Cambodia Day 6

Day 6: Siem Reap to Battambang, Cambodia (10/12/06)

We woke up at around 5 am as we have to leave our guesthouse at 6 am. Derrick had to go back to Singapore earlier due to his intern commitments and had already booked an earlier flight back from Siem Reap. His flight is scheduled to depart at 8.15 am while the rest of us had booked boat tickets (US$13 per pax) to Battambang. The driver picked us up at around 6.30 am and we left our guesthouse with our backpacks.

At the jetty


Terence and Meibin looking like they just woke up


Me and the view from the top deck of the boat

We had chosen to sit on the upper deck of the boat as the view is better. We bought some bread from the locals selling fruits and bread as we did not have our breakfast. The bread was incredibly tasty as they had toasted it with some seasoning or spices.

The early sun


Fisherman and his family


The sky, the water, the boat and the church


Backpackers and us on top of the boat


Floating temple


Me and the river


Fishing equipment used for hanging nets


Floating village

4 hours into the journey, there was a break at a local floating provision shop and we got down the boat to take a walk. We were feeling the toil on our skin as the sun is scorching hot as it was around noon. We found ourselves seats on the lower deck after the break.

As the boat trip continues, the river gets narrower and narrower until it is just a mere passageway enough for just 1 boat to pass through. The branches and twigs were hitting on the sides of the boat repeatedly and poor Terence sitted by the side had to duck and 'siam' or else he would be hit by the passing branches or twigs. A few spiders found their way onto Terence's t-shirt as well when they dropped from the branches. It was an interesting and scenic experience on the boat though.

The narrow passageway

Finally after 8 hours, we reached Battambang. All 3 of us were sleeping and dozing off during the 2nd half of the journey as the lack of sleep had set in. We sat on the minibus as the hotel i booked had arranged transportation from the jetty. Actually we wanted to switch hotel to a cheaper one we had found out but didn't in the end.

After unloading our backpacks at Royal Hotel (US$6 per pax per night), we had our lunch at the hotel before setting off to explore the 2nd most populous city in Cambodia after Phnom Penh. There wasn't a lot that we can do considering that it is already 4 pm. I was the chief navigator and we headed on foot to the Central Market.

Central Market

There were not as many stalls compared to the market in Phnom Penh but the clothing their seems to be cheaper. I bought a plain tee for only 3000 riel which is equivalent to US$0.75. There were very few tourists in Battambang as the city doesn't have much tourist attractions. We received many stares from the locals and the streets were not as crowded compared to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. We then walked around the vicinity as we did not want to stray too far away from our hotel.

A street in Battambang


A statue outside a temple


A street with French Colonial influence

We feels that the streets were not as safe compared to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh and decided to cut down on any night activities or than having dinner. Many motorcyclists and passerbys stared at us when we were walking on the streets and made us slightly uncomfortable. We headed to Old Market where Terence bought a cute small watermelon. The fruits there are smaller than the ones in Singapore especially watermelons and pineapples.

Terence holding a small watermelon and I with the watermelon vendor in the background and people staring at us

I guess the locals were not accustomed to having tourists in the city and were probably curious. We headed back to our hotel just before sunset at around 5.30 pm after doing a mini-tour of the city. We then watched a documentary on the history of Angkor Wat in our hotel room.

We then left the hotel at around 8.30 pm for dinner at The Red Rose. The eatery was rather close to the hotel and we quickly walked along the dimly streets just in case. It was the first time i feel unsafe throughout my trip in Cambodia so far. Anyway, we arrived at the eatery safe and sound.

The price of the food is quite cheap and the food is quite good also. I guess the standard of living at Battambang is lower compared to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh due to the lack of tourists. We headed back after our dinner at 9.30 pm and had an early rest.