Cambodia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 95

produce. Centrepiece of the region (and
Cambodia's second city) is Battambang ,
an agreeable town, home to some of the
country's finest surviving French-colonial
architecture, and an enjoyably relaxed
place to hang out for a few days.
Southeast from here stretches the vast
Tonle Sap lake, home to dozens of
picturesque floating villages, which swells
to more than 8000 square kilometres
during the rainy season before
contracting spectacularly once again
during the dry.
he entire region is sandwiched between
the Cardamom Mountains in the
southwestern corner of the country and the
Dangrek Range in the north. A perfect
hideout, these frontier hills were home to
the Khmer Rouge guerrillas for nearly
twenty years from 1979. he towns within
the former occupied territories, such as the
remote frontier outpost of Pailin , are not
attractive places, as you might expect after
twenty years of war and isolation, but the
countryside is stunning in places and has a
Wild West appeal. Many of the residents in
these areas are still loyal to the memory of
the Khmer Rouge, whose legacy also lives
on in the myriad mines which still dot the
countryside hereabouts - on no account
wander from clearly marked roads or paths.

Also worth a visit is the quirky “ Bamboo
Railway ”, running along a stretch of
disused track just outside Battambang. A
dozen or so “trains” run up and down the
line on demand, each consisting of a small
bamboo platform set on top of a metal
undercarriage and powered by motorbike
engines - a fun way to get a glimpse of
Battambang's lush hinterlands. he line
starts 7km from Battambang (return by
moto/tuktuk $4/6) with twenty- to
thirty-minute trips up and down the line
costing $5 per person.

2

Wat Sampeu
Some 15km southwest of Battambang,
a large temple complex squats atop the
lopsided hill of Phnom Sampeu (said to
resemble a sinking boat when seen in
profile with nearby Phnom G'daong ). It's
a colourful sight, although nowadays
better known for its tragic associations
with the Khmer Rouge, who used it as a
prison, many of whose inmates were
killed on the mountaintop.
A breathless twenty-minute hike up
steep steps takes you to the top of the
hill, dotted with a sprawling cluster of
assorted modern shrines and stupas.
Directly below the summit of the hill and
the main vihara, steps lead down to the
sombre, bat-infested Laang Lacaun
(“heatre Cave”), gloomy even at midday
beneath its vast slab of overhanging rock.
housands of people were killed here,
thrown to their deaths by Khmer Rouge
cadres through an opening in the rocks
above. A few of the victims' smashed
skulls and bones have been collected in
an ornate metal cage as a lasting
memorial to Khmer Rouge atrocities.

BATTAMBANG
BATTAMBANG is Cambodia's second-
biggest city, though you wouldn't think
so from its laidback atmosphere, and it's a
world apart from Phnom Penh's urban
bustle. It's keen to move up in the world,
however - and the French-colonial-era
shophouses now sport an increasing array
of fancy restaurants and bars. hat said,
the unhurried central market, Psar Nat,
is still the busiest Battambang gets.

Wat Banan
Reached from Phnom Sampeu via a
ferociously bumpy back-country road,
the modest temple of Wat Banan looks
almost like a dilapidated miniature of
Angkor Wat, with its five conical towers
rising out of the trees at the summit of a
70m-high hill. It's a steep clamber up to
the top but worth it to see the detailed
lintels, beheaded apsaras , and views out
over endless paddies, with Phnom
Sampeu clearly visible to the north.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
here are two pleasant temples within
walking distance of the town centre -
Wat Piphithearam and Wat Dhum Rey Sor .
Further afield are Phnom Sampeu and
Wat Banan which make lovely day-trips
out of the city - a tuk-tuk/moto will take
you to both for about $18/12, and the
combined entrance ticket costs $2.