From Siem Reap we travelled some 3 hours west and then south via Sisophon to Battambang,
a pleasant provincial town with some French colonial architecture including the Governor’s residence.
It is easy to imagine it with a couple of pre-war Citroens outside. The "patron saint" of the city is the Black Man - legend says that he had a magic black stick which caused rice to turn black, and eventually his skin!
Also it was supposed to come back like a boomerang... We spent a day here, visiting a small temple to the north (Wat Ek Phnom) which was not very interesting and rather badly damaged, mainly by the Khmer Rouge who stole many of the stones to build a new bridge! We then went to ride the Bamboo Railway, run by a young entrepreneur with whom I would not like to cross swords. The trip takes you 7 km down a bumpy stretch of the line to Phnom Penh 300 km away, closed since the 1970s.
The track is uneven and twisted but more or less safe for the light wagons used – basically a wooden frame with a bamboo platform mounted on two axles with 8”diameter wheels!
Propulsion is provided by a small 2-stroke engine driving the rear axle by a fan-belt. The clutch consists in sliding the engine aft until the fan-belt grips… At the end of the trip you can buy a cold coconut as well as the inevitable T-shirts and other souvenirs before rattling back again
We dined in a very pleasant restaurant in another French colonial house, with menu offering Cambodian and European delicacies and properly kept wine. We closed with chocolate mousse! We also visited the old railway station where the time is forever 8.02...
The next day we returned to Sisophon since the whole purpose of this expedition was to visit a remote temple, Banteay Chhmar.
It was a large temple in rather bad repair, but has some magnificent bas-relief carvings round the outer wall colonnade – similar to Angkor Wat.
Most have fallen down which has helped to preserve them. Some have now been restored and others will be in the coming years. Three particularly splendid and symbolic figures were stolen in the 90s by the troops posted to guard them…
Sisophon itself had very little to offer, being dusty, dirty and poor in facilities. The new (prison-like) hotel had neither a bar nor a restaurant (never mind a swimming pool) so we had to go next door to one of two passable restaurants which we found in the city.
a pleasant provincial town with some French colonial architecture including the Governor’s residence. 
It is easy to imagine it with a couple of pre-war Citroens outside. The "patron saint" of the city is the Black Man - legend says that he had a magic black stick which caused rice to turn black, and eventually his skin! 
Also it was supposed to come back like a boomerang... We spent a day here, visiting a small temple to the north (Wat Ek Phnom) which was not very interesting and rather badly damaged, mainly by the Khmer Rouge who stole many of the stones to build a new bridge! We then went to ride the Bamboo Railway, run by a young entrepreneur with whom I would not like to cross swords. The trip takes you 7 km down a bumpy stretch of the line to Phnom Penh 300 km away, closed since the 1970s. 
The track is uneven and twisted but more or less safe for the light wagons used – basically a wooden frame with a bamboo platform mounted on two axles with 8”diameter wheels! 
Propulsion is provided by a small 2-stroke engine driving the rear axle by a fan-belt. The clutch consists in sliding the engine aft until the fan-belt grips… At the end of the trip you can buy a cold coconut as well as the inevitable T-shirts and other souvenirs before rattling back again
We dined in a very pleasant restaurant in another French colonial house, with menu offering Cambodian and European delicacies and properly kept wine. We closed with chocolate mousse! We also visited the old railway station where the time is forever 8.02... 
The next day we returned to Sisophon since the whole purpose of this expedition was to visit a remote temple, Banteay Chhmar. 
It was a large temple in rather bad repair, but has some magnificent bas-relief carvings round the outer wall colonnade – similar to Angkor Wat. 
Most have fallen down which has helped to preserve them. Some have now been restored and others will be in the coming years. Three particularly splendid and symbolic figures were stolen in the 90s by the troops posted to guard them…
Sisophon itself had very little to offer, being dusty, dirty and poor in facilities. The new (prison-like) hotel had neither a bar nor a restaurant (never mind a swimming pool) so we had to go next door to one of two passable restaurants which we found in the city.
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