Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Moving on
You should be able to scare up a taxi on the Thai side to take you to the nearest town,
Phusing (30 minutes), where buses and
sŏrngtǎaou
serve Si Saket and Kantharalak. Or try to hop on a
casino shuttle from the border to Phusing, Ku Khan or Si Saket.
For more information about crossing this border in the other direction,
Click here
.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Around Battambang
The countryside around Battambang is littered with old temples, bamboo trains and other
worthwhile sights. Admission to Phnom Sampeau, Phnom Banan and Wat Ek Phnom
costs US$3. If you purchase a ticket at one site, it's valid all day long at the other two.
Phnom Sampeau
At the summit of this fabled limestone outcrop, 12km southwest of Battambang along
NH57 (towards Pailin), a complex of
temples
(admission US$3)
affords gorgeous views.
Access to the summit is via a steep staircase or, past the eateries near the entrance at the
base of the hill, a cement road. The road up to the summit is too steep for
remorques
.
English-speaking
moto
drivers can whisk you up for US$3 return, or take the stairs if
you're in need of a workout.
About halfway to the summit via the road, a turn-off leads under a gate and 250m up to
the
Killing Caves of Phnom Sampeau
. A golden reclining Buddha lies peacefully next to a
glass-walled memorial filled with the bones and skulls of some of the people bludgeoned
to death by Khmer Rouge cadres and then thrown through the skylight above.
At the summit of Phnom Sampeau, descend from the
golden stupa
, which dates from
1964 and turn left under the gate decorated with a bas-relief of Eiy Sei (an elderly
Buddha). A
deep canyon
, its vertical sides cloaked in greenery, descends 144 steps through
a natural arch to a 'lost world' of stalactites, creeping vines and bats; two Angkorian war-
riors stand guard.
Every evening at dusk, a thick column of
bats
pours out of a massive cave high up on
the north side of the cliff face - the mesmerising display, visible from the base of the
cliffs, lasts a good 30 minutes.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search