Things to do in Battambang, Cambodia: Bat Caves and Bamboo Trains.

Visiting the killing cave, bat caves, and bamboo railway in Battambang, Cambodia.

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From Siem Reap, Corey and I traveled to Battambang, Cambodia. We took the bus because it was way cheaper than taking a boat but apparently the reason people actually go to Battambang is because of the boat ride…oops… But, really, there were a lot of other things to do in Battambang, Cambodia, which made the trip well worth it.

Our Cambodian bus arrived in the afternoon. I hate arriving in a place not knowing where I’m going to be sleeping so I made Corey do all of the work in finding a hotel to stay in. Which he did in like two seconds. But still.

That night we took a walk around the town, witnessed a motorbike crash, ate some dinner, passed out.

The next day we lazily strolled out of bed and made it all the way across the street to a vegetarian restaurant for lunch.

And then we hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day to show us what to do in Battambang and take us on a tour to see of the sites…

Things to do in Battambang, Cambodia:

The first stop on our Battambang tour was to fill up his gas tank. The fact that this is a gas station in Cambodia amuses me way more than it should. Be careful if you want to buy a Coke… Anyways.

Ta Dumbong Statue

Our Battambang tour guide pulled over so we could see this guy: the Ta Dumbong statue who serves as the symbol of the city who has a magic stick that was once lost. Corey and I looked all over for that stick, but alas we never found it.

Bamboo Train Battambang

Our first real stop of the day was riding Battambang’s bamboo railroad. To be honest, I had no idea what in the world a “bamboo railway” meant but it was something that all the guidebooks and local maps said was one of the top 10 things to do in Battambang. So we went.

Turns out that the bamboo railroad is a plank on wheels that is powered by a guy with a motor. Everything comes apart really quickly…which is necessary for when you, say, run into someone going the opposite direction…

The bamboo train went insanely fast at times and it felt kind of like riding a roller coaster. One that doesn’t go high or upside down so I actually liked it… (I’m afraid of heights, OK?)

Battambang Killing Caves

Our next stop was the Battambang killing caves, a hill with many temples and a cave where the Khmer Rouge threw dead bodies. We decided that instead of walking up the hill we would hire motorbikes. Well, Corey decided. I decided to be a big girl and just close my eyes and pout and hold back my screaming the entire way. (I might be afraid of motorbikes too.)

And there were monkeys. Many monkeys.

Battambang Bat Cave

From there we were going to head to another temple. But, quite frankly, especially after visiting Angkor Wat, I was a bit templed out. And the tuk-tuk driver said that in about an hour the Battambang bats would come flying out of the cave. And that sounded cooler. So we stuck around instead.

Now, when he said the bats would come out from the bat caves I thought there would just be a bunch of bats flying out and that would be it. But no, there was a giant cloud of bats steadily streaming from the cave for over half an hour. It was insane. So. Many. Bats.

When the bats started thinning out, Corey and I headed back to the hotel and found dinner at a place across the street. And then we ate way too much food. Including the worst brownie ever. But sometimes you just need some chocolate.

Things to do in Battambang, Cambodia. Killing caves, Battambang bat cave, and bamboo train in Battambang, Cambodia.

Bucket list idea: Ride the bamboo railroad in Battambang, Things to do in Battambang, Cambodia. Cambodia.

Bucket list idea: Visit the bat caves in Battambang, Cambodia. Things to do in Battambang, Cambodia.