BAMBOO RAILWAY AND OTHER ODDITIES

 

After 7 hr boat trip, we had 15 mins turnaround (typical Explore pack-it-in formula) and then off in tuk-tuks in mid Cambodian old French town, Battanbong where stopping overnight, to the Bamboo Railway – surely the only one in the world and maybe for not much longer, if they reconstruct the rail line from Phnom Penh to Battanbong in a few years time.  It was the original line, which fell into disrepair during the civil war and then just used by local farmers to transport local goods between local villages.


What a hoot!  Rickety old flatbed bamboo trucks with lawnmower/motorbike engine laid on top of couple of sets of wheels – see here as our driver puts it back together again after we came off track

– already unnerving with no sides, gaps in buckled rails and thin, worn cushion over spiky bamboo slats.  Then went at 30 mph along the single track (stopping again to unload and let trucks past coming other way (other tourists – 12 to a truck as opposed our luxury 4!).  H&S would have a field day – but it was more exhilarating than the safety conscious big dipper rides – once it was all over and we remained in one piece!!

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BIRD WATCHING
Certainly an oddity as far as Cambodians are concerned, but we found a local firm of enthusiasts catering to the wildlife lovers after they get templed out in Siem Reap. 

As with many 3rd world countries, the leaders are more concerned with logging, building roads and expanding their industrial output, than conservation of their precious habitats.  If only they had the foresight of Costa Rica, whose leaders saw that their greatest asset could be their jungles and wildlife and are now reaping the benefits in tourism.  Progress, but at a price – everyone wants to be like us and make our same mistakes – pollution darkens the skies everywhere here, as in India and Nepal when we were there and all over China’s cities – at least the monsoons wash it away for a while, but as we travel in dry seasons, we get to not see the blue skies.

But we found a wonderful young man who, much to his parents disapproval, preferred birds to university and trained with the local conservationists to become a font of local bird knowledge.  He took 4 of us out for an early morning trip for 4 hours and showed us 47 species in the fields and lakeshore. 

 

We spotted alongside the local families going about their business in the rice paddies and the morning was a true highlight. 

We think that may be our only opportunity for birdwatching on the trip, as much of the countries have lost most of their birds to city expansion – very sad.  

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BATTY STUFF

These may look like birds but are in fact huge fruit bats living in the gardens in the centre of town

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TRAFFIC

Getting across the lines of motor bikes and cars, going in both directions on all sides of the roads, is a nightmare (trick is to walk slowly, not do the tourist stop and start sprint, so drivers have time to go around you) – but loved this pedestrian traffic light that showed the walker going faster and faster as the countdown from 30 seconds to zero progressed.  Maybe some of ours do it – but I’ve never noticed, as mostly we obey little green men in Western cities.