...bamboo train, 394 steps and dark cave with a dark history...

hello, hello

well, after our first night in battambang we dove head first into a day of excursions. After consulting our guide book and a group of friendly irish folk, we put together our own tour with 3 stops on our agenda. Luckily our hotel has the most english speaking tuk tuk drivers in the city and we negotiated a driver to take myself, maeve, cathal and lindsay for the day, for a mere $15US. Quite a good deal considering the tour would last from 11am to roughly 6pm...a long day for a small tuk-tuk to take and not break down...more on that later.

Anyway, after grabbing a couple fresh bagettes, some water and fruit we set out on our adventure with no expectations in mind. The first stop on our tour was the "bamboo train". The railways in cambodia are quite old and for the most part are not used except for the purpose of taking tourists on a ride through the rural country side. Now let me first lay out what this "bamboo train"really is. My advice to everyone is that when you expect something an asia, even if you except nothing, you should excpect even less, in this case there couldn't be much less. There are two axils, neither attached to each other and a board made with thin bamboo, roughly 6 feet by 10 feet placed ontop of the axils with grooves to hold it "firmly" inplace. The heart of this train is a motorcyle engine loosly attached to the bamboo plank with what apearred to a be a thin washer belt to drive the back axil. Despite the 4 pillows they gave us to sit on, it was quite the bumpy ride. After a short haggle of the price, $3 each, we hopped on and with a roar-er-putter of the engine, we were off. Now having said to not expect much, i can safely say that we got so much more than we imagined. The beauty of rural cambodia could only be seen while riding an old bamboo train, with the scents and butterflies blowing by your face.

The ride went on for roughly 15 mins untill, up ahead, on this single track we see another bamboo train coming right at us. As we slowed down it became quite clear why the train was as simple as it was, because after we got off ours, our 2 conductors simply picked up the train, placed it on the ground and removed the two axils and we were no longer in peril, until a little futher on...a somewhat bigger train presented itself in front of us...one that was not made of bamboo but was transporting it, by the tonnes. So as we jumped off and to the side we were warned this time to stay far back as the doors tend to swing open of this 20 car train roared by. It looked like the tracks were used by locals after-all.

Once we continued on our train we came to the end of the line where their were some shops waiting for us, but it was a couple of kids which lured us down to come see what their mom was doing...knowing we were safe and being told of this before we followed and came across 3 brick kiln's which we roughly got the idea that this is how they make the bricks for the town...they take the mud of the land, mix it with ash of the grains that they burn and allow it to dry. Then they build a giant chimmney with the dry bricks and burn the grains in the bottom to create an even stronger brick...and the process is then repeated. Quite interesting, quite simply, yet very effective as they had thousands of bricks waiting to be shipped. After handing our several canadian flag pins to the kids, one too few which resulted in tears of course, we were back down the track and to our waiting tuk-tuk driver who was having a nap while we were away.

Back on the bumpy, bumpy road and with an hour of driving ahead of us, we all delved back into the beauty that is the cambodia country side, a simple life that seems to be apart from the rest of the universe. Every little house or shack or four walls we passed we were greeted with big smiles, waving hands of children and "hello's!" as it is all the english most cambodia's in those parts know. Whatever it was, we all started to realize that the tuk-tuk ride alone was worth the $15.

Our next stop was a temple located at the top of a mound, quite high jutting out of the flat grounds which surround it. Hailed as the inspiration for the angkor temples, likely only by the locals because as incredible as it was, it seems to pail in comparision to what lays before us, regardless, it was 394 steps to the top and off we went...As we began our ascent, 3 locals kids with fans ran behind us and followed us up, all the while flapping their fans at our calfs to cool us off. roughly 3/4's of the way up we stopped on a flat area and sat, to which the kids sprung over and began to massage our legs, shoulders and backs...we knew what they were after but were just grateful that they were working for it, and it felt damn good. After our massage, we made the last push and reached the summit to find 5 giant pillars each with carvings adourning their sides and areas inside for prayer or mediation. All 5 were in quite rough shape and their aging was quite evident, but the view of the countryside was incredible and the peace found at the top was worth the climb. After taking some pictures, which one of the boys took me to all the best photo spots, again just working for what he wanted...he knew he would get it. After taking some time to take in our surroundings and feeling the clarity which overwhelms you when you feel so small in the grand scheme of things, we descended the 394 steps, fanning continued of course, untill we reached the bottom. Gave each child a $1, thanked them and headed for some water. One of the little girls caught eye of another group about to climb and she fanned away yet again, gotta make a buck.

