Hello Cambodia - Cool Days In Battambang

After the busy days sightseeing and nights partying away, the next stop on my trip brought me to my 6th country - Cambodia. More specifically, Battambang, the second biggest city in the country, but an oasis of peace.

Indeed, Battambang is not on the list of many travelers, but it most definitely should be. Its authenticity, off-the-beaten-path and fascinating things to do and see make it an absolutely worthwhile stop. I had two full days here.

On the first day, I took the old bamboo train (more like a flat piece of wood on wheels) through lush rice fields, then went up to visit a killing cave that was used in Cambodian's genocide in the 1970s (more on that in Phnom Penh), some temples on top of a mountain that allowed for magnificent views over the countryside and lastly - the highlight of the day - watching 6.5 millions bats flying out of a cave within 15 minutes at sunset - simply incredible.

The second day, me and a few other travelers hopped on a tuk tuk and explored the countryside. We first had some 'Bamboo Sticky Rice' (basically sweet-ish rice that is cooked for three hours in a bamboo stick, really nice actually) before learning how rice paper for spring rolls are made and then tasted some rice wine with a cobra in the bottle (30%, but with a bang). We also did a stop at the Battambang killing fields and learned about the horrific ways the Khmer Rouge tortured and killed over 3m people (again, more on that in Phnom Penh). Lastly, we went to a 11th century temple before going back to the hostel.

In the evening, we had a stroll through the city center and along the river (no other tourist there!) before watching a really funny kids/teenage circus show.

All in all, Battambang looks what original Cambodia is like. Not many tourists (they all are watching the bats), an authentic feel and simply a great city to explore. One more observation, so far, the people are incredibly nice and friendly. Even more so vs Thailand.

Long story short - a fantastic start to Cambodia.Read more