4/3/10
My guide book mentions a bamboo train than runs in the outskirts of Battambang. It is used by locals to transport people and freight and is now also a bit of a tourist attraction. Its unique feature, that it can be dismantled and reassembled in moments, is an adaptation to the reality of a one-track system.
I have hired a motorcycle driver to take me around today. We have been to 2 mountains with different temples, old and new at their summits. We have stopped to see the hundreds of fruit bats roosting in the trees. (Katty tells me these are just the males. The females are in the jungle tending to their babies.) And now we have arrived at the tracks of this notorious bamboo train. We have come along dirt paths threading thru villages, rice paddies, banana plants and palm trees, jackfruit and mango trees. The wind feels wonderful when we are moving. Now we have stopped. It is easily 35 degrees in the shade. Across the tracks, a wedding reception is in progress and the music is blaring. We sit in the leanto and sip at tepid drinks. Katty goes to tell someone that we would like to ride the train.
A train assembles before my eyes. Someone brings 2 sets of iron wheels. They look like oversized bar bells. Then 2 young men carry a bamboo platform which they fit onto the wheels. Someone carries over a motor. (Katty informs me that 20 years ago, they switched from manual power to engine power. It is an 8 cc motor, the kind to pump water out of a small well.) A mat is placed in front for me. A stool is put by the tracks and the motorcycle is wheeled aboard. We clamber on. The fan belt of the engine is attached to the axis of the front wheels and we are off. We are going maybe 40 km an hour. Katty tells me that this is faster than the regular Cambodian trains which are notoriously slow at 20 km an hour. We barrel along, clickety clack. It is a pretty smooth ride except for the regular jumps every few seconds. I try to see what it is on the tracks creating the bump but I finally decide that it must be the engine. I feel like I am on a very bizarre amusement park ride. One set of tracks opens a path in front of me. Greenery flashes by me on either side. When we have gone several kilometres, we can see another train approaching us. Both trains come to a stop several metres apart. The other train is filled with local people and one foreigner. I am surprised to see them all get off. We win, says Katty. The motorcycle is heavier. Our engine driver hops off and helps the other driver dismantle his train. It is done in less than 2 minutes. Once we have passed him, they reassemble his train. We continue on. At our destination, the driver and Katty carefully lift off the motorcycle onto the ground. I give the driver $6 and we head back to town.
My guide book mentions a bamboo train than runs in the outskirts of Battambang. It is used by locals to transport people and freight and is now also a bit of a tourist attraction. Its unique feature, that it can be dismantled and reassembled in moments, is an adaptation to the reality of a one-track system.
I have hired a motorcycle driver to take me around today. We have been to 2 mountains with different temples, old and new at their summits. We have stopped to see the hundreds of fruit bats roosting in the trees. (Katty tells me these are just the males. The females are in the jungle tending to their babies.) And now we have arrived at the tracks of this notorious bamboo train. We have come along dirt paths threading thru villages, rice paddies, banana plants and palm trees, jackfruit and mango trees. The wind feels wonderful when we are moving. Now we have stopped. It is easily 35 degrees in the shade. Across the tracks, a wedding reception is in progress and the music is blaring. We sit in the leanto and sip at tepid drinks. Katty goes to tell someone that we would like to ride the train.
A train assembles before my eyes. Someone brings 2 sets of iron wheels. They look like oversized bar bells. Then 2 young men carry a bamboo platform which they fit onto the wheels. Someone carries over a motor. (Katty informs me that 20 years ago, they switched from manual power to engine power. It is an 8 cc motor, the kind to pump water out of a small well.) A mat is placed in front for me. A stool is put by the tracks and the motorcycle is wheeled aboard. We clamber on. The fan belt of the engine is attached to the axis of the front wheels and we are off. We are going maybe 40 km an hour. Katty tells me that this is faster than the regular Cambodian trains which are notoriously slow at 20 km an hour. We barrel along, clickety clack. It is a pretty smooth ride except for the regular jumps every few seconds. I try to see what it is on the tracks creating the bump but I finally decide that it must be the engine. I feel like I am on a very bizarre amusement park ride. One set of tracks opens a path in front of me. Greenery flashes by me on either side. When we have gone several kilometres, we can see another train approaching us. Both trains come to a stop several metres apart. The other train is filled with local people and one foreigner. I am surprised to see them all get off. We win, says Katty. The motorcycle is heavier. Our engine driver hops off and helps the other driver dismantle his train. It is done in less than 2 minutes. Once we have passed him, they reassemble his train. We continue on. At our destination, the driver and Katty carefully lift off the motorcycle onto the ground. I give the driver $6 and we head back to town.
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