Battembang

 

This sleepy town to the East Of Cambodia is known for the legend of the Disappearing Stick. This is a brief account of a visit here in 2008

 

I Left Siem Reap at 11:30 as planned with Cindy Teo and her friends from Kuching who were assisting a charity project at the Catholic church in Battembang. The road to Sissophon was typically rough and the ladies were a little surprised at the state if this main highway. The usual obstacle course of route 6 continued to Sissophon where the left turn at the traffic circle marked 65 kms of decent road to Battembang. Battembang proved an easy place to navigate with good roads and helpful signs took us over the bridge to where we followed the signs to the Catholic Church.

The unexpectedly spacious grounds had more the appearance of a Buddhist Wat with buildings and a school for disabled. Fr Totet the  explained that The style reflected both cultures; so as to make the Khmers more comfortable. The central bell tower was a fusion of western and Asian influences; as was the Church which had a mix of Catholic and Buddhist Imagery. The hall had mats not pews and incense burning before the cross. It was an interesting diversion and I had intended to visit later.

Madonna and lotus flower           he Church grounds and tower    Toteh & the ladies from Kuching

Battembang is a very attractive French Colonial town; by Cambodian standards very clean and tidy with a pleasant waterfront.

New ANZ Bank	Centre of town	Psah Nath Market

Painter at work	Market stalls
Governors House	Salone was my guide  for my first day out to some of the more distant sites.  We looked at the Governors residence ‘ an imposing yellow painted mansion on the river; two old Thai cannons from the late 1790s guarded the entrance. A half an hour out of town we stopped off at the Tan Thai Chhung Winery . I’d heard that the wine produced in Cambodians sole vineyards was overpriced and nowhere near as good as that in the more traditional western nations but I had to try .
9 am was probably not an ideal time to start drinking; but a few sips of the red convinced me that the dry red was Ok and worth getting a bottle to take home The Brandy was another story. I am not a fan of brandy. The expensive Napoleon is drinkable; but the $10 Khmer brandy well it wasn’t so good; a second glass of the more expensive was quite horrible and left a nasty taste in my mouth.            The Bats Of Battembang Continuing to Wat Banan we were diverted to a small Wat called Damram.  Salone pointed out the fruit bats hanging in the trees. There were hundreds of the huge flying foxes hanging around and some taking to the air. They are an impressive sight . there huge leathery wings glistening in the sun. they look like clusters of collapsed umbrellas; but when they take flight they have a scary beauty and the nightmare movies of Dracula and vampire bats cannot be farther from the truth. These large vegetarian creatures are harmless and have cute cat like faces with big ears and bulbous eyes. the screeching would sound worse by night. At Phnom Sampeu millions of bats emerge fro the cliff top caves at sundown. its an amazing   spectacle which at the time I was there lasted for over half an hour.                                                           Bats streaming out of a cave at sundown   Our next stop Phnom Banan is one of the most attractive temple sites in the area. Situated on a hill with approx 600 steep steps. The ladies who fanned us were welcome. Half way up at a rest area I was given a massage before continuing to the summit. A small 5 tower temple had splendid views . Phnom Sampaeu could be seen clearly a few kms distant. From here; the path to the cave dropped sharply; I would recommend better footwear than the old sandals I was using that day. The rocky and sometimes slippery path led to the rice fields below. A hot ramble towards the juggle clad cliffs took around 10 mins. The Cave was accessed by a short flight of steps and then further steps took us down to a semi open chamber and through a hole to a larger cave with a tin roofed shrine and numerous figures and Buddha images Wat Banom After a rest and another brief massage without any protest; we walked out of the cave and along the track to the Wat Banam Pagoda and to the parking area at the base of the temple steps After a drink Salone led me back to the pagoda where there were a line of Stupas; tombs s that had them built. The Stupas had a dual role in that they were used to house the living monks. A senior monk gave a ritual bathing to a man on the steps in order to cleanse his spirit A short drive 15 minutes took us to Phnom Sampaeu. It is possible to walk up but in deference to Salone Polio I thought it better to drive. The road was step I places but not Preah Vihear! The pagoda building was on no interest outside and inside had a plain set of Buddha statuary and just rough plastered alls with no decoration. Alongside a path led to a killing fields shrine where human bones were laid along notices explaining and a foreigner donation box. A small stone block howled out was the beheading place. Salone tooled me that of many years the smell of blood hang there. A cave approached by a Naga stairway led down to a hellish chamber where Khmer Rouge victims were thrown down a deep black hole to die with no hope of escape Bamboo Train   The young bamboo train crew! Another thing to do in Battembang was a ride on the Bamboo Train . the small platforms powered by   tiny  engines,  run up and down the tracks taking locals and tourists between villages. It was a bumpy ride with frequent stops when an other one came towards us. the passing rule is the heaviest has right tof way'. The ligter train is quickly dismantled and lifted onto the track after the bigger one passes          Overgrown tracks                                                        Removing the platform Footnote: Plans to  upgrade the railway line and extent it to Thailand means that the Bamboo trains are not likely to run for long.  So take the chance while you can! Dave Perkes  November 2009