![\"Dom,](\"https:\/\/joanneteo.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20140208-UTC062241_R0019458.jpg\")
<\/a>The thing about young Dom is that he’s vain. I saw him check himself out in the mirror several times. And when we stopped at Wat Banan, instead of telling me that I needed to get tickets, he looked in the mirror at his face and I had to work out that we’d arrived, I needed to get a ticket.<\/p>\n Wat Banan is up on a hill. The air seems cooler and there was a pleasant wind. Here, local tourists outnumbered foreign tourists, which is quite a nice change from the usual in Siem Reap.<\/p>\n Before Wat Banan, the ride took us through countryside.<\/p>\n We stopped at a place to look at the fruit bats hanging from a tree. Some were even flying in daylight. I tried to capture them flying. But this is the best I could do.<\/p>\n It was also at this spot where I had a taste of goreng pisang. It was also very good. Unlike in Siem Reap where they roll the banana flat, here, they use the banana in it’s natural shape and form.<\/p>\n From Wat Banan, we headed on to Phnom Sampou, which to me is, all gold, all garish and all spoiling of the natural landscape.<\/p>\n To get to Phnom Sampou, one either hires a motorbike and rides pillion, or one walks.<\/p>\n I decided to walk. It’s not easy walk, simply because I was in a rush to make it down again to see more bats at 1730. And it wasn’t made clear to me just how near or far these bats were. But Dom reminded me several times that I needed to be down at 5pm. So I hightailed it up the hill and was panting away. It’s a steep walk, and having more time, it’s not terribly difficult. But at speed, that’s different.<\/p>\n Halfway up, there are the killing caves. The Khmer Rouge blodeoned people to death and pushed them into the caves from above.<\/p>\n In the cave are a collection of bones and skulls of the victims. I didn’t spend too much time there.<\/p>\n More uphill walking and eventually I was up at Phnom Sampou, looking at monkeys, being blinded by gold paint.<\/p>\n Downhill and a three minute walk later, I was outside waiting for bats to emerge from a cave. It was no more than 1705 when I got to the bat cave. I really could’ve had more time up in Phnom Sampou and the killing caves.<\/p>\n The bats usually leave the cave between 1730 and 1800. And so, I waited and waited.<\/p>\n At some point, Dom came up and decided to actually do some extra work that might help with his tip. He plucked the pods off a plant and placed the pods on my hand.<\/p>\n He poured some water over them and after a few seconds, the pods started popping, dispersing their seeds all over. It was quite painful. But fascinating to see.<\/p>\n Closer to 1800, after waiting nearly an hour, the frenetic activity of the bats crescendoed and they finally made an exit.<\/p>\n Millions of them. Billions, perhaps.<\/p>\n And after a while, we followed them along the road.<\/p>\n And watched them split into two paths. Every day they do this. Why do they split? Do they always choose the same split?<\/p>\n At night I wandered through Battambang that had mostly shut down. Walked along the Sangke River to the a hawker centre along the river. They call it a Night Market, but all it is is food stalls. This is where I had my first pong tia koon, and it didn’t seem all that tasty. I also had a beef noodle that was plain awful. I was not having much luck with food in Battambang.<\/p>\n I looked for water. Some fruit stalls at the central market, called Psar Nath, wanted to sell a bottle of water for US$2. I was having none of that. So I went up the more touristy section of Battambang – where the Caucasian tourists hang out – and found a convenience store, some liquor stores and water 1500ml x two bottles for US$1, the regular going rate.<\/p>\n Tired, I headed back to the hotel, which was slightly out of the town centre. Outside the hotel, there was a wedding dinner going on. One of the guests was Pow, the tuk tuk driver who picked me up earlier. I made arrangements with him to take me around the next day.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>