We had heard from other travellers that there was not a lot to do in Battambang, a town that was 6 hours from Siem Reap and apparently the second largest in Cambodia. They were correct in that there were not nearly so many bars and restaurants as in other towns (although we did meet an interesting chap called Malcolm, a lawyer from London who we got roaringly drunk with in an Aussie-owned bar!), but it was still worth a visit; for the bamboo railway and the amazing surrounding scenery if nothing else.

The best way to describe the bamboo railway is as a prolonged rollercoaster ride. The ‘train’ itself is more like a wooden bed, and is driven by a petrol motor. We each got on the back of a moto (a scooter driven by a local) and were taken on a drive through some beautiful Cambodian countryside, stopping on the way to chat to some local kids and take some photos, before arriving at the bamboo railway ‘station’. The track stretched in a dead straight line far into the horizon and the train built up some real speed! It was actually much more fun than it sounds!

The next day we took a 10 hour bus journey to Sihanoukville – our first beach!

If the Killing Fields and S-21 represent the low point of Khmer history, then the Temples of Angkor surely represent the pinnacle. Angkor, built largely in the 12th and 13th Centuries, is a city of mainly Hindu – with some Buddhist – temples which is so large you need a tuk-tuk to get around, and some people buy 5-day tickets just to fit it all in (although we think that may get a bit tedious!)

We awoke at 4:30 in order to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat, the biggest and most emblematic temple (in fact, the biggest religious building in the world). It was kind of spooky to be wandering round the ancient temple in the pre-dawn darkness, with the only light coming from the intermittent camera flashes of hordes of Japanese tourists. We were glad we got up early, however,when the sun finally rose over the three towers and most of the tourists went for breakfast, so we could wander round Angkor Wat in relative peace.

The temple itself comprises the 3 symbolic towers surrounded by cloisters and corridors of adjoined ante-chambers, some filled with the fragrant smoke of jos sticks and ascetic monks preying to statues of Buddha (which is interesting because it was originally a Hindu temple). There was a huge garden surrounded by an outer wall and finally a gigantic moat, which must’ve been wider than the Thames at London.

We visited about 8 temples throughout the day, the noteworthy ones being Bupha – a temple of 316 sculpted heads and an amazing bas-relief scene depicting ancient Khmer life – and Tha Phrom, where large trees have grown through the temple itself. At the end of the day we climbed the highest temple to see the sun set, only to find it completely obscured by clouds! Ah well…

Words don’t really do the temples justice. Unfortunately neither can pictures because the battery ran out on our camera!

Siem Reap itself is a fairly lively town. It’s very much geared towards tourism, but in a more palatable way than other cities we’ve visited; sparkling hotels are shouldered in with smaller, though no less clean, guest houses. We stayed in a lovely room with a hot shower and a TV for about 4 pounds a night. In fact, all the guest houses in Cambodia so far have been excellent, let’s see what Battambang brings!