Bamboo Railway, Battambang.

This monument is on the road into Battambang.  I have no idea what's it's about.  Last night we went for a walk to the local market which was in the process of closing for the day.  I thought the market would continue on all night but that's not the case.  We walked around to find a nice cafe where we sat down to a nice vegetarian pizza each and a nice smoothie.  We were a little hungry so we decided to buy a plate of chicken friend rice to add to our pizzas.  We headed back to our air con room to call it quits for the day.  By the time 9pm came around I was stuffed and finding it hard to keep awake.  It's got nothing to do with my 52 years either.  It's about riding the first day in temperatures that reached 111 degrees and yesterday hit over 100.  Now that's so hot I could have cooked a chook on my ass.   Although I drank a lot of water during the ride, clearly it's not enough in these conditions.  I'm starting to drink more than a litre an hour.  I watched a movie last night called the cowboys and the alien. Don't waste your time, it's rubbish.  I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but the TV was fixed and now I can watch cable TV.  

Although breakfast was arranged for 8am today, I was wide awake by 6.30 due to the noise of the trucks and buses leaving the city to other parts of the country.  We headed out to the Bamboo Railway by tuk tuk which is the only way to go.  It's about 7kms from the centre of town but in this heat, you've got to kidding if you're going to ride it.  For 5 dollars, the driver takes you out, waits the hour for you and then takes you back to town.  Now that's a bargain.

When you arrive at the Bamboo Railway you are introduced to the tourist police officer who gives you a run down of what you can expect.  1.  Buy something at the 1/2 way stop. 2.  Tip your driver when you come back.  OK, I get it.  We hopped onto our bamboo train and waited for some trains to end their journey.  We could see them coming down the track, all with a huge smile on their faces. 

Our driver revved his engine and we were off.  It took a good 50 metres before we reached walking pace, but then we were off and running.  Banging and clanging all the way.

On the 7km trip out we had to stop and dismantle our bamboo train to allow the train from the other direction to pass.  On the trip back, you don't have to pull your train apart and have right of way.  During one of our many stops I came across some nice children who were waiting to jump on the train and catch a lift to their homes.  The locals do not pay to ride the Bamboo railway.

The photo above shows how simple it is to put the train back together again.  It was so hot standing in the sun waiting to board again.  Once on board the wind will cool you down quickly.  At the 1/2 way stop you would be asked by the stall holders and children to buy something.  I know people think I'm tight with what little money I have, but seriously another T-shirt to my collection.  I don't think so, and I don't need anymore crap inside my pannier bags to carry around this country.

After stopping for 20 minutes it was time to make the trip back down to the starting point.  Even though the track is pretty bumpy, it was a fantastic experience as to how the locals still travel to this day.

Cambodia is currently in the process of upgrading its rail system.  When the Battambang tracks are replaced, the Bamboo Train will likely come to an end. 

Our tuk tuk driver wanted to take us to see the bat cave, the insect farm, another Wat, but it was too hot to be out in the midday sun.  We bought some goodies and returned to the hotel for a rest and get ready for tomorrow's ride back to Sisophon in searing heat.

Until tomorrow,
Safe riding.