Global Reflections

Caves, Mountains, and Monkeys: An Afternoon in Battambang

Monkeys at Phnom Sampeau

We spent our last few sightseeing hours in Battambang on, in, and around a mountain: Phnom Sampeau, located around 11 miles from Battambang. It was late afternoon when we arrived, and the darkening skies were obscured by gray clouds and periodic rain. But we’re in Cambodia, and it’s the rainy season, so we counted ourselves lucky to have only periodic, light rain rather than the torrential downpours for which the season is famous. And the wet pavement definitely contributed to the excitement that was heading our way …

Our Adventure Jeep

Our tuk tuks could not take us up the mountain. At its base, amongst a bevy of food stalls, we transferred to motos for most and a Jeep for those who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) brave the motos. There was one Jeep, with five empty seats, and it quickly filled with five small children and their mothers—yes, Alexa and I were among them, though it wasn’t long before I started wondering if we’d have been safer on a moto, with Alexa nestled on her father’s back in her carrier, like another girl her age made the journey. We were the last into the Jeep, so we slid onto one of the benches lining the back, taking our places on the seat beside the open rear, just in front of the Cambodian man who hopped onto the lowered tailgate. As we started up the mountain, I quickly realized that the way would be steep and bumpy, and my arms tightened around Alexa until she could barely breathe. My overprotective instincts were vindicated when the little boy across from us bounced out of his mother’s arms and remained in the Jeep only due to her quick reaction, coupled with the quick reaction of the man behind us, who grabbed the boy before he bounced out of the Jeep and then changed his position so that he was crouching on the tailgate, holding to the top corners of the Jeep, providing as much of a back wall as he could. Just after this catastrophe was averted, one of the motos pulled up behind us. Before it passed, I saw the female passenger pumping her arms in exhilaration, then snapping a picture of us, unaware of what had just nearly happened—yes, the motos definitely would have been the way to go.

The Killing Cave*

We pulled up to a small wat and gratefully exited the vehicle. We spent a little time taking in the view from the wat before heading to the real reason we’d stopped there: the killing cave. Under the Khmer Rouge, mass murder occurred throughout the country, and the peaceful mountainside was no exception. Countless people were pushed down shafts into caves near the wat, with the fall itself, starvation, and dehydration as the murder weapons. Now, a path and a steep set of stairs lead visitors down into one of the caves, which now houses Buddhist prayer flags, a memorial stupa filled with victims’ bones, and a reclining Buddha. A side path leads to the shaft from which victims were thrown to their deaths.

Buddhist prayer flags outside the killing cave

After an appropriately solemn visit to the killing cave, we piled back into the Jeep for the trip to the top of the mountain. This part of the journey was more treacherous than the first. We almost made it. Halfway up the final hill, the Jeep came to a stop. I looked behind us at the precipitous hill, with a sharp turn at the bottom. The driver worked the clutch, with no success. We passengers offered to get out and walk the rest of the way. The driver ignored us and worked some more. The Jeep slid backward, halting several feet lower than it started. As a throng of men descended the hill to assist, women and children piled out of the Jeep and quickly vacated the area just behind it. A man grabbed Alexa, making it easier for me to exit (I’d snagged a seat near the front this time, so I was last out), and headed up the hill with her, toward a man who was handing out umbrellas. I rushed to catch up, but there were more men heading down than up, and it was difficult to move against the tide. When I eventually caught up with her, I expected her to be upset—she doesn’t like strangers—but she seemed unaware of anything but the fact that she was no longer in the Jeep, which was enough to make her happy. We rejoined Jeff at the top of the mountain to take in the views of and from the temple and the Golden Stupa.

