Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Governor's Residence
Street 1, around 1km south of the centre • No entrance to the building, but visitors are free to wander around the grounds
South of the centre, the flamboyant
Governor's Residence
adds a decidedly Gallic
flourish to this part of town, with a grand entrance flanked by a pair of lions and two
canons dated 1789. The pale-orange building itself could easily pass for a miniature
chateau somewhere on the Loire, complete with blue-grey shuttered windows, elaborate
floral stucco decoration and a big red tiled roof - only the carved elephant heads on
either side of the portico spoil the otherwise perfect illusion of provincial France.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
2
BATTAMBANG
By bus
Several bus companies, including Phnom Penh
Sorya, Capitol and Rith Mony, have o
ces in town (all
clustered together north of the centre), offering fairly
similar services. Arriving from Phnom Penh buses first pull
into the new market about 5km out of town There's no
need to get off here; stay on board until your vehicle pulls
into the transport stop in the centre of town.
Destinations
Kompong Chhnang (15 daily; 4hr); Pailin
(1 daily; 2hr); Phnom Penh (9 daily; 6hr); Poipet (4 daily;
3hr); Pursat (15 daily; 2hr); Siem Reap (4 daily; 4hr).
By shared taxi and minibus
Most vehicles arrive at/
depart from the transport stop in the north of town,
although shared taxis may drop you off at a hotel of your
choice or at Psar Nat in the centre; transport from Pailin
arrives at Psar Leu, 1km southwest of town. Private
minibuses are best booked through your hotel - usually for
a $1 commission, although they'll come and pick you up.
Destinations
Kompong Chhnang (15 daily; 3hr 30min);
Pailin (6 daily; 1hr 30min); Phnom Penh (15 daily; 6hr);
Poipet (6 daily; 2hr 30min); Pursat (15 daily; 2hr); Siem
Reap (6 daily; 3hr 30min); Sisophon (6 daily; 2hr).
By boat
Battambang is connected to Siem Reap by a daily
thirty-seater boat (departs 7.30am; 6hr in the wet season,
up to 8hr or more during the dry; $25), a rewarding trip
down the Sangker River and across the Tonle Sap. It is, of
course, a lot quicker and cheaper to reach Siem Reap by
bus, but the journey by water is far more memorable, albeit
not particularly comfortable - take food, plenty of water
and a cushion. Boats arrive and depart from the pier on the
east bank of the river just north of Spean Thmei, about 1km
north of the centre.
Tourist of
ce
The town's tourist of
ce is south of the
centre, next to the Governor's Residence, although it's not
much use and you'll do better to visit
W
visitbattambang
.com or ask at one of the local hotels - the
Royal Hotel
is a
particularly good source of information.
GETTING AROUND
By moto and tuk-tuk
There are plenty of motos and tuk-
tuks touting for custom. Short hops around town cost $1-2.
By bike
Available at several places around town for
$2/day, including the
Asia
hotel, the
Laundry Bar
(on
St 2.5 just south of
Pomme d'Amour
) and
Royal Hotel
.
Soksabike also rent out bikes ($2 for 24hr) and run cycling
tours (see below).
By motorbike
Available from
Gecko Café
($7/day) and the
Royal Hotel
($7 for a manual bike, $10 for a scooter), among
other places.
TOURS AND ACTIVITIES
Circus
An offshoot of Siem Reap's Phare (see p.153), the
Phare Ponleu Selpak circus (
W
phareps.org) puts on shows
around four times a week at 7pm at its big top on NR5
towards Sisophon. Adults $10, children $5.
Cookery classes
Vannak at
Smokin' Pot
restaurant runs
popular 3hr cooking classes every morning
($10/person;
T
012 821400).
Cycle tours
Based at the
Kinyei
café, Soksabike
(
T
012 542019,
W
soksabike.com) runs enjoyable
half- and full-day bike tours ($27/$40) through the
Battambang countryside, with the chance to meet
local families and visit cottage industries.
English teaching
Spend an hour, half a day or longer
visiting the local Slarkram English School (
W
brick-for
-cambodia.net,
W
facebook.com/SlarkramEnglishSchool
Cambodia), 7km south of Battambang, helping local kids
with their English.
Kayaking
Green Orange Kayak (
T
017 736166,
W
fedacambodia.org) organize half-day kayaking trips
($12) along the Stung Sangke River between Battambang
and Ksach Poy village.
ACCOMMODATION
★
Asia
North of the market
T
053 953523,
W
asrhotel
.com.kh.
A definite cut above most budget places, at ultra-
competitive prices. There's a wide range of rooms (all en
suite), nicely furnished and spotless, from bargain fan rooms
(the very cheapest lack windows) through to spacious a/c
rooms with ornate wooden furniture. Bikes ($2/day) can
also be rented,
an
d th
e frie
ndly staff can arrange tours and
bus tickets. Fan
$6
; a/c
$13
