Battambang

Battambang is the second-largest town of Cambodia, but still a village

A village with an International School

Our hotel in Battambang

We rented two motorbikes + drivers for a day to explore the surroundings of Battambang

These vehicles can be loaded much, much hihger!

Taking petrol before the trip starts is a good idea.

Around Battambang it is real countryside.

No idea what is in the plastic bags, but it sure is colorful.

Bovine Paradise...

You will not see this in Malaysia!

Our first destination was the temple complex of Phnom Sampeu.

The temples are on the top of a steep hill.

Did we mention already that Cambodia was very dry?

View from the top of the hill.

The temples have a peaceful atmosphere, but bad things have happened here.

This was a stronghold of the Khmer Rouge. Many innocent victims were killed here.

The prisoners were dropped from the top of this cave.

Grisly memories of the past.

This anti-aircraft gun was used in the fighting between Khmer Rouge and government in 1995

The next destination was Wat Banan, ruins with Angkor-Wat-like towers.

You have to climb an eighty meter high hill to reach the ruins

Nice, but you are spoilt after Angkor....

The temples were probably completed between the tenth and thirteenth centuries.

Then it was time to go back to the hotel

Kampung life. Wat Banan in the background

Bridge over the Sangker River.

Kalongs (Fruit Bats) roosting in a tree

An evening walk in Battambang to see if any colonial architecture remained.

Only a few French colonial buildings have survived.

A "state of the art" children playground.

The stalls sold a large variety of fried beetles, grasshoppers etc. I was invited to taste it, but I declined the honour...