With only 13 days in Cambodia (why, oh why didn’t we plan more time there!?), Jon and I wanted to visit another city in addition to Siem Reap. Not wanting to spend an entire day traveling to and from another place, we ruled out the capital of Phnom Penh and the island of Koh Rong. Almost randomly, we selected Battambang, a three-hour van ride away from Siem Reap. Upon researching things to do, I quickly discovered that the main tourist attraction in the city is to visit a cave just outside of town where bats fly out every day at dusk. With only this knowledge, we set out to explore and see what else we could find to do.

One of our hobbies while traveling was finding unique flowers to take pictures and send to my mom!

Our four days in Battambang was the perfect amount of time to combine a little bit of sightseeing with a lot of relaxation. After over a week in Siem Reap spent touring the Angkor complex and eating our way across the cafes, we were ready for a calmer and less-touristy city. While Battambang is the third largest city in Cambodia and old (settled in the 11^th century), there aren’t many tourists who visit. Being there made us feel like we were temporarily living among locals and allowed us to eat and shop at the street stalls with Cambodians.

Walking around the streets provides different views around each corner.

Since we had plenty of free time, we decided to walk and try a handful of different restaurants and foods while in Battambang. A few favorites turned out to be short noodles with chicken, served at a street stall along the river, delicious handmade noodles and dumplings at Chinese Noodle Dumpling, and my favorite Cambodian dish of fish amok at a local cooking school (although we didn’t get a chance to sign up for a class, it’s something I want to do when we return!). The local market was full of stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables, so we purchased a few different types of fruit to try for a snack one afternoon.

The market in Battambang is a French-style architecture and a lot of fruit vendors around the edges.

Despite the age of the original city, much of the architecture dates back to the period of French rule (early 20^th century), making it a pretty city to stroll around. Aside from our time at the bat cave (I couldn’t resist!), most of our stay in Battambang comprised of wandering around the downtown area and admiring the architecture. I had found a couple of self-guided walking tours that we followed one afternoon, giving us a bit of history and information of the buildings we were passing. With the river cutting through the city, it makes for a pleasant place to walk and relax. There are a handful of temples that you can visit as well as a small museum that displays relics from hundreds of years ago. Renovations were underway when we visited, so we missed out on the signage and information about the pieces that we were viewing. Since it only cost $1 USD to visit, it was a quick afternoon stop while on one of our walking tours.

Some of the buildings looked like they could have been built in France.

Our primary sightseeing adventure was a half-day tour with Nicky, a local who knows Battambang well. We met for coffee one morning to discuss what we would like to see and do during our tour; he personalizes all his tours to meet the desires of his customers. We decided upon a visit to a winery and a temple on a hill before ending our afternoon at the bat cave.

Nicky is listed on Facebook and Instagram as ‘Nicky Tuk-Tuk Battambang.’
Cell: 077 714 785
Email: nickystours@yahoo.com

Nicky was a wonderful, friendly guide! He stopped frequently to show us flowers, fruit, and animals along our drive through the countryside.

As Battambang Winery is the only winery in Cambodia, Jon and I couldn’t resist a stop to taste their version of a Shiraz. Along with a cognac and a juice made from ginger, we spent a few minutes sipping our drinks and investigating their method of growing grapes. Unlike any other vineyard we have visited, the winery guides the vines up trellises and the grapes then hang above your heads. This is a unique way to grow grapes and one I have never seen before! While the wine wasn’t as good as what we had in Mendoza or Stellenbosch, we enjoyed seeing a different method of making wine.

It was fun to visit the winery which showed us a different method of growing grapes!

After a stop along the way to don our rain jackets and put the canvas sides of the tuk-tuk down around us (a rainstorm hit but only for a few minutes), we found our way to Phnom Banan temple. With 358 steps to climb to reach the top, only Jon made it as I quit about halfway. The stairs were uneven and slick, making me cautious when descending due to a troublesome knee. Once at the top, Jon had a nice view of the canopy of trees and mountains in the distance.

It was a loooong climb to the top of the Phnom Banan temple.

The final stop on our tour with Nicky was to sit at the base of a mountain and wait for the moment when thousands of bats would exit and fly across the sky. We arrived a bit early and grabbed a table with a good view of the cave. Sharing a few beers and a meatball snack, we waited for dusk. Suddenly, we could hear a quiet screeching sound and started to see the bats leaving the cave. For over 45 minutes, we sat and watched in amazement as the never-ending stream of bats flew in formation above our heads. The sight brought to mind a steady cloud of smoke that moved and changed directions with the wind. A loud clap would send the bats scattering out of their configuration momentarily, but they always returned to the curving line in the sky. Finally, we left and made our way back to town, arriving in dark after a wonderful afternoon exploring the countryside with Nicky.

The bats flying through the sky reminded me of smoke that swirled and moved.

Our time in Battambang was relaxing; most days were filled with strolling through the streets, returning to eat some of our favorite foods, taking naps in our air-conditioned room (a welcome treat after the mishap with rooms in Siem Reap!), and mingling with locals around town. While not as exciting as other, more popular destinations in Cambodia, we enjoyed our time getting to know a different city and seeing a bit of the countryside.

Chinese noodle soup! We ate here on our first day and returned again before we left.

We loved seeing the countryside around Battambang; what a fun afternoon!