets - the one they put us on was about 100 years older than that advertised!). It is important to note that this way of life in in jeopardy due to the increasing number of hydroeletric dams planned along the Mekong River that feeds the Tonle Sap. The Mekong runs through China, Thailand, Loas, Vietnam and Cambodia and they all have plans to use it. We hope they plan well or it will be to the detriment of all.

We were met at the dock by a couple of hotel companies (both listed in the Lonely Planet) and we chose to stay at the Royal Hotel. Good clean hotel, large room, comfy bed, air con and in the middle of things - can't complain about anything. At the front desk we spoke to some moto drivers affiliated with the hotel who offer trips around the surrounding countryside, and we snapped the trip up for the next day.

After a well deserved shower we set about soaking up the vibe of the place by having an evening stroll around some of Battambang's sights. These include French Colonial architecture (which they are taking steps to renovate well), boulevards and a riverside walk where, very much to our surprise, the Cambodians come out to play and do their aerobics! This area of the city has a wonderful vibe - families are out playing and picnicing together, couples are courting, boys are playing keepy-upy, kids are practising dance routines to the latest Cambodian pop band craze and lots of ladies of all ages are doing aerobics en-mass. We hung around for ages. Next it was dinner after stopping by a Chinese school that just happened to have a dance show on, you know the thing with people dressed as dragons with lots of drums - fantastic.

Off on our trip at a civilised 0900 with Dollar and Bernie. They taught us a few local sayings / warnings:

1) Cambodian bum massage - your bum gets a battering on the back of a moto due to the poor and VERY bumpy roads
2) Cambodian snow - the dust from said roads. They made us stop to get surgical masks to wear to stop us breathing in the orange dust. We coined the phrase Cambodian St Tropez due to being covered with said orange dust by the end of the day - everywhere!
3) Cambodian sport - sleeping, they do it everywhere and at all times of the day.
4) Cambodian tattoo - the mark you get on your leg when dismounting a moto on the wrong side and burning yourself on the exhaust (don't worry, mothers, we did not do this).

They drove us through rice fields which were being harvested and stopped to explain the cycle, types of rice grown and when they are eaten. For example sticky rice is prized and so it is saved for special occasions. First proper stop was the Killing Caves, so called because it was a favourite spot for the Khmer Rouge to kill people and in this case many children and babies. They did this in many terrible ways, including throwing them in the air and firing at them, holding by their legs and smashing their heads on rocks before throwing them down or just throwing them in and letting them starve to death. The caves are now a shrine which features a stupa containing some of the bones of those found there after the war. It was amazing to listen to Dollar frankly recounting the events there. After that we went to the "mini Angkor Wat" the temple they claim Angkor Wat was based on. This was up some 400 steps - nice. Our final stop was a trip on their bamboo train. This was one of the most amazing things to behold. The railway line was built by the French when they were colonial leaders and has not be maintained since. The locals still use it to transport goods and people, running basic wooden (bamboo) platforms on simple wheels, powered by a small engine at the rear. It is only a single track so if you meet another train then the train with the fewer people or goods on it gets dismantled to allow the other to pass. Our photos hopefully explain this is full technicolour glory.

Our evening was spent watching a local children's support group put on an excellent circus performance called Putho . A charity works with local children in a similar fashion to the Friends restaurant in PP, but in this case as well as educating them in maths etc. also concentrates in developing them through different mediums of the arts, whether this be music, performing arts, painting etc. They offer dinner after the show, which we took them up on and spent the rest of the evening hanging out with the troop and talking to one of the teachers there. They talked of going to the Edinburgh Festival and I hope they do, they are certainly good enough. So if you are in Battambang go and see them, and if you see them on the bill at Edinburgh grab a ticket - they'll be a real .