Mr. Battambang

This is Mr.Battambang, where this city derives its name. The statue of Ta Dumbong looms tall in a roundabout and comes with an odd legend. According to the story he was a cowherder who found a magic stick and decided to overthrow the king with it so he could be ruler. The king’s son ran into the forest to become a monk. Ta Dambong had a dream that a holy man on a white horse would vanquish him so he had all the holy men put to death. The prince, who was a practicing monk, found a white horse who could fly and flew into town. Ta Dumbong attempted to kill the monk on the white horse, threw his stick, missed him and ran away in failure.

I am not sure what the message is in that story. Now locals place offerings at the base of the statue, fruit, a pig’s head and there are small birds one can purchase and release while sending off a prayer.

Battambang is a cool city. A mix of dilapidated French colonial buildings and edgy Cafes. Less of a tourist destination than Siem Reap, it remains its own city. Over the centuries Battambang switched hands between Thailand and Cambodia, and was under Thai control as late as the 1940s. Like the rest of Cambodia, the city was emptied by the Khmer Rouge in 1975, forcing all the occupants to the countryside. Even though the Vietnamese liberated this city in 1979, fierce fighting continued until 1996. The city was off-limits to visitors during this time. Only recently have tourists began to visit and Battambang is experiencing growth. However, this area is considered the “rice bowl” of Cambodia and is home to farmers and traders.

Our favorite sandwich sub shop run by a Dutchman, living going on 18 years in Battambang.  His wife runs the kitchen.  They were lovely and full of stories.  And the best spicy tuna I have ever had!

We visited many temples in the area. These temples were so peaceful, really creating a magical park like space that felt very spiritual. Not a tourist in sight. These places of worship are used daily by locals and kept neat by the monks. They are the most beautiful I have seen so far in our travels.

We do not seek it out, but the legacy of the Khmer Rouge is everywhere here. One temple we went to was turned into a prison and torture center. There was a “killing field” behind the temple that is now a pond. All the bones of the victims were gathered and placed in a commemorative stupa.

We attended the Phare Circus, a performance put on by the school for performing arts in Battambang.  It is a school that was founded in the 1990s in a refugee camp to serve as an emotional outlet for the displaced children and those that suffered the trauma of war.  It thrives today, serving over 1300 students free of charge, training them in the arts.

We went to the fish market, or where the fish market begins.  It was a covered space filled with women and men hacking away at fish and separating it into usable parts.  There were heaps of entrails and fish guts everywhere.  The floor ran red with blood.  The smell was so intense that Cork and the kids would not even exit the TukTuk.  I found it so interesting.  Everyone had their job and the work was all done on the concrete floor.  The small girl in the photo had to be about three years old, and she was scrubbing tools as her mother worked nearby.

 

We visited Phnom Sampeu, a hill with the Killing Caves of the Khmer Rouge (which we did not visit), a few others caves adorned with Buddhist statues, and a monastery with two Buddhist Stupas on the hilltop.  The main event at sunset is the exodus of the nocturnal bats from their cave. We watched as over 1 million bats made thier evening departure from the cave.  It was hard to capture such an enormous event on film, but it was pretty cool.

This women made loud sounds as she scraped the concrete in order to encourage the bats to fly higher and avoid her coconut trees.