Battambang - the city of the lost black stick

National Bank of Cambodia, Battambang

Our next stop in Cambodia was in its second city, Battambang. We got the bus here, which was fine, albeit quite late arriving.

The problem with the buses here, (and we found the same in Laos,) can be knowing where they are dropping you off. We don't have mobile internet when we travel, so can't use that to check where we are.

On this occasion, Nic had expected that the drop off point was in town, a short walk from our hotel, the Lux Guesthouse.

Battambang

When we arrived, we didn't see the kind of landmarks that we expected to, so couldn't get our bearings, and started to wonder whether we were in fact, where we had expected to be.

As it was already dark, we decided on a tuk tuk. This was just as well, as it turned out that we were much further out than we had expected to be, and would have had no idea where we were going.

On the way in to town, we noticed a huge statue of a man with a big stick. We later discovered that this was Preah Bat Dambang Kranhoung, King of the Lost Black Stick.

Legend has it that this man was a farmer, who fought heroically against Siamese soldiers, using a sacred black stick which killed people when he threw it at them, and so was made King.

Royal Palace, Battambang

One day, another prince, who was also a monk, arrived. The King tried to protect his throne, by throwing his black stick at the monk, but the monk did not die, the stick was lost, and so was his throne.

The city was named Battambang after the Bat Dambang, or lost stick.

Po Knong, Battambang

It is a great city to visit, as it is quite laid back and relaxed. There are tourists here of course, but not in such large numbers. One of the main attractions here for tourists, seems to be the Nory, or bamboo railway. They use little platforms, made from bamboo - a bit like the kind that you used to see in cartoons, with people pumping a handle to make it move - to transport goods up the railway line when there are no proper trains. Personally, I wasn't that interested, so gave it a miss.

Po Knong, Battambang

Because the Khmer Rouge weren't quite as destructive here, there are plenty of temples in town, and more further out. That is not to say that the regime here was easy of course, as a visit to Phnom Sampov would attest.

This are the Killing Caves, where people were executed by being thrown from the top of the caves. There are also temples here and, if you time your visit so that you are there at the right time, you can see that these are also the Bat Caves - no, Batman doesn't live here, just lots and lots of bats.

Po Knong, Battambang

A couple of pointers if you do visit these outer areas. The Caves have two options for getting up the hill, a longer route up the road, or the shorter, but steeper route up the 700 or so steps.

Bear in mind that bats may carry rabies, so if you stick around to see the swarms of them leaving the caves, it is best to watch them from outside. Also, whilst the main areas are safe enough, you should stick to the pathways, or worn areas as like many parts of Cambodia, there is still some risk of unexploded mines.

Po Knong, Battambang

Po Knong, Battambang

Wat Kandal, Battambang

I am sure that these places are worth a visit, but as we were still suffering dodgy stomachs, had already been to Choueng Ek, and were en-route to Siem Reap, we decided to stick to the city this time.

Battambang was under the control of the Siamese for many years, (hence Preah Bat Dambang Kranoung's fighting,) and then was colonised by the French. The latter is still very much in evidence in lots of the architecture here, in particular the rather splendid National Bank of Cambodia building.

Wat Kandal, Battambang

We had a little look around the main market, and we wandered down to the Royal Palace, although we could not go inside.

It is a pleasant place to walk around, and there are plenty of places, both Khmer and westernised, to stop for refreshments.

We had already seen a lot of temples on our trip, and were off to Siem Reap next, so we decided just to take a look at a few of the ones here.

Wat Kandal, Battambang

The first two were Po Knong, and Wat Kandal. In the latter, we were greeted at the gates by a couple of young children, who wanted nothing from us but to say hello, and the younger one took my hand to walk into the grounds.

Now those of you that know me, will know that I am not really a fan of children, so having one decide to hold my hand is not on my list of preferred activities.

Wat Kandal, Battambang

However, with the way that the 'western world' is giving itself a bad name these days, I am quite keen to ensure that when we encounter local people, especially children, for whom in some cases it could be one of their earliest encounters with westerners, we make that experience a positive one. So when I am away, I smile at children, and do my best to pretend to think they are lovely.

Wat Tham Rai Saw, Battambang

Both of these temples were almost deserted, but they were interesting to take a look at. The second had a few more signs of life, with the odd monk walking around.

The other one that we went to was Wat Tahm-Rai-Saw, or the White Elephant pagoda. There were a number of quite elaborate statues here, and as the name might suggest, they included a few white elephants.

Wat Tham Rai Saw, Battambang

One in particular was quite gory, with a body lying next to it, that was having its insides eaten by a pair of birds.


I assume this is a depiction of some very meaningful Buddhist tale, but have no idea what the story is.

Wat Tham Rai Saw, Battambang

Wat Tham Rai Saw, Battambang

Wat Tham Rai Saw, Battambang

Battambang

One place that we weren't aware of at the time, but that we would have gone to, is Wat Somrog Knong, which is around 6km out of town. Behind the temple is a memorial to the victims of the Khmer Rouge genocide, which has some really quite vivid depictions of the terrible events that occurred.

Phare Ponleu Selpak, Battambang

Aside from temples, we took a look around Psar Nath, the market, and partook of one of the things that Battambang is now famous for - we went to the circus.

Phare Ponleu Selpak or The Brightness of the Arts is a non-profit making organisation that uses the arts to helps children to improve their lives. It was started by a group of nine young Cambodians who had grown up in a refugee camp in Thailand, where a French volunteer used art to help the children to cope with the traumas that they had.

Phare Ponleu Selpak, Battambang

Since they returned to Cambodia in 1994, they have developed an organisation that teaches children dance, music, art and other artistic areas, alongside giving them education and practical support. They currently work with over 1000 students here in the city.

Which brings us back to the circus. One of the ways that they raise funds is for their music, dance and acrobatic students to put on a regular circus. They do take it to Siem Reap too, but this is their home.

The circus was fun. It wasn't the most polished performance, but these are students, so you wouldn't expect it to be. It was fun, and perfectly accomplished enough, especially some of the acrobatics.

Phare Ponleu Selpak, Battambang

And of course we found a few places to eat and drink. We didn't eat in Jaan Bai, which is supposed to be good, but we did try one of the best known places to eat in Battambang in The White Rose, which has been around for ages, but is still very popular.

Bearing in mind dodgy stomachs, we did opt for a very westernised place a few times, which was The Kitchen, which was decent enough.

One of our favourites though was a little place called Buffalo Alley, which had great food and cocktails. We also had some lovely drinks in a place called Bric-a-brac, which is a shop and three room hotel that is run by Robert Carmack and Morrison Polkinghorne.

They also wrote a book called The Burma Cookbook, and as we had been in Myanmar earlier in the year, we bought a copy with a view to making our own green tea leaf salads and the like.

Phare Ponleu Selpak, Battambang

Phare Ponleu Selpak, Battambang

Phare Ponleu Selpak, Battambang

Phare Ponleu Selpak, Battambang

Phare Ponleu Selpak, Battambang