Once ready to go we found our tuk-tuk driver again, this time he hd found a hammock to relax in before he jumped to his feet for us. "Another hour", he tells us and we all settle back into our home for the day, ready for the bumps, the dust and the simling faces (not just ours, but of the people we pass).

Our final stop of the day is a cave, used during the khmer regime as a killing hole. Not as cheery as the previous stops, but a part of our trip and the histroy of cambodia that cannot be ignored, nor should it. The simling faces of the kids seem so much brighter knowing that merely 30 years prior there was no future for the country let alone and idea that they may have even been born, yet it is here that we found the most edearing child of all we have encountered, and he was our 12 year old tour guide.

As we arrived and got out of our tuk-tuk, there wasn't the same mobbing that has occured prior of people trying to sell us anything, just one child offering to guide us up the mountain to the cave. Unsure at first, he conviced us that we may get lost, and really he was just too nice to send away so he lead us. He is 12 years old, studying english an hour a night at an english school and working to pay for not only his english but his family. With that being said, his english was incredible for someone of his age in cambodia and likely the best of anyone we had encounter yet. As we strated the trek, we picked his brain about cambodia, from its weather to life here and he gladly opened up telling us things we didn't ask but were quite interesting. He knew his history as far as guiding us to our destinations, and of the khmer era, but it seemed that he could not fully grasp the scale of destruction that took place before him, simply because of his age. Yet he lead us up to a prison turned temple, describing how there were educated people held prisoner in small quarters essentially waiting for their execution. Roughly 5 - 10 a day were taken from the prison and walked up the mountian to a giant whiole in the ground, they were then brutally murdered usually with a machette, with their bodies left to fall into the cave. As we began to walk down into the cave, a painting depicted the killings and gave us a grave understanding as to what took place.

As we entered the cave our tour guide slide down the railing, saying this was the easy way, this act alone really drove home how he may know his histroy but is likely disconnected from the actually acts which took place here. The finally rested place of those murdered here was falling into this cave, and he merely slid down as if it was his basement, but as we said he is 12. Regardless, as we descended it became extremly clear how savage a history this country has seen. The remains of nearly 2000 people are still there encased in a glass and gold container with writings of events which transpired in this place. The bodies would gather on the ground in the cave until moved and disposed of by the khmer soldiers. Roughly 2-3 million people were killed under their regime, the boy''s grandmother being one of them as he later told us.

We spent quite a while in silence in the cave trying to understand how this could of been done over and over every day, untill we had our share and made the climb back up and out.Along the trail back to our tuk-tuk we talked more to the boy about his schooling, and what it cost for english school for him. He told us it was 400baht a month, roughly $13...not much but when the average monthly wage in camabodia is $25US, it becomes quite clear why they cannot speak the language.

As we reached the bottom we gave our thanks to the boy and each gave him 100baht, in hindsight we wish we had gotten his contact info in hopes of sending him money untill he finished school, likely he doesn't have a postal address as most do not in cambodia, but we both feel that we want to do more when we get back home, and not to loose the feeling we have now.

Anyway, as we got back onto the tuk-tuk for the last time, we were all dead silent the ride home...that was untill, we hear a crack and see our driver pull us into a driveway. Very confused we get out and see that the frame of our tuk-tuk has snapped and we are at the local welder...basically the only person around with a welding kit. The man jumps into action wearing onyl a thin sheet around his waist and begins to weld the frame shirtless...he did have glasses on so ill give him that, it wasnt until and elder man with a shirt came out, that he took over the weld job and we sat, mouths covered in the dusty cloud of the road.

After roughly 15 mins, we were back on the road and quickly at our guesthouse...we thanked the driver for a great day and all retreated to our rooms to take a much needed shower and clean the dust and irt which was now in every crack imaginable. By far one of the most memorable day in Cambodia thus far.

lots of love
jay/maeve