Cambodia 21-2-2005

Battambang


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


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A village with an International School


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Our hotel in Battambang

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


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These vehicles can be loaded much, much hihger!


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Taking petrol before the trip starts is a good idea.


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Around Battambang it is real countryside.


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


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Bovine Paradise...


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You will not see this in Malaysia!

Our first destination was the temple complex of Phnom Sampeu.


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The temples are on the top of a steep hill.


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Did we mention already that Cambodia was very dry?


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View from the top of the hill.

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


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


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The prisoners were dropped from the top of this cave.


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Grisly memories of the past.


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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.


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


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


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

Then it was time to go back to the hotel


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Kampung life. Wat Banan in the background


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Bridge over the Sangker River.


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Kalongs (Fruit Bats) roosting in a tree

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


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Only a few French colonial buildings have survived.


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A "state of the art" children playground.


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

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