May 032013
Although Angkor Wat is Cambodia’s obvious “crown jewels,” the area around Battambang does have some noteworthy temples of its own. So with a mountain bike already in-hand and an extra day to kill, another long-distance ride seemed like the obvious way to go ๐
- When I set out from the hotel, I knew I had a long day ...
- Challenge: accepted.
- My goal was to hit both Phnom Sampeau and Banan, Battam...
- From there I parked my bike, hiked to the summit, and b...
- Unlike the temples of Angkor, Phnom Sampeau is not a ru...
- And while the temple itself is nice enough, to me the r...
- A few posts ago, I talked about the Khmer Rouge and the...
- So up here in the mountains – right next to a place of ...
- …caves where human beings were tossed in like garbage, ...
- The stairs into the cave lead only a short way down…
- …But with a torch and a willingness to get your hands d...
- So deep that even the local guides refused to follow.
- At the very bottom of the cave, I’m not sure which was ...
- …Or the HUGE freaky spiders that kept appearing out of ...
- But don’t worry – for those less eager to risk their ne...
- …Including a spot to pay your respects to the dead.
- Once I was satisfied with my little subterranean advent...
- …and around to another very interesting-sounding spot:
- From Lonely Planet: “Between the summit and the mobilep...
- Yup, I think it’s safe to say that Phnom Sampeau gets t...
- But with the day wearing on and countless kilometers to...
- So back down I went, to reclaim my bike and hit the roa...
- While getting to Phnom Sampeau had been a simple matter...
- It was a long and dusty ride, but luckily – thanks agai...
- …I managed to come out exactly where I’d planned.
- (I’m just glad I remembered to buy lunch before I left,...
- Once I’d made it to the other main road, the last few k...
- …But of course, my exertion didn’t end there :P
- Luckily, I found a cute little companion to lighten the...
- Overflowing with energy, this little girl followed me a...
- Banan was quite a bit more like the temples of Angkor.
- In fact, its 5-pagoda design was said to have inspired ...
- Still, it was surprisingly small – so it wasn’t long be...
- …Which was apparently one of those trails you’re not su...
- Thankfully, it got me safely to the bottom…
- …Where there was a small papaya orchard and a monastery...
- I looped back around the base of the mountain, and with...
- Just like Phnom Sampeau, Banan is surrounded by caves o...
- More like a series of “cracks in the rocks…”
- …The first didn’t have much to show…
- …But the second – quite a bit bigger –
- Did have an extremely vocal group of bats dangling from...
- Satisfied that I’d seen everything I set out to see, al...
- I made it to my room before 6pm. “Impossible” my ass :...
Note: These posts are behind realtime; the above took place in March, 2012.
The contrast between that cute little girl and the caves from the Khmer Rouge times…man
And you still haven’t seen anything near the worst of it… ๐
That first temple is AWESOME!
THe spider is really scary!
SOunds like an awesome place.
Great job doing it all by bike ๐
…Cuz I’m a cyclist, ya know ๐
Awesome spelunking! And really freaky spiders. I’d be very careful myself wandering off like you did.
As for “impossible”, need I remind you how many times we’ve heard that word in Asia? ๐
>>And really freaky spiders. Iโd be very careful myself wandering off like you did.
Yeah, I know. As soon as I saw those things, I was outta there ๐
>>As for โimpossibleโ, need I remind you how many times weโve heard that word in Asia?
You needn’t. That’s why I ignored his warnings and did it anyway ๐
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