The bamboo train
I went to Battambang for the weekend. It is a small provincial town on the other side of the lake. The bus keeps a loose schedule but, eventually, I arrived. There is not a great deal to see there just a bit of faded, collapsing Colonial architecture. It is a sleepy place and has a certain faded charm. But, the real reason to visit Battambang is to ride on the bamboo train.
The railway in Cambodia, like so much in this country, is in a state of total collapse. There is one line that runs from Phnom Penh to Battambang it runs once a week - sometimes. It is meant to take about 9 hours, it often takes 15, that is when it runs. The bus takes 5 hours.
The bamboo train came about because the area around was very heavily mined because of its proximity to the Thai border. During the occupation the line was the first area to be de-mined and so it made it the only safe way to travel. In the country of make do and mend a solution was found. Small platforms were made from split bamboo, mounted on tank axles that had been re-sized as there were plenty of those lying around. At first, they were pushed along the track with a stick But about ten years ago they started to use small engines to power them. They are used for passengers and freight. They now go up to 25 kms an hour, which, if you could see the thing would astound you.
There is a single track and so the rule is that if you meet a fright train, carrying maybe rice, you have to lift off your train and let the other one pass. If both trains are passenger there is a bit of a good natured stand off.
I travelled 7 kms each way on the train and we had to lift our train off 5 times. The track is in the most shocking state. Adrian would have a blue fit that passengers were being carried on it at some speed. You effectively are on a split bamboo raft, there is nothing to hold on to, no side rail and no brakes. The track is so bad that there is a danger of slipping a disc when going over many of the joints and on some of the bridges a blindfold would have been useful. There were hawkers at the 'station' selling treats for the journey. The best seller was barbequed rat. Rat! Complete with tails. It was hard to resist but I had just had lunch.
I haven't had so much fun in ages.
The railway in Cambodia, like so much in this country, is in a state of total collapse. There is one line that runs from Phnom Penh to Battambang it runs once a week - sometimes. It is meant to take about 9 hours, it often takes 15, that is when it runs. The bus takes 5 hours.
The bamboo train came about because the area around was very heavily mined because of its proximity to the Thai border. During the occupation the line was the first area to be de-mined and so it made it the only safe way to travel. In the country of make do and mend a solution was found. Small platforms were made from split bamboo, mounted on tank axles that had been re-sized as there were plenty of those lying around. At first, they were pushed along the track with a stick But about ten years ago they started to use small engines to power them. They are used for passengers and freight. They now go up to 25 kms an hour, which, if you could see the thing would astound you.
There is a single track and so the rule is that if you meet a fright train, carrying maybe rice, you have to lift off your train and let the other one pass. If both trains are passenger there is a bit of a good natured stand off.
I travelled 7 kms each way on the train and we had to lift our train off 5 times. The track is in the most shocking state. Adrian would have a blue fit that passengers were being carried on it at some speed. You effectively are on a split bamboo raft, there is nothing to hold on to, no side rail and no brakes. The track is so bad that there is a danger of slipping a disc when going over many of the joints and on some of the bridges a blindfold would have been useful. There were hawkers at the 'station' selling treats for the journey. The best seller was barbequed rat. Rat! Complete with tails. It was hard to resist but I had just had lunch.
I haven't had so much fun in ages.
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