Monday, November 3rd, 2003 – Day 258
I got little sleep. I was woken by staff at 5.30am. Ouch. Smileys is a good palce and I would recommend it. it was 5 USD per night. The food and drink was also good and its about a 7 minute walk to town. Internet access is expensive here though. Now for Battambang.
The mini van came at 6.00am. It was transfeerring many tourists to the docks to get boats to Phnom Penh. It was fasinating stuff as we travelling by the docks. Hundreds of houses built on the river in boat sides of a dirt track. All wooden, bamboo shacks with no electricity but a hive of activity. to be seen to be believed. Its just the end of the wet season so its easy get a boat out to the river but amny services do not run in the dry season.
The makority of people were going to Phnom Penh. I was pointed and directed to a small speed boat. There are about 12 passengers (half local, half tourist). I decided to get up on deck and stay there for the trip.
Battambang (1995 est. pop. 110,000)
In a great rice-growing area. The second largest city in Cambodia, it is a market center with numerous rice mills. Textiles are also made. The city is on both the highway and railroad linking Phnom Penh with Thailand; after the outbreak (1970) of civil war in Cambodia, the Battambang–Phnom Penh road was a prime target of the Khmer Rouge insurgents, who, by capturing it, severed Phnom Penh from its major source of rice. Battambang was acquired by Thailand in 1809 and returned to Cambodia in 1907. French-colonial-era terraces on the riverside are rapidly filling with private English-language schools and mobile-phone shops. The busiest Battambang gets, however, is at the central market, where gem stones from the town of Pailin, southwest of Battambang, are cut and traded. Don’t expect to pick up a bargain unless you know what to look for – the better stones are shipped straight to Thailand.
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Battambang. (03-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Battambang. (03-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Battambang. (03-11-2003)
Much of the architecture is French colonial and traditional Cambodian. Few buildings are over three stories, and the main streets are shared by cars and horse carts alike.
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Battambang. (03-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Battambang. (03-11-2003)
It was a great trip but I got a little sun burnt. I must have waved to 200 kids durng the trip. Its a real water afair. All these floating villages and fishermen using empty plastic water bottles as floats. Nobody has electricity and all life, work and play is water based. They catch fish during the way( we have to be careful to avoid the hundreds of net floated by botles) as we travelled), and swim for enjoyment. Its real peomotive but they sem content. The houses rest of stiltes. We also had to slow down going pass houses as some tourist boats from Siam Reap do not and thereby snag nets and capzise people while on their small boats. It was fasinating watching people fo on with daily chores on the river – going to flating svhools, shrimp catching, fishing, guting. Lots of things I saw, no type to write or type them down.
When we got there, there were many touts but also 2 mini vans owned by the two most popular hotels. Many hotels were built by investors to house NGO personnel in the 1990’s. It seems there were hundreds of them with big U.N wages. They are all gone now and there is a glut of accommodation. You can get a hotel rom with cable, shower and fan for 5 USD. I choose to stay in the Royal.
Its a very pleasant cirt with lovaly buildings. The only fault is that the river attractions every sort of insect. I spend half the night killing them as my window did nor full close. All sorts of insect fromwalking to flying. They really pissed me off as they climbed all oer me. I am heading abck to PP tomorrow. I hate insects.
Tuesday, November 4th, 2003 – Day 259
I was up at 6.00am in order to get the 6.45am bus to PP with GST bus. I bought some bananas for the journey. It left on time and it was full. The ticket was 4 USD. The road was fine. Again it was unpaved in some areas but no holes as the weather has been good. They were working on the road in 5/6 locations. The lady beside me kept ofering me all her fulla nd drink. She had enough to feed an army. I took some beans and a pastry from her. Nice lady but no English.
When i got to PP, the first two things before I went to my hotel were to get some US dollars and get a Vietnam Visa. There are no ATM machines here so its fill up forms time. It took about 20 minutes. You need your passport. I walked to the capitol guesthouse and paid them 30 USD to get a 30 day Vietnam Visa (for delievery next day).
I took a moto to the Tonle Sap Hotel. For a change of location I choose this hotel. Its on the riverfront. All rooms with air-con, cable TV, fridge, hot water and bathtub.
The bus journey took nearly 6 hours but it was pleasnt as I had the front seat and leg room.
I watched OFF LIMITS staring Gregory Hines and Willem Dafoe.
As plainclothes military police in Saigon during the Vietnam War. They are, that is, as plainclothes as two American civilians in a Detroit car would ever be in Saigon. They go to investigate the brutal murder of a prostitute, and in the course of their investigation they learn the murder is one in a series, that there might be some kind of weirdo who specializes in this crime. Then they begin to suspect that attempts are being made to close the case, to cover up the connections, to protect a high-ranking American official who may be the murderer.
I see a new Gaelic game for PlayStation 2 is been planned. At long last. Another artice on piping music from your PC to your stero.
I did little the rest of the day. I was deciding long and hard what to do next. I am in three minds.
- Take a boat to Kratie tomorrow (5 hours) to see fresh water Dolphins. It is one of the few places in Southeast Asia where these elusive and majestic snub fin dolphins can be viewed so easily. During the Khmer Rouge [regime], fishermen would use all kinds of methods to catch fish, like electrocution [and] big nets, even hand grenades to fish. They wanted just the fish, but would kill many dolphins in the process.
- Wait around until the 11th in PP to see the Water Festival. The 1th is Indepence day. It is the most extravagant and exuberant festival in the Khmer calendar, outdoing even the new year celebrations.
Starting on the day of the full moon in late October or early November, up to a million people from all walks of life and from all over the country flock to the banks of the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers in Phnom Penh to watch traditional boats racing on a huge scale. This year more than 400 of the brightly colored boats with over 2,500 paddlers battled it out for top honors. The boat racing dates back to ancient times marking the strength of the powerful Khmer marine forces during the Khmer empire.
During the day, the boats race in pairs along a kilometer-long course, and then in the evening brightly decorated floats cruise along the river prior to and during the nightly fireworks displays.
The festival marks the changing of the flow of the Tonle Sap River and is also seen as thanksgiving to the Mekong River for providing the country with fertile land and abundant fish. It is at this time when the river flow reverts to its normal down-stream direction. In a remarkable phenomenon, the Tonle Sap River earlier reverses its course as the rainy season progresses, with the river flowing “upstream” to Tonle Sap Lake. Then as the rainy season tapers off, the river changes direction once again as the swollen Tonle Sap Lake begins to empty back into the Mekong River, leaving behind vast quantities of fish.
- Go to Saigon Thursday to start my 3 month visit to Vietnam, Southern China, Northern Laos and Northern Thailand.
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Parked bikes outside Psar O Russei Market. (04-11-2003)
I still had not decided before heading back to my hotel.