Alhamdulillah legaaaa.... akak dah dapat siapkan story Trip India tu yang sangat panjang, maklumlah trip 17 hari. So, sekarang bolehlah akak fokus untuk sambung balik cerita Trip Cambodia-Laos ni yang terbengkalai dek sebab nak fly ke India dah masa tu :)) nak sambung kat mana ye? oh ye.. last sekali akak update story pasal ke Angkor Wat tu dan sebelum tu tentang Cultural Village..
Okeyyy...sambung cerita ni walau pun dah agak berkarat dah story Cambodia ni, tapi akak cuba yek!
Kami bertiga dijemput pagi-pagi lagi di hotel oleh driver kereta sewa, Mus namanya (baju biru). Dia ni ialah kawan kepada driver tuk tuk kitorang, Nasri (baju biru tua) yang akak ambil servis tuk-tuknya untuk 4 hari selama berada di Siem Reap tu. So, kami pergi berlima lah sebab Nasri pun ikut sekali... jadi bodyguard kitorang.. hahahaa..
Oleh kerana Battambang berada di luar kawasan Siem Reap, dan Nasri tidak mempunyai kereta, maka dia dapatkan sewa kereta kawannya yang bernama Mus untuk ke Battambang tu...sebab perjalanannya yang jauh.
Mengikut kata Mr.Google, tempoh perjalanan sebenar ke Battambang, mengambil masa selama 2 jam 50 minit (171.6km) tapi perjalanan kami berlima, mengambil masa lebih kurang 4 jam untuk sampai ke Battambang pada waktu itu.
Battambang and Siem Reap are only 48 miles (77 km) apart, but the trip can take as long as four hours due to the fact that there's no direct road–all of the buses route through Sisophon–and up to ten hours by boat.
There are two ways to get to Battambang from Siem Reap:
1) bus on reliable roads, 5 to 6 hours or
2) boat on less than reliable waterways, 5 to 10 hours.
Setelah lebih kurang 2 jam perjalanan, kami berhenti rehat sebentar di tepi jalan... kebetulan ada pondok usang di situ.. boleh jugaklah kami melurus-luruskan badan, si Mus tu pun nampak macam mengantuk je..
Setelah berehat, kami meneruskan lagi perjalanan ke Battambang. Tetiba nampak pulak orang jual lemang...oh..oohhh..lemang Cambodia tu.. kami pun berhenti sebab nak beli dan nak rasa lemang tu.. ada campur kacang merah dalamnya, bahan pembalut lemang tu pun boleh makan sekali... hmmm... boleh tahan jugek rasanya...
Alhamdulillah, akhirnya selamat sampai ke Battambang... patung hitam legam yang terletak di tengah round about bandar Battambang kat bawah ni adalah trademark untuk Battambang..
Battambang or Krong Battambang(Battambang City) is the capital city of Battambang province in north western Cambodia. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is well known for being the leading rice-producing province of the country.
For nearly 100 years, it was a major commercial hub and provincial capital of Siamese province of Inner Cambodia (1795-1907), though it was always populated by Khmer with a mix of ethnic Vietnamese, Lao, Thai and Chinese. Still today Battambang is the main hub of the Northwest connecting the entire region with Phnom Penh and Thailand, and as such it’s a vital link to Cambodia.
The city is situated by the Sangkae River, a tranquil, small body of water that winds its way through Battambang Province providing its nice picturesque setting. As with much of Cambodia, the French Colonial architecture is an attractive bonus of the city. It is home to some of the best preserved French colonial architecture in the country.
Kami membeli tiket ini dengan harga usd3 seorang, yang membolehkan kami masuk ke 3 tempat.. iaitu Phnom Banan, Phnom Sampou dan Phnom Ek
Phnom Banan
Wat Banan Temple
The temple was first built by king, Ut Tak Yea Tit Tya Varman II (1050-1066) and then was finally built by the king, Jarvarman VII (1181-1219). The temple is located on the top of approximate 400-meter heighten mountain at Kon Tey 2 commune, Ba Nan District in 25-kilometer distance from the provincial town by the provincial Road No 155 parallel to Sang Ke River.
This Angkor-era mountaintop temple is definitely worth a look. At the top are beautiful views of the winding Sangker River set amidst sugar palm trees, rice fields and small villages. To the south you will see a mountain range that features a crocodile shaped mountain. The temple itself is beautiful looking from the ground as well as the top...read more..
