Wandering Scotsman

I have uploaded some pictures of Battambang in Cambodia.

Shortly after my morning cooking class today I headed off on a moto to see Phnom Sampeu (Sahm-Bpoh). Phnom Sampeu is a temple on a hilltop 12kms from Battambang with killer views of the endless flat paddy field landscape as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately the Khmer Rouge also thought it was a killer place, albeit in a much more tragic manner as they used to drop people into the caves hoping they’d die on impact to save a bullet (but they hardly ever did), or starve them there. There are remnants of skulls and bones which is tragic and reminded me of my interesting but gruesome trips to Auschwitz. This trip is also detailed in my Adventure Cambodia book. More of this to come in Phnom Penh I guess.

I managed to get clear views of the hill by Pailin on the Thai border, although the picture below is following the main road back to Battambang.
I also got chased down the steps by a Long Tailed Macaque Monkey. Almost four months in Borneo and the closest I got to Macaques were across the river, here I could touch out and reach them (also some some near Angkor Wat).

A Macaque scratching his nuts. Or something. :

Rural Cambodia starts within kilometres of town as you immediately hit dirt roads that form the main highways – yet again I was wishing I was riding a Honda Baja myself. Again, everyone was super friendly, waving at you before you even caught sight of them, kids shouting hello and goodbye. I could have spent all day stopping to take photos.

On the way we managed to catch a local cock fight where the winner got the share of $8 bet by the locals. We left before it even came close to a winner which is probably quite as well as apparently they cut the head and suck the blood. This one wasn’t as viscious as I’ve heard about though as they sometimes have razors attached to the cock’s feet.

I made a young girl cry again though. There was a killer picture of a girl holding up her younger sister, it was ok for me to take a picture, but as soon as I got closer with my camera the younger one balled her eyes out, and I forgot my balloon trick. They’re not used to seeing many (if any) foreigners here.

We then headed to the bamboo train on an extremely twisty railtrack, and caught a superb sunset over the lush green paddy fields while being taken back 12km to Battambang

I was a bit frustrated with the camera here as I know I couldn’t do the picture justice. I now know why it takes over 11 hours to get to Phnom Penh on the train, and similar from Phnom Penh (which takes 4 hours on the bus). Locals utilise the track with makeshift ‘carriages’ that can be disassembled within a minute when you approach an oncoming carriage.

I’ve booked my bus to Phnom Penh in the morning, so it’s time for a new destination.

Sunset over rice paddies :

Wee boy, with a shot that doesn’t give the sunset justice :

Me at The Smokin’ Pot Cooking School, Battambang :

Battambang has been saved! I had a nice relaxing evening eating at the hotel and watching Crash in my room (great film). Although it probably sounds a bit sad if you read this sitting at home, but it was a great comfort as it’s only the second film I’ve watched since June, and the first one was at Raleigh fieldbase, and was crap.

I went cooking this morning and out with a moto guide this afternoon. I had a great cooking class today – it was similar to a Thai class last year, but this time I went to the market, which was a real eye opener. All kinds of things were for sale – insects, bettle nuts, the staple ingredients, frogs, live fish, snake type fish, live (and cooked) turtles, a cow’s cock (described to us as a “cow’s snake, if you know what I mean”) and an extremely varied selection of fruit. The guy from The Smokin’ Pot restaurant was great at explaining stuff, even the fruit which weren’t part of the course. We took quite a while going through the market as it was a larger than usual class.

The market should be visited on the first day of training for a Health and Safety Executive graduate trainee. Fish were being cut up in front of you, they were jumping out their bowls, fish heads were all over the place, and there was a lot of marinated meat ‘that was good for up to 7 months’. A couple in the group even saw a skinned frog, still gasping on for its last breaths. When the market seller saw their surprise, she apparently gave it a good thud over the head.

Fish anyone?

Who could refuse buying someone from this guy?

We started off with a traditional Khmer Chicken Amok Curry, then a beef stir fry, and a sweet fish soup. Some of the group then tried their first Durian fruit, and I got stuck into a ‘custard apple’ and ‘milk fruit’ (see picture below, left and right respectively).
Market trading :

A “Cow’s Snake” ;-> :

Shortly after I headed off on a moto to see Phnom Sampeu (Sahm-Bpoh) but I’ll stick that in another post with pictures.