Friday 8 November 2019

Battambang, the cultural centre of Cambodia

After a busy handful of days in uber-touristy Siem Reap, I caught a bus to Battambang, knowing little about the town (except that it had a reputation as a cultural centre, as was in the breadbasket of Cambodia).

On the road, just outside of Battambang


There's a great collection of old Khmer artefacts at the Battambang Provincial Museum, smack-dab in the old town (opening hours are a bit erratic, and don't expect the staff to know any English except "One dollar" which will get shouted at you the second you cross the threshold.)



There's a brilliant collection of modern Cambodian art (and a relaxing rooftop coffeeshop) at Romcheik 5 Artspace, nestled in a quiet, green street a short walk East from the town centre.

Landscape Under Acid Rain, by HOUR Seyha


There's plenty of choice in hotels, cafes serving western food, traditional Cambodian food, and even cooking classes (I took one at Nary Kitchen, and Nary was absolutely lovely).

Newer Battambang - some of the good-value hotels along the riverbank (goats not included)

In the old town

There are plenty of tourists in town, obviously (there wouldn't be half as many vegan cafes and cooking schools without them), but the town doesn't feel overly touristy.

It will never be my favourite place in Cambodia, probably because I had some bad luck with hotels: In the first place I stayed someone tried to enter my room during the night. It seems to have been an honest mistake - the man was a staff member who apparently thought the room was unoccupied. I moved to another hotel in the morning, and discovered when coming back to that second hotel in the evening that I'd inadvertently picked one right where the local red light zone was, so I was walking past prostitutes and curb-crawlers every evening (which honestly didn't bother me as much as the local naked homeless guy, standing there watching them, did - I don't think Cambodia has much mental health provision). None of which is the town's fault, but it did rather put me off.

Still, for a low-key couple of days in Cambodia, you could do worse.

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