Sebenarnya untuk sampai ke atas bukit tu kalau menapak, memang lah tak larat. So, kitorang sewa motor...3 orang, 3 motor lah sebab dengan driver motornya sekali... kiranya membonceng je lah... harganya.. usd2.5 Jalannya
sangat menyeramkan kerana bukitnya curam! Punyalah lajunya dorang bawak naik bukit tu..akak sampai kecut-kecut perut pejam mata bagai..
Dah sampai atas bukit... kami disambut dengan monyet-monyet di situ yang banyak berkeliaran...
Kat situ ada juga tok sami yang telek nasib... idok lerrrr teman...
on the way keluar, ada kedai jual barang souvenir.
Phnom Sampou
Killing Caves of Phnom Sampeau
The killing caves of Phnom Sampeau are caves in Phnom Sampeau, a hill 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Battambang in Cambodia. Major atrocities occurred there during the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Many victims were bludgeoned to death and then tossed into holes which served as the skylights to the caves. Men and women were placed in separate caves and clothes in another. Today there is a large glass memorial in the cave next to the skulls and bones and a golden reclining Buddha. It is reached via a staircase. A memorial, assembled from cyclone fencing and chicken wire, contains human bones at the base of the stairway.
The caves, which are approached through a series of steps flanked by green vegetation, have a golden, reclining Buddha image. Skulls and bones are kept in a glass-covered cabin next to the Buddha statue. These were the people who were butchered by the Khmer Rouge Regime; the bodies of those who were butchered were thrown through a natural chute from above, a skylight opening.
Remnants of war artillery (of the government forces) are seen there, oriented towards Phnom Krapau (Crocodile Mountain), which was the strategic location of the Khmer Rouge during the war.
At the base point from where the steps lead to the cave, there is an old memorial, a chicken-wire enclosure which also houses skulls and bones of those killed by the Khmer Rouge. Another feature seen is an incomplete Buddha carving, a 30-foot (9.1 m) image, carved partly into the rock face of the hill, with only the head of the Buddha exposed. Lack of funds was the reason for its incompleteness. (source)
Dibawah ni ialah gambar-gambar kekejaman pembunuhan pada patung-patung di situ. Tempat ni menyeramkan..dengan patung2 yang melambangkan kejadian penderaan di zaman pol pot.
Di bawah tu ialah gua yang menyimpan tengkorak manusia yang dibunuh dengan kejam. Ada kandang tempat tengkorak kat sebelah kiri kami berdiri tu.. Terasa jugak meremang bulu roma masa tu tapi baca2lah sikit ayat Quran...
Selepas mati, mayat dilemparkan ke dlm gua dan tengkorak dikumpulkan ke dlm satu kandang tempat yg dikunci. Orang pol pot akan korek hati orang yang dibunuh dan goreng.. lepas tu, makan! Hissshhhhh! memang ngeri! Lebih kurang 4 juta lebih orang yang terlibat dalam penyeksaan dan pembunuhan sewaktu pemerintahan pol pot ni.
Ek Phnom Resort
Wat Ek Phnom
Situated about 10 km north of the Cobra Bridge are the ruins of Ek Phnom. It was built during the Bayon period and unfortunately is much worse for the wear than Phnom Banan. It's an interesting place, however, because there is a freshly constructed working temple right in front of the ruins. This temple, along with the temple ruins, is the center of holiday festivities for the people of the nearby village. They dress up in their Sunday best and have a celebration between the old and the new temples and climb all around the ruins with their families.
The ruins are on a very small hill so there is no workout involved in viewing them much of the temple is in shambles and was heavily looted. There are still some sitting Buddha images intact higher up on the walls. On the inside is a carving of a tug-of-war with participants tugging away on a serpent. The participants on the left have lost their heads to looters (they lost face), with the guys on the right still having their heads intact...read more
Dah naik bukit-bukit tu semua, laparlah jadinya kan..heheee..alasannn.. :))
Susah jugak nak cari tempat makan halal di sini, pusing-pusing beberapa kali baru nampak tempat ni yang ada tulis 'halal'. Kitorang makan sup mee sanggul... sedap lah jugak..
Selepas makan, kami bersolat jamak di Masjid Nurul Islah kat depan kawasan gerai tu... cuaca tersangat lah panasnya tika itu..
Okeyyyy...lepas ni ke tempat Bamboo Train pulak..
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