Silk Island and Battambang

Our last day in Phnom Penh, we went to visit silk Island. We took our regular tuktuk driver (it is funny how we get use to things quickly: Juan has been driving us around for a couple of days and he is now “our” tuktuk driver!) to go 20km out of the city and visit silk Island. This is a place where they farm silkworms to make silk dresses, scarves…
The process is very interesting. They have moths which breed (for 10 hours and then the male dies!) and make eggs, then the worms come out and get bigger. When they are ready, they put them in branches for them to do their cocoon. After a few days, they pick the cocoon and boiled them (and yes, the moth is still inside and dies in the process). They keep 20% of the cocoons to live to be able to breed the next worms.
Then they grab one tiny strand of the cocoon and spool it on a wooden instrument. They need 20 strands for one thread. They can get 800 meters of strand with one female cocoon (500m for a male as they are smaller). Then they dry them, clean them in water mixed with ashes to make them smooth, color them with only natural ingredients (dragon fruit for purple, mulberry leaves for green, yellow is the natural color of that type of silk…). Then they can make fabric, scarves, dress….
Only woman wove and each woman know only one pattern. It is passed on inside the family. They will only learn that one pattern and do the same one as long as they work there. It looks very complex: they have one “pedal’ which does the background color and several “pedals” who do the design. The women working there are so use to it, that it looks easy but I’m sure it took a while to learn!
Emma bought herself a blue scarf and she was very happy about it.
The afternoon was spend in our room, resting and playing games.
The next day, we left Phnom Penh for Battambang, a city in the west of the country. We took a bus for around 6 hours. We found out that Emma can not read in a moving bus! We know now.
Battambang is the second biggest city in Cambodia, but it looks less busy and less crowded than Phnom Penh. After a warm shower, we took a stroll into the area. This is one of my favorite things to do. I love people watching, take on the smells, the sound, the colors of an unknown area. It seems than in Cambodia, there is food everywhere you go. Carts, little restaurants, street sellers, selling all kind of food and other items. Money is constantly being exchanged!
One of the things to learn when you travel, is to convert money. Here in Cambodia, it is a little more complex: the money is Riel, but they also take US dollars. 1 US dollar is 4000 riels. But when you pay in one currency, you can receive the change in the other money. And then, we have to add around 30% on the top to have the value in Australian dollars! It is a very good math exercise for the kids (and us!!!).
On Saturday, we did a tour of Battambang with a tuktuk (our guide was Tah). We saw a lot!!!!
The morning was spend going around the smaller villages around Battambang where we saw different type of livelihood: a blacksmith, someone making sticky rice, banana chips a lot of different way (barbecue, sundried, fried…), rice paper. We tried a lot of those different food (Yum!). We also visited a couple of temples and some killing fields. They are everywhere here in Cambodia.
Our guide told us about his family’s story: he was a baby when the Khmer rouge seized power, his family flee to Thailand, but it was dangerous, because of the Khmer rouge and land mines. When they came back, they try to find his mother’s family, but the never found her parents or siblings again. They will never know exactly what happen to them. We could see that it was difficult for him to talk about it, but he said several times, that this part of the Cambodia history can never be forgotten, so we need to teach it to the children and remember, so it can never happen again.
In the afternoon, we went onto the smallest baboo train. It was used to transport goods on the railway, but now it seems to be a tourist attraction more than anything, but it was fun!
We could see the beautiful landscapes of Cambodia: rice fields as far as you can see, green, yellow, brown, depending on what stage of growth they are.
We finish the afternoon, at the killing caves (yes again) where people were simply push in a couple of caves and left to die at the bottom of it. It was cheaper than using weapons. There is now, statues of Buddha, Stupa (monument to remember the dead), and a lot of offering place. There is also a big temple at the top of mountain where the killing caves are. We had to walk up a pretty steep road (tuktuk can’t make it!): it was very good exercise! Emma was not a fan! On that mountain, we saw a lot of monkeys, but we had to be careful as they can be aggressive if human come to close, especially of there young ones. It was exciting and a bit scary to see them! At the top, we had beautiful views of the landscapes around. We came back down by the stairs which we pretty steep too!!! My knee wasn’t too happy.
The day finished with watching millions of bats coming out of the bat cave. It was pretty cool!
We came back at the hotel, pretty tired but full of images, sounds and smells in our heads.
We had our first movie night of the trip. Yeah for internet and Netflix!!!
Today, Sunday 12/01, we are doing a lazy day, writing our blog, resting, reading, playing games to rest our tired bodies (especially Kev and mine, the kids are fine!).
Mel

