Taking the Slow Boat to Battambang

Last month, before I got a job I traveled to Battambang.  Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia, although it is really just an overgrown trading and farming town.  In the next census I'm pretty sure Siem Reap will pass it to take the number two spot.

I went to Battambang by boat.  The boat leaves about 10 kilometers from Siem Reap center, goes down the Siem Reap river, cuts across the Tonle Saap, then goes up the Sangkae river to Battambang town.  Before the highway between Siem Reap and Battambang was paved, this was the main way to travel.

I rode to Battambang in a boat exactly like this one.

For some reason my boat was loaded down with smelly French tourists.  (Yes, some of them were quite aromatic).  I don't know if Frenchies have a nostalgic thing for old towns from the Empire, or they were all traveling to Battambang for some other reason.  After we got to Battambang most of them promptly disappeared, and I never saw them again during my stay.  Nowadays, the boat to Battambang is mostly used by tourists, although locals who live along the river also use it as a water taxi.  They pull out into the channel in small skiffs and climb on board when the boat stops for them.  They get off the same way.  The trip takes about 6-8 hours.

Dad was fishing on the Siem Reap river, while the kids fooled around on the boat.

My luck wasn't very good on this trip.  My mini-bus was one of the last to arrive so all the seats were filled.  I had to ride on the fantail, which has benches around the edge.  Normally this wouldn't be a bad thing, but the engine was overheating, so they propped the engine box open.  We in the back got a blast of diesel fumes and heat the whole way there.  In addition, the boat kept breaking down, altogether about six times in the first two hours.

This woman sells soup from her boat along the river.

Along the way we passed many villages.  Some people were fishing, others were just lazing about in the mid-day heat.

One village, stretching along the river bank.

They are showing their support for the ruling party here.

They finally got it fixed and it ran fine the rest of the way.  The water was high because of heavy rains the day before, which meant we were fighting a strong current the entire way.  So it took 9 hours to get to Battambang.  It was pouring down rain when we got there.  I looked around for a pier but I didn't see one.  Instead we pulled up along the bank.  Someone had laid a ladder down climbing up the bank.  We retrieved our baggage from the roof of the boat, then we had to jump down to the bank and scramble up the ladder while trying not to tip over from the weight of our backpacks.  No one fell in, amazingly enough. We got to the top and we were on a muddy track that didn't seem to lead anywhere.  There were a few shacks about but no city.  Fortunately there were a lot of tuk-tuk drivers, all ready to charge us exorbitant rates to drive us where we needed to go.  I caught a ride with a young American couple, and split the cost.  The driver explained that the river was too high for the boat to pass under the bridge, so we had been dumped off about six kilometers from the city.  Looking around in the fading light, with the rain pouring down, bouncing up a muddy track on what seemed like a trip to nowhere I decided that I hated Battambang.  I hadn't even seen it, but I already hated it.  Getting into town didn't much improve my opinion of the place.  Muddy streets, ugly storefronts, almost no street lights, I was sure this had all been a big mistake.  Then we arrived at my hotel, I took a shower, and went out and found something to eat.  After that I just collapsed into bed and wondered how quickly I could get out of town.  The next day, things started to look up, but that is a story for another day.

Life in Siem Reap

I have not had a good connection to the Internet for the last month, so I have not had an opportunity to make an update.

I am currently living in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  I tried living in Phnom Penh, but I found it was too chaotic, with crowds of people, terrible traffic, and lots of pollution.  I had been in PP seven years ago, but it has changed a lot in only a few years.  So for now, I am settled in Siem Reap, famous only for the fact that Angkor Wat is nearby. 

I have a job at a local language school.  I have been working part time for them, but a new term will start next week and I will be working semi-full time.  (I will be teaching three classes a day, they want me to teach four, but that would be thirty hours a week and that is more than I can really do.  For every hour you teach you spend at least an hour outside of class planning, marking papers and attending meetings.)

I rented a studio apartment this week in a new building near my work.  The apartment is nice and has a balcony with a pleasant view.  I do worry about the cost of electricity, which is quite expensive here in Cambodia.  I have to run the AC at least some of the time, due to the humidity.

The weather here is atrociously hot and humid.  It is supposed to be the rainy season, but due to the El Nino effect, it isn't raining very much.  There are plenty of western style restaurants, although they are expensive.  Coffee is very expensive, which makes life hard.  Khmer restaurants are much more reasonable, and the food is good, as long as they have an English menu to allow you to order.

Shopping is difficult, as a lot of things simply aren't available here, or are very expensive for someone on a teacher's salary (which is on the low side).  I have bought some things at local markets, but I don't think I will ever be able to find dress shirts or slacks in my size here.  Anything electronic is imported and very expensive, including for example, a coffee maker.

I will begin posting pictures and more stories as my life gets more settled.