2 Days in Battambang, Cambodia

During my time in Cambodia, I traveled to the northwestern city of Battambang for two days. The city is known for its ancient temples, nature, and local cuisine.

Day 1 – Bamboo Trains & Bat Caves

I arrived via sleeper bus from Phnom Penh and was surprised when I arrived in Battambang around 3 AM! I had read the arrival time on my ticket wrong, so I had to scramble to find a place with a 24-hour reception. Finally I found a hotel to stay at until morning which was a big relief.

I checked out of this hotel at noon and then headed to The Place Hostel which I had pre-booked. As soon as I arrived, I signed up for the 1:30 PM tour of the surrounding areas. Our first stop was the popular bamboo train which was surprisingly fast! We rode 20 minutes each way on the train, and then we rode on a tuk-tuk to a couple of pagodas, which were pretty but overrun by monkeys. We also visited the Killing Cave, which is a cave that the Khmer Rouge used as an execution site. The area had a really heavy feel to it, and there was a memorial in place to pay respect to the victims.

A very fast bamboo train

Pretty pagodas

A pagoda on Phnom Sampov mountain

After visiting the area, we got back in our tuk-tuk and headed to the Bat Cave, which thousands of bats fly out of every evening at sunset. It was an amazing thing to witness, and I couldn’t believe just how many bats there were. We tried lotus seeds while we watched them exit the cave; it reminded me of plain edamame.

Thousands of bats fly out of this cave every evening

Trying lotus seeds (you crack it apart and pop out the seeds)

We headed back to the hostel after dark and a group of us went to dinner at Nary Kitchen. I had the red curry which was really good, and the owner was really nice and funny. He was very excited when we signed up for the restaurant’s cooking class for the next day! After dinner, we hung out on the hostel’s rooftop and enjoyed getting to know some of the locals.

Day 2 – A Cambodian Cooking Class

I had a slow morning and went for a late breakfast at Kinyei Cafe, which was recommended by a traveler I had met the day before. My breakfast burrito was really good, and the baristas were friendly as well. Afterwards, I spent some time on the hostel rooftop until my cooking class at 3 PM. I was joined by two other women from Europe, and we had fun despite being in a small group.

First our guide took us to the market to gather ingredients, and then we went back to Nary Kitchen to begin cooking. The class was fun and not too difficult. We made veggie spring rolls, fish amok (a Cambodian dish), beef lok lak (another Cambodian speciality), and sweet banana coconut milk. All of the dishes were amazing, and we enjoyed getting to know the owner of the restaurant more during the class. We didn’t need to get dinner after our feast, so we spent one last evening at the hostel together before going our separate ways the next morning. Overall, I enjoyed traveling a bit off the beaten tourist path to Battambang. It was the perfect detour between the cities of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Food from our Cambodian cooking class