Once we arrived to Battambang and everybody was sent in different directions, I found myself with a small group staying at the Royal Hotel (pretty decent place: free wi-fi, cheap/clean rooms, hot water, and free scarves upon departure-the rooftop restaurant is way overrated though).
It seemed that most of the people on the boat were going to hang out around town, but after spending a dreadful hour eating shitty food at the market (while watching locals get served much more appetizing meals) and beggars continuously tapping our shoulders asking for money for the duration of our meal, the idea didn’t seem all that enticing.
It was about 4:30 pm and we decided to check out the (not so) famous Bamboo Train. Between six of us, we hired a tuk-tuk at a dollar each for a ride there and back. The tracks are just outside the town and it takes about 15 minutes to get there.
You‘ll have to agree on a price before setting off, and the more people, the better, for a couple of reasons.
They charged our group $10 for a trip on the Bamboo Train, and not having any sort of price gauge, this seemed pretty reasonable. At just over a dollar for the run, we were sold!
It’s a very simple ride, in every sense of the word. You sit on a 8’x12′ bamboo platform set on two axles with a small motor to power the contraption, and ride it for half an hour in one direction (although, this depends on how many people you run into along the way and how many times you have to get out of the way) and go back where you came from after a short break. And it’s so much fun.
We easily hit top speeds of 35mph on a badly maintained (if at all) railway which made for a bumpy ride. Every now and then you will run into oncoming traffic (other bamboo trains) and this is where loads come into play: the train carrying the heaviest load and/or the larger number of passengers stays put while the other one gets pulled apart to let the bigger load through. All in a matter of minutes.
Luckily for us we were on the train right around sunset and got in some great photos.
The Bamboo Train is something that is made possible due to the badly maintained railway system in Cambodia. The government is in the process of modernizing the railways throughout the country and, whether inadvertently or not, is going to put an end to one of Battambang’s most enjoyable experiences.
If the boat ride hadn’t been a good enough reason, the Bamboo Train would have made the trip to Battambang complete.
October 31, 2009 at 11:29 pm |
[...] civil war, and people have to make something out of the damaged system. It comes to this much known bamboo train, a renovated transportation system for a small number of passengers and goods. The Bamboo Train is [...]