Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand’s Top 20 - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 16

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand's Top 20

Battambang (Cambodia)

TOM COCKREM / GETTY IMAGES ©

14 This is the real Cambodia, far from the jet-set destinations of Phnom Penh and Siem

Reap. Unfurling along the banks of the Sangker River, Battambang ( Click here ) is one of
the best-preserved colonial-era towns in the country. Streets of charming French shoph-
ouses host fair-trade cafes where you can arrange bike excursions. Beyond Battambang lies
the Cambodian countryside and a cluster of ancient temples that mercifully lack the crowds
of Angkor Wat. Further afield lies the world-class Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary on Tonlé Sap
lake.