Cambodia’s culture club
MOBILE food carts piled high with skewers of roasted crickets are zooming across my path. They’re joined by a tangle of buzzing mopeds. Cycling in Cambodia takes guts and good lungs but ahead I spot the calming glint of the tree-lined Sangker River.
I’m in Battambang, a highly charming city in Cambodia’s rural north west, and typical of South East Asia its traffic defies logic. Not that I mind too much because my cycle guide really knows his roads and soon we are whizzing along riverside lanes – brilliant green dragonflies zigzagging the air and neatly uniformed schoolkids calling out a chorus of “hellos”.
Battambang, Cambodia’s second city, sits in the heart of the country’s rice bowl and at just $25 (£18) this half-day tour through its streets and surrounding rice producing villages is already proving great value.
I’ve mastered a smattering of Cambodian words along the way: “chum reap suor” for hello and “arkoun” for thanks – though perhaps “watch out, here I come” might prove more useful.
Even so, I’ve enjoyed my first glimpses of this small city and there are interesting stops to come. We’re only 48 miles from Siem Reap where tourists rest up before tackling the sprawling temple complex of Angkor Wat – yet Battambang could not be more different.
You won’t find booming Irish pubs here, nor tatty souvenir markets. Instead a cluster of gilded pagodas segue to tasteful contemporary art galleries and among well preserved French colonial townhouses, low-key bars provide excellent coffee and cocktails.
But my proper city trawl comes later. Right now my student guide Palla and I have parked our bikes at Donteau village. Like others we visit, this village has its own specialised cottage industry and here it’s rice paper, the essential component of spring rolls.
I watch as the Tha family spoon pools of rice meal on to a hotplate, then lay the sliver-thin circles to dry in the sun over bamboo slats. Their 10 hour daily labour results in more than 2,000 discs which fetch the equivalent of just 25 at Battambang’s market.
At another village I try hollowed bamboo sticks filled with coconut-sweetened sticky rice and even a glass of potent rice wine, an “old ladies’ drink” according to Palla. Lucky old ladies, I think as I swiftly drain my glass.
Later, at Battambang’s Kinyei Café, there’s a delicious cappuccino to enjoy. My Soksabike bicycle tour operates from this charmingly chic little coffee shop and profits are shared with local communities. The coffee is first rate and Mark, a New Zealander who supplies the beans, gives me a good restaurant tip for dinner.
Battambang clearly attracts both Australians and Kiwis. A handful of middle-aged expats have set up galleries and B&Bs here and the town’s thriving art scene is fast reviving its pre-Pol Pot reputation as a cultural hub.
I call in at the Lotus Café and Gallery, a beautifully renovated colonial house, where artist Chankrim’s harrowing canvases of a childhood under the Khmer Rouge are on display.
With its rather uninspiringly named Streets 1, 2 and 3, Battambang’s centre lies on the right bank of the Sangker but I’m staying across the river, at Bambu Hotel, a lovely boutique establishment of 16 rooms designed in a blend of French colonial and rustic Khmer style.
I have a large, pleasant balcony overlooking the pool