The Golden Stupa**

The temple perches on the very top of the mountain and has a couple of elevated platforms that provide amazing views of the surrounding farmland. The nearby stupa houses the remains of a former governor of Battambang Province, but I didn’t go explore it. A few steps on the slippery-when-wet tiled courtyard were enough to convince me that the less I walked around, the better. Instead I appreciated the beauty of the area from near the entrance. Jeff and a few others took the plunge to visit the nearby Beautiful Cave, although most declined after being told that the stairs were steep, long, and treacherous in the wet weather. I stood around chatting with a few other women while we waited. Then we hopped back into the Jeep for a less adventuresome trip down the mountain to an area where macaques gather in hopes of snagging bananas from tourists.

One of the many monkeys that posed for us

The monkey viewing definitely was my favorite part of Phnom Sampeau. Dozens of macaques congregated in the trees (and ropes strung in them) near vendors selling bunches of bananas. When a tourist purchased a bunch, he or she immediately became the monkeys’ new best friend, at least until all the bananas had been distributed. The macaques fearlessly wandered through the crowd of tourists, most of whom were wise enough to give the monkeys a little more space than the monkeys seemed to want. Alexa was in heaven, pointing and announcing “Uh Oh!” to anyone who would listen. (“Uh Oh” is her name for Curious George and has become her favored word for “monkey.”) We allowed her to toss a couple of bananas to monkeys from a distance, but Jeff wisely refrained from letting her walk around or get as close to the “uh ohs” as she would have preferred. We decided it was time to go when a new macaque joined the group, and the local vendors became visibly tense and started warning people to “Stay away from that one! He’s mean.”

Bats exiting the bat cave

After an uneventful ride back down the mountain, we switched motos and the Jeep for our trusty tuk tuks. We had one more stop to make—a roadside location from which we could see a cave that is home to tens of thousands of bats. If you arrive just before sunset, as we did, you get to see the long, uninterrupted flow of bats out of the cave to begin their nighttime adventures. We didn’t stick around for all of it, but it was more impressive than it sounds. Alexa enjoyed it. After a brief explanation, she took to repeating “Those bats wake up! Those bats hungry! Those bats go eat!” while pointing at the sky. The tuk tuk drivers also demonstrated how a loud noise will disrupt the bats’ flying patterns, much to the amusement of the children.

Bats--lots of bats

After several minutes of viewing the stream of bats, it was time to head back to the resort. The next morning was devoted to relaxing and making last minute purchases from the resort’s gift shop before our late morning departure for Phnom Penh. All in all, it was a very nice weekend. Battambang is not one of Cambodia’s tourist hot spots, for good reason, as it has very few must-see sights, but it’s a great place for a relaxing weekend away from the city, with just enough to do to keep you occupied when you want to get out and about.

Another monkey ... just because he's cute

*The picture of the killing cave shows only that part that is visible from the top of the stairs. The shaft down which people were thrown is off to the left, and the Buddha and memorial stupa are off to the right.

**I was unable to get a picture of the stupa without any embassy-affiliated personnel in the picture, so I went with the best picture I had and obscured the face of the person posing on the steps.

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Battambang series:

1: Battambang Resort

2: Phare Ponleu Selpak

3: A Morning in Battambang
4: Caves, Mountains, and Monkeys: An Afternoon in Battambang

A Morning in Battambang

Giant Buddha at Wat ek Phnom

We only had one full day in Battambang, so it was a busy one! We spent the day on a tuk tuk tour of the sights around Battambang. Our schedule involved two tour sessions—one in the morning, the other in the late afternoon/early evening, with a break at the hotel for lunch in between. Here’s a whirlwind account of our whirlwind morning.

Sifting rice*

Our first stop was a traditional Cambodian house. The current owner, the granddaughter of the original owner, showed us around and explained some of the features of the house and the items inside it. First she showed us the area under the house, where a simple rice sifting machine was set up. The machine consisted of a large basket, through which the rice could fall as it was separated from the husk. The basket was agitated using a two-person handle attached to a long stick. Sifting the rice is a long and tedious project, as the handle is quite heavy to manipulate.

Demonstrating a traditional instrument

After we’d seen and tried the sifter, we went upstairs to see the inside of the house. It was surprisingly large and airy, with beautifully polished hardwood floors and exposed rafters. The owner showed us a traditional instrument, similar to a guitar, then demonstrated a traditional pastime of Cambodian women—chewing betel nuts (actually areca nuts wrapped in betel leaves). Older Cambodians often have a basket filled with the specific tools needed to prepare and chew the betel nuts, which are thought to protect the chewer from tooth decay. Unfortunately, modern medicine has revealed a link between betel nut chewing and cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and stomach, so I tend to agree with the younger Cambodians, who mostly have abandoned this practice.

The Bamboo Train

Upon leaving the house, we took a trip on the Bamboo Train, which was created as an inexpensive, relatively fast way for rural Cambodians to travel between villages. The “train” is a simple platform, made of bamboo, that rests on two axles. It’s powered by a moto (or motorcycle) engine and travels along the regular train tracks. The whole contraption can be disassembled quickly and moved off the track to make way for real trains or for bamboo trains that are going the other direction. It reaches speeds of up to around 10 miles per hour, which made for a comfortable breeze on a hot day.

The view ahead

The journey that we took is geared toward tourists—the operation is overseen by the tourist police, and the destination is a small village that seemed to consist exclusively of a brick factory and a couple of huts selling cold drinks and t-shirts. We enjoyed some cold drinks, took a short tour of the brick factory, and then reboarded the train for the trip back to where our tuks tuks awaited us.

Machine for shaping bricks at the factory

The ride itself was nice. Alexa had been tired and fussy all morning due to the late night before, but she fell asleep almost immediately, despite the noise of the engine, and got a pretty good nap in. Jeff and I were able to enjoy the breeze, ignore the jolts and bumps, and see a little of the countryside—not too much of it, because of the overgrown trees and grasses along the tracks, but some. It was a unique way to travel, one that I’m glad I experienced, and I found myself impressed with the ingenuity of those who first thought to create this system.

Making rice paper

After our ride on the Bamboo Train, we stopped by another house whose occupants earn a living by making and sglling rice paper. We didn’t spend much time there, but we watched as one woman created the sheets from a boiling rice mixture and another set them out to cool and dry. They worked in the shade under the house, but it still was a hot and tedious process. The first woman used a small bowl to dip the rice liquid out of the pot, pour it onto a plate, and then spread it into a consistent circle. She let it cool for just a moment while she prepared the next circle, then used a spatula to transfer the thin, wet “paper” onto a wooden rod mounted on a turnstile. The second woman then removed the rod and used it to roll the rice paper onto a wooden screen before replacing the now-empty rod for reuse. When the screen was full, it was propped up against a tree or post so that the rice paper could cool.

The giant Buddha at Wat Ek Phnom

Finally, we visited our last site of the morning—Wat Ek Phnom. This wat was constructed in the 11^th century and is in a state of ruin. After seeing Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, it wasn’t particularly impressive, but it was worth a visit since we were in the area. The ruins are at the back of the complex, and a newer pagoda is in front of them. The most impressive part of the site, however, is the giant Buddha statue located next to the new pagoda. The statue towered over the trees and dwarfed the bigger-than-life-size statues of monks that flank it.

The modern pagoda at Wat Ek Phnom

After a morning of sightseeing, we were ready to get back to the resort for lunch. Our afternoon tours needed to wait until close to sunset, so we had a couple of hours in which to eat, relax by the pool, or take a nap. Then we were off again—but I’ll save that for the next installment.

An inviting path in the ruins of Wat Ek Phnom

* We do not show pictures of ourselves or of anyone who is affiliated with us or with the embassy on this blog due to security concerns. Because the child in this image is the daughter of an embassy employee, I obscured her face.

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Battambang series:

1: Battambang Resort

2: Phare Ponleu Selpak

3: A Morning in Battambang
4: Caves, Mountains, and Monkeys: An Afternoon in Battambang

Phare Ponleu Selpak: Not Just Any Circus

The evening of our arrival in Battambang, we had plans to go see the circus. I hadn’t been to a circus since I was a small child, and my memories of it involved the stereotypical big tent, three rings, animals, clowns, jugglers, and maybe a few tumblers thrown in just for fun. I had an idea that this circus would be different when Jeff pointed out that some of its former members now are part of Cirque du Soleil. My thoughts: “Oh, this is going to be more of an acrobatic circus. Cool!”

The show did involve amazing acrobatic feats, and they indeed were very cool, but it turns out that this circus is even more than that. This circus was Phare PonleuSelpak.

Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS) is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO; often called simply “a charity”) that was started in 1986 in a refugee camp near the Cambodia-Thai border. From the website: “The idea of a creative association, which would use art and expression to help young refugees overcome the trauma of war, emerged from drawing workshops held for children in the camps. This original idea continued after the refugees returned to their homeland, and PPS was formally founded in 1994 by a group of former Site 2 [Refugee Camp] children.” Phare Ponleu Selpak is centered in Battambang and currently serves over 1,000 children in various ways. Some attend a public school that is sponsored by the organization; others receive free medical care and meals; and many have access to a library and leisure center. But those are not the things for which PPS is most widely known.

PPS is known as a training center for artists, musicians, actors, and circus performers. During our time on the PPS campus, we experienced the results of training in all of these areas.

Upon our arrival, we first were ushered into a building in which original artwork was displayed. The work consisted of pencil drawings as well as paintings, using a variety of mediums and styles. I so wanted to take pictures of the art, but that just felt wrong—the work was for sale, and it would have been too much like stealing to create a digital copy rather than purchase the original—so I took pictures* only of two huge sculptures that were displayed in the rafters. These sculptures obviously paid homage to the circus school, which attracts so many paying visitors to the campus. A friend purchased small paintings of Buddha faces carved into stone, as well as a set of paintings of Ta Prohm. I came close to buying a painting (or two) of traditional, raised Cambodian houses, and I also gravitated toward one of the Ta Prohm paintings, but I realized that we purchased so much papyrus in Egypt, and we’ve already purchased or planned to purchase several other pieces of wall art here, that we simply won’t have wall space for much more. So I resisted the urge … I’m still not certain that was the right decision!

After we browsed in the art gallery for a while, it was time to go to the circus pavilion. This area was a relatively small, open-aired structure: a flat paved stage, with curtains hiding the backstage areas behind it, a small musicians’ area beside it, and bleachers in front of it, all covered by a roof supported by poles, on which hung the necessary spotlights. Not a particularly impressive setting for what turned out to be a very impressive show.

Even after learning that the circus is more acrobatic than animal, my expectations turned out to be too low. I expected spectacular feats, to be sure, but I expected acrobatics, and that was it—maybe I’m just revealing that I’ve never seen a Cirque du Soleil show, but it didn’t occur to me that there was more to it than acrobatics. This was so much more than acrobatics. This was drama, set to music, accompanied by the creation of original paintings, and telling the stories both of one woman and of a nation.

The show started with an old woman hobbling out onto the stage. She was bundled up against the incessant chill that her old bones probably felt on the warmest of days, wearing glasses, and carrying a book that she obviously treated with great love and respect. As she sat down to read, however, she fell asleep … and the story began.

Several young men ran onto the stage, and with loving tenderness, they began to rewind the clock. Away went the book. Off came the glasses, then the scarf. With each article that she no longer needed, the woman straightened, became more energetic … became younger, until at last there was a young girl sitting there. The girl hopped off the stool and started playing with her friends, at least until the teacher came in and forced them back to work.

Meanwhile, off to the side, an artist unobtrusively painted a serene Buddhist monk, in his bright saffron robes, on a previously blank canvas.

The show continued with snippets of the girl’s life. We watched her grow into a young woman, start dating, have children, become a teacher—each phase marked by exuberant, awe-inspiring feats of balance and agility by both the girl and those around her. Along the way, we saw a night when she was tormented by demons—a night when she almost died, and the serene monk was covered over with black and spattered with red. A night when her country was ransacked and her life was endangered by the Khmer Rouge.

We also saw the dawn, when the young woman rose from her bed, triumphant merely because she still breathed. On canvas, we saw a tranquil farm on a dirt road—and we saw a city rise in the background, the brown dirt road transform into the black of asphalt, and street lights appear. We saw peace and hope return to the country, and to her life.

Eventually, we saw the young woman grow old. We saw her grow bent and frail. And we saw the tenderness with which her sons treated her as she released her cares and her frailties and passed on from this life.

We saw this woman’s life story. We laughed at her childhood antics, we feared for her life, we rejoiced with her when she fell in love. We shared her pride as she watched her children (or maybe her students) grow and develop and fulfill their potential. We felt a quiet sadness at her passing, and yet recognized her satisfaction at a life well lived.

All of this without a word.

That was Phare Ponleu Selpak.

*None of my pictures turned out very well. Even in the art gallery, which was well lighted, the rafters were a bit dark. And during the performance itself, of course it was dark, and flash photography was not allowed because it could distract the performers. The combination of low light and quick motion meant that these photos by far are not the best pictures I’ve ever taken.

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Battambang series:

1: Battambang Resort

2: Phare Ponleu Selpak

3: A Morning in Battambang
4: Caves, Mountains, and Monkeys: An Afternoon in Battambang

Review: Battambang Resort

Our bungalow at Battambang Resort, as seen from the restaurant

This past weekend was a long one, thanks to Labor Day, and a very good one, thanks to the embassy’s Community Liaison Office (CLO). The CLO organized a trip to Battambang, and our family took full advantage of this lazy-person’s opportunity to see more of Cambodia without putting in any of the work to plan the trip. Battambang is Cambodia’s second largest city, but unlike the other major population centers, it retains the feel of traditional Cambodia—it doesn’t attract as many expats as Phnom Penh or as many tourists as Siem Reap. There are some temples worth seeing and a couple of tourist attractions that are unique to Battambang, and I hope to talk about these in a future post, but this post is all about the resort.

The approach to our bungalow

Battambang Resort just opened in January 2012, but it already has a reputation for excellence. As far as I can tell, the reputation is well deserved. The resort is owned by a married couple, who were readily available and engaged in making sure every need and want was satisfied. The staff was friendly—especially toward Alexa, as Cambodians in general love children—and did everything in their power to make our stay pleasant.

Sleeping area--after we'd used it, so not as tidy as it was at first

Our group booked the entire place, which consists of four bungalow (or lake view) rooms and maybe six standard (or garden view) rooms. Jeff, Alexa, and I stayed in a bungalow, assuming that we’d have more room for Alexa’s peapod in a bungalow than in a standard room. I don’t know if there would have been room for it in a standard room, but there was no problem fitting it into our bungalow. The room itself was clean and comfortable, and nicely furnished. It had the tile floors that are characteristic of Cambodian structures and a neutral color palette that felt clean and relaxing. The bathroom area was large, with a separate room for the toilet and a very cool shower—it was made of cement, was round, and had a rainfall showerhead, as well as a hand unit that could provide more water pressure when needed. The shower also had a skylight, which was practical, as the power was out throughout the city for the full day on Saturday. In fact, the large windows and patio doors, as well as the high windows in the water closet and even the frosted windows beside the sink ensured that there was plenty of light throughout the room even without any electricity. Jeff assures me that the bed was very comfortable—I found it to be too firm, but I know that I’m in the minority when it comes to sleeping preferences; most people almost certainly would say that it was just right. The room also had air conditioning and a ceiling fan.

View toward the bathroom (yes, those are Alexa's pink shoes)

The other major feature of the resort was the restaurant. We ate all of our meals there, rather than taking the 10- or 15-minute tuk tuk ride into town for meals. Breakfast was included in the price of the room, and we could choose from four pre-set menus: the Bakery Breakfast (pancakes, French toast, and various other breads), the American Breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, and various breads), the Healthy Breakfast (fruit, yoghurt, cereal, and various breads), or the Asian Breakfast (I didn’t consider this one seriously enough to remember what was included), all of which came with coffee or tea, orange or apple juice, and butter and homemade dragonfruit jam as needed. Jeff and I ordered the American Breakfast for ourselves and the Healthy Breakfast for Alexa, and we all went away very satisfied. For lunch and dinner, there were sandwiches, salads, western meals, and Asian meals. During the course of the weekend, I tried one sandwich, one cheeseburger, one wrap, two Asian meals—sweet and sour pork and chicken with cashew nuts—and one dessert. All of it was very tasty and reasonably priced. The Asian meals were a little spicier than expected, but they still tasted good. The quality of the food undoubtedly was enhanced by the fact that a lot of it, including the rice, is grown in the resort’s garden and therefore was much fresher than the fare to which we Americans are accustomed. Even the potato chips were homemade!

Vanity area in our bungalow

Service at the restaurant was good. The staff was responsive to requests in those rare circumstances that our needs were not anticipated. There were a couple of meals where it took a while for the food to be prepared, but that was because the kitchen simply was overwhelmed by our large group all ordering at the same time. In most cases, an entire resort’s worth of guests probably do not order meals at once, and during the times that we were able to set our own schedules a bit more, and therefore spread out our meals, service was reasonably paced. The staff also was open to taking orders in advance and to preparing food for take-out, which proved convenient for our bus ride back to Phnom Penh.

The restaurant, as seen from the pool

As a side note, there is a generator for the kitchen, and the seating area has lots of natural light (it’s covered but has no walls), so the restaurant remained open even with the power outage. The staff also had no problem with one family storing their babies’ bottles in the restaurant’s refrigerator during the outage or, for that matter, the rest of the time, in case of further power outages.

The pool

The resort grounds were beautiful, to put it simply. The pool was right beside the restaurant, with a lake on one side and the garden view rooms on the other. Fruit trees and flowers grew everywhere—I took a picture of a banana tree while sitting at lunch one day, and I have some gorgeous pictures of Alexa walking along the flower-bordered path to our bungalow. I did not ask for a tour of the gardens, though now I wish I had—I would love to have pictures of the rice field, the herb gardens, and the fruit trees.

Spirit house near the front desk

The owners also happily arranged for rides to town, tuk tuk tours of the area, and tickets to the Phare Ponleu Selpak circus. There was a small gift shop where several of us purchased Kampot pepper, lemongrass, oil burners, or wooden canisters, Buddhas, or other carvings, all at reasonable prices.

View from our window

And, finally, speaking of prices: Battambang Resort may cost a little more than other hotels in Battambang, but it's well worth any slight increase in cost. By western standards, the prices are incredibly reasonable. Depending on the season and room type, prices range from $45 to $75 a night for a garden or lake room. (Apparently there also are or will be family rooms/suites available at a higher cost, but these did not seem to be in use during our stay.) Breakfast and wi-fi are included in the price. I don’t recall the exact prices of other meals, but most of them were $5 or less.

Elephant statues that Alexa loved

Bottom line—I highly recommend Battambang Resort. Whether you’re in the area for business or pleasure, whether you intend to spend your days sightseeing or lounging around the pool, Battambang Resort is a great place to make your home base.

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Battambang series:

1: Battambang Resort

2: Phare Ponleu Selpak

3: A Morning in Battambang
4: Caves, Mountains, and Monkeys: An Afternoon in Battambang

Global Reflections

Caves, Mountains, and Monkeys: An Afternoon in Battambang

A Morning in Battambang

Phare Ponleu Selpak: Not Just Any Circus

Review: Battambang Resort

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