9.1.2025. Tuktuk to silk island. Fascinating stuff, we saw some massive fish. Guide called them dragon fish, I know them as Arapaima. Close to 2 metres long. He fed them a fish each, scared the crap outta Emma when they ate. They eat like a barramundi, by creating a vacuum when opening their mouth.
Was interesting to find out how they use the silk moth. They let some live so they don't die out but boil most of the moths in their cocoons.
We saw how they separate and spin the silk. Saw women using the silk to create dresses and scarfs. Each family has one pattern that only they do.
10.1.2025. Packed up and got ready for the next part of our journey. A bus trip to Battambang. After arriving we had a walk around. While being the second biggest city in Cambodia, Battambang was very different to Phnom Penh. Bigger roads, smaller buildings, more dogs.
Found out later had eaten something dodge, spent most the night going from bed to bathroom.
11.1.2025. I am now quite sure I could shit through the eye of a needle at 10 paces. We had a full day tour booked so had to do my best. Though I never missed an opportunity to use a toilet if I saw one.
A very interesting tour with a guide (Tah) who was born right in the middle of the genocide. We later found out that his mother had lost siblings, with no knowledge of where or how. We saw a 75 year old local blacksmith, making tools for the farmers. Lots of local markets and tried bananas prepared so many ways (I didn't try much). We visited Battambang’s oldest temple, built in 1707 if I remember correctly. Which was also used to hold prisoners before execution. More mass graves.
Onto to bamboo railway, kinda fun but a little too quick for my liking. Small bamboo flat carriages powered by small Honda motors that zip along the line. We had to get done in time because the big train was coming through. No rules here. Off we went in the Tuktuk again, this time to a temple on top of a mountain. A steep walk, I had to push someone most of the way up. The mountain is full of caves, and bodies. They marched prisoners up the mountain and pushed them in into the caves. We didn't venture too far into the caves as there is only so much we want to see. Monkeys! Bloody monkeys, I don't like monkeys. Don't like them, never will. Weird me out with the teeth and claws and screeching. We didn't have any trouble but some people brought food, bad idea. Walked down the “short cut”. All steps, steep steps. Only went arse up once. I am not flexible but managed to almost do the splits. At least I didn't shit myself. Waited at the bottom for the for a nightly show, bats millions of bats. Small insect eating bats that live in the caves. Was impressive, thousands of bats coming out for over an hour. Of course bozos feeding monkeys too. May have mentioned, don't like monkeys.
12.1.2025. First solid food for a day, though I only borrowed it temporarily. Now resting and doing blog. That is all.
Kev

It is me, I am back again, I want an applause NOW! Whatever, onto my blog (another applause).
On the ninth we went to a place called silk island. It was about how make silk, it looked hard but to make it harder they did it with hand not machine. There was also huge fish called arapaima, they were about a meter long, and if someone chucked in a fish, they would jump out and eat it. The workers would use the cocoons of the silkworms to make the silk and then, they would make it soft and neat then they would sew it together.
On the tenth, we went on a six-hour bus. It was very boring. The bus was going to Battambang, our next destination. When we got there, a tuktuk driver took us to our hotel. It was 9pm, so I annoyingly had to go to bed. Nothing else interesting happened other than my attempt of staying up all night.
On the eleventh, we had a tour. At the start of the tour, we went to a market, there was a blacksmith and it was interesting. I watched him make a blade. Then we went to a place where we could try lots of different types of cooked banana, we also ate sticky rice, it was very good. We also went to a few different temples, and we saw a huge statue called Dambang Krognuing. There were also big buildings. After that we went to a bamboo train, it is the smallest train in the world but it was going fast. Technically it’s just a moving platform on a train track. After that, we went to a mountain and climbed up it, at the top there were monkeys, monkeys and more monkeys and a temple. We looked at it and then went down. We waited at the bottom because at night, a colony of bats fly out of a cave in the side of the mountain. They were micro bats, but there were millions.
On the twelfth I sat at a table writing my blog and then you read it.
The End, for now
Andrew the great (9 years old)
Applause applause clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap

Hi, it’s me Emma. Today I’m going to tell you about the last three days. On Thursday, we went to silk island and they farmed lots and lots of silk worms that make cocoons. But the cool thing about the silkworms, is that they silk for our cloths. At silk island there was also this big fish called arapaima and it gave me a heart attack, when it jumped up and made a big noise. Now moving on to Friday. On Friday we went on this big, long and boring bus. Do you know why it was big, long and boring bus: because I spewed most of the way. And on Saturday we went on a tour. First on the tour, we went to a blacksmith and saw fire. Then had Bamboo sticky rice and it was very yum. Then we ate some banana chips. After that we ate some rice paper and some spring rolls. Then we had lunch. Then we looked at some French buildings and then we went on a Bamboo train. Then we hiked a long steep hill and I almost did not make it up alive. At the top of the hill there was a temple and MONKEYS! Then we walked all the way down to see bats. When we saw them, they were tiny and very very cool. They kept swirling like a tornado in the sky.
Aurevoir sucker see you soon.
Emma (8 years old).Read more