Fun in the sun|Rural Countryside|Battambang Province

After a visit to the pottery village we stopped at a covered outdoor eatery where you can buy local food, drinks and refreshments. Our tour group had been given a packed lunch of freshly baked baguette with a choice of fillings and fruit from the Hotel. However a cold drink was most welcome and interesting to take in the local food on hand.

Back on the bus, the rural countryside waterlogged, but a fine sunny day. A couple of feet of water lying along the roadside and in the rice fields. Not sure what happened here with their machinery sitting in the water, but didn’t seem to worry anyone, perhaps it’s getting a wash.The children were especially having fun in the water, the way young kids do. All the adults  seemed in a happy mood too, the rain welcomed for the rice crop and small fish being caught in the water.

Further along a mass of dark brown moved along the road as one; as we got closer I realized it was a flock of dark brown feathered ducks.Hundreds of them marching along the roadside very purposefully, a lad with a long pole keeping them on direction.  As they reached the gutter now filled with water after the rain, the ducks trundled in tumbling over one another before swimming over to the bank, clambering out and marching on through the trees to greenery beyond. Free range ducks perhaps!

Many sights unusual to the western eye are found in the rural countryside of Cambodia and other Asian countries.  Spread out on light bamboo platforms outside a traditional rural house, fish are drying  in the sun, a bright red color. Initially I thought they might be drying chilies because of the bright red color, but later our guide identified them as fish spread in the sun to dry. Fresh and dried fish are an essential part of the protein diet of Cambodians and sold at local markets. Cambodia has a network of waterways across the country from the Mekong River (10th longest in the world), Bassac river and Tonie Sap, making fish more accessible to the population than meat. Battambang is quite a prosperous and industrious province apart from the rice, grazing Buffalo,  skinny white cows, pottery, and brick manufacturing.

We reached Battambang city late in the evening. In the twilight this enormous statue of a legendary black  King confronts one on Road 5 as you enter the city. The statue is of Preah Bat dambank Kranhoung (Kranhoung Stick King). The name Battambang means “loss of stick” which refers to the legend of the Kranhoung Stick King after whom the city is named. Like most legends this one is pretty involved, so I will not even attempt to go there.

The next two nights we are staying at the Stung Sangke Hotel. Very nice hotel with impressive wood carved centre piece, chairs and balustrades in the entrance foyer.  Not much of a view from our window but very comfortable room with en suite.