January 2, 2017
To Battambang: By exceptionally slow and exceptionally interesting boat
Yesterday I booked the boat to Battambang. I was assured that my bike could go on the boat, and even that my bike could go on the shuttle bus to get to the boat. I asked if I should ride to the boat and was told no, that I should take the bus and it would come to my hotel and that the bike would fit on the bus, no problem.
So at a bit past 6 this morning, a motorcycle and a tuk tuk and some other cyclists show up at my hotel. I'm told to load my luggage on the bike, and follow them to the Old Market. So I do. At the Old Market, the other cyclists have to take their bikes out of the tuk tuk, and we are told to ride to the boat dock, about 45 minutes away. The other cyclists are a family of 4 from Australia. There is a son who just finished high school, and another who is 8 years old and riding a tandem with his dad, and Mom and Dad. The instructions on how to get to the boat dock are given only to Dad, but we're told the policemen will be watching for us and make sure we go the right way.
We did alright finding our way to the dock. There was a brief delay when there was a motorbike accident that blocked the road. And we went past the building where we had to exchange our vouchers for tickets and go down to the dock. The policemen were standing there, and let us ride past. But we eventually got it all sorted out, and got ourselves and our bikes onto the boat. The boat was full.
I should mention that the boat is not the most efficient way to travel from Siem Reap. There is a bus that goes via Sisophon that is 1/4 the cost, takes 1/3 as long, has padded seats and air conditioning. The boat has become a tourist thing, because it goes past a number of floating villages and provides a look at how Cambodians live on the lake and the rivers. The boat did make a couple of stops and picked up just a few local people at the villages, and left them off before we reached the dock in Battambang, but mostly it was tourists.
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The boat was hot, and due our late arrival on the bicycles, I had a crummy seat on the sunny side of the boat. After the boat got going, people moved around a bit, some going up onto the roof. I was determined to stay out of the sun, and moved around to other peoples seats as they came and went.
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At one point we slowed to a crawl. We were waiting for another boat that had a pump. They would give us the pump to empty the water that had collected below the floor boards and was slowing us down.
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We eventually got into Battambang at about 4:30 in the afternoon. There was a long staircase up from the dock. A guy offered to carry my bike up. I let him do it, carried my panniers myself, and paid my helper $1.
I had not booked a hotel in Battambang. I asked the Australian family where they were going, and if they would be okay if I followed them to it. We're at the Vanne Hotel. I got a very nice air conditioner room with crisp white bedsheets, hot water, a refrigerator, and even a hair dryer for $13/night.
It's not especially convenient to food and doesn't have a restaurant, but there is a minimart close by. The Australian family invited me to join them for dinner. We took a tuk tuk to the center of town and walked through the night market. We ended up at one of the restaurants in the market, and all of us except the little guy had a curry soup with noodles. It was really good, especially for $1.50, similar to the northern Thai khao soi but without the crispy noodles. We walked back to the hotel.
Battambang seems like a town worth exploring, so I'll be spending a day here. The main tourist sites are out of town a good distance. I don't think I want to ride to them, so I'll decide if I want to hire a tuk tuk.
Today's ride: 15 km (9 miles)
Total: 2,207 km (1,371 miles)
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