TRAVEL DIARY- BAMBOO TRAIN - 'RUSTIC RURAL RECREATION' ,O DAMBONG VILLAGE, BATTAMBANG , CAMBODIA

 

'Impress  people with your soul! not the things you have !" . 

Of course! They are poor! but will impress you with something ". A rural Cambodian travel reflects this.

Our driver blew a long horn – may be a wake up call or a signal. That sleepy village 'O Dambong'  woke up to the situation, to  host   their  guests, to treat them with their own amusement, sell their merchandise and the make a business out of it .

Travelling in a’ Bamboo train’ was in my itinerary, but I ignored it as  yet another  train safari ; As anyone’s knowledge, train literally  means “a number of vehicles or a  group of  animals moving in a designated  line” but Little did I realize, we'll be travelling on a mono  Railway trolley on an official but semi abandoned  railway track.

It was an old meter gauge track laid by the French from Phnom Penh to the Thai Border, and it passes thru  this  remote village near  Battambang. I understood on enquiry that ,only two trains run thru  this route in a day or  alternate days or that too would be cancelled, if it is raining . These trains will have only two or three coaches maximum travelling at the lowest possible speed and stopping at the loco pilot’s whim’s.

Children playing the local games in grubby clothes, and its country side are pretty much visible from its houses, shops and the people. There was a butcher shop with two caged pigs squealing  to its throats, waiting to go as next day’s meal for these villagers and  it was yet another   village in its own way till our car reached the spot, where the so called ‘Bamboo train’ starts. A trolley was assembled in a hurry, a bamboo mat placed on a frame of two axles fit with four iron wheels, with a detachable motor fit in the back . It’s a domestic version of a trolley which the Indian railway men use to inspect the railway track.

 The guide who accompanied us took the tickets through a small instantly active ticket counter. I asked the guide, is it safe to travel in this!!, he said all the tourist will try this and its fun !, so I  decided to take a chance !

Cambodia is  a poor country , limping back to its feet after the civil war. This country has a peculiar history of its people killed by its own Government. Its   infrastructure and cultural identity destroyed by its own communist government lead by its dictator “comrade POL POT” . The country  has got every leftout / hidden  ingredients for the tourists -its thousands of thousand years old temples , natural lakes, Buddhist monasteries - to market it as a tourist place , and for the cultural tourists - its simplicity and the innocence of the  rural people .

But  today’s tourists   will look for varieties ,  the boat rides , amusement parks , experience malls , pubbing , gambling , etc,  they can’t settle  only for  temple visits , which Cambodia has it in plenty . An ordinary tourist will look at these temples as a spread of well aligned stones for no reason, they wont appreciate its history or geography or anything ! They will compensate or get solace their paid visit with a few pictures in various angles and settle for few selfies , that’s it! They eat , indulge in massages, collect a souvenir, have a beer and the claim to have visited yet another country .

Hence, the  Tour operators also plan the itinerary to keep occupying their clients with a mix of activities. As Cambodia  lacks amusement parks, or  