Battambang, bricks, a bat cave and beyond

22nd December 2017

Royal Hotel, Battambang

A very pleasant 28c

The weather took a very chilly turn about a week ago, a bit of a shock to the system specially as we'd just got into the swing of setting off early, 0615/0630, in order to miss the heat of the day.  Suddenly we were plunged into coolness.  When I say cool, I mean 16-18c, so not VERY cool.  We have decided we quite like the early starts so we are continuing with them, cool or not.  It's made cycling and sleeping easier, that's for sure, but I don't have a fleece any more so I'm having to use my sarong as a 'wrap' in the evenings.  Don't worry though, it's heading back into the 30s this weekend.

Long shadows, early morning, heading north

We have spent a few dusty, days on the road in rural Cambodia since Phnom Penh, all in all easy riding.  Dead pan flat with the occasional lumpety bumpety, washboard surface, but nothing too awful.  I've been a bit remiss with the whole Wat thing, we don't visit them very often (Angkor Wat is obviously the exception but even then BW will get Wat'ed out very quickly I'm sure) but some of the temples we have passed have been quite interesting in the sense that many of them are very 'rustic' and often a bit dilapidated.  So I've taken a few photos lately:

Colourful ladies welcoming you to the temple

The houses, usually built on stilts, seem to have gotten higher and with more expansive roofs as we've moved towards Battambang.  Many of them have quite fancy staircases (metal as opposed to wood) and often there is the poor relation (the old house) falling down to the side of the new one.  A sign of prosperity perhaps? 

Huge, blue tiled roof extending around the house

Taming the serpent

A puncture on BW's bike drew a bit of a crowd on one of the days, luckily it wasn't too hot.  No pressure, just keep on looking for that elusive piece of wire ........

How many is that now Dave?

Trucks and vans are generally overloaded with all manner of things, including people.  At the moment it's wedding season so the transportation of wedding paraphernalia is common, not only are the chairs stacked well above the legal limit (if there is one) there are also people sitting ON TOP of the chairs, which from where I sit on my bicycle I can see them rocking and rolling with the camber of the road.  Sometimes, if there's room, they will string a hammock between items and have a little nap!  To circumvent the rocking and rolling problem, some trucks have huge wheels at the back of their vehicles, a bit like those jacked-up cars we sometimes see, except here this is an excuse to load even MORE 'stuff' on top and on the back of the vehicle.

The driver is having a nap in his hammock at the front.

Industries along this stretch of road, running south of the Tonle Sap, include pottery, brick-making, rice, pineapples and fishing.  The old kilns have been replaced by huge, modern buildings, presumably because they can fire more bricks at a time. 

Old kiln

In one of the villages we came across a house (Chinese) with a huge bat decorating its doorway.  When I went closer to photograph it I could see fairy lights strapped to the body and wings, and a huge light bulb in its mouth.  How amazingly scary would that look lit up at night, particularly as there's often no street lighting!

The bat cave!

Children feature quite highly in any cycle ride through Cambodia.  The constant 'hello' and 'bye bye' never fails to make me smile (except when my shoulder and neck have frozen and to turn my head and wave causes me so much pain all I can do is grimace); yesterday I even had an 'I love you'!  Today, while trying to find the old tram sheds at Battambang railway station (I thought it would be a good photo opportunity) led us into what I can only describe as a shanty town.  People living in semi-permanent structures that had been 'patched' with cardboard, corrugated iron, plastic sheeting, pretty much anything they could get their hands on I guess.  While walking away from the area we spotted 3 children, aged 3 or 4, playing in the dirt.  They began by shouting the usual 'hello' but then one of them ran towards Dave and another towards me, arms stretched and smiling, and hugged us (our legs, they were so small) like we were long lost friends.  We were both quite taken aback.  They hung on for a minute while the cynic in me waited for the hand out gesture, meaning give me money, but it didn't come.  They had a hug then went back to their game.  That was a lovely moment.

One of 4 brothers who greeted us on the road

Next stop Siem Reap.

Happy Christmas everyone, see you on the other side!

Laters