Battambang

Hello all, I'm back to catching up on the blogs!!!

Battambang is Cambodia’s second largest city. It's known for its French colonial architecture, laid-back atmosphere, and a growing art scene.

After an overnight bus from Koh Rong, we arrived in Battambang at around 5am and walked for an hour to our hostel (I would definitely not do this in the dark if I was by myself, don't worry Mum)! With check-in hours away, we napped in the hostel reception. 

Since we didn’t want to spend the whole morning hanging around the hostel, I decided (maybe a bit too ambitiously) that we should join a full-day tour. Despite running on very little sleep, we got to see a great mix of what Battambang has to offer. We visited a couple of ancient temples, rode the famous bamboo train (basically a flat wooden platform powered by a small engine, going along the old railway tracks) and saw some monkeys chilling by the temples. My highlight of the day was definitely the bat cave at Phnom Sampeau. Every evening at sunset, around 3.5 million bats pour out of the cave in a long, dark ribbon across the sky - super cool!

Dinner was simple - pizza with a side of Heinz ketchup (unexpectedly nostalgic) and we had an early night after a long day on the move. The next day, we browsed some second-hand shops (surprisingly decent selection), tried dried fish at the local food market, a regional specialty with a strong flavor and chewy texture, and generally took our time exploring the quieter corners of the town. We rounded off the day with some games of pool and dim sum for dinner.

Battambang doesn’t have the crowds of other Cambodian destinations, but that’s part of its appeal. It’s a great place to pause, take in a different side of Cambodian life, and enjoy a slower, more local experience.

Love to everyone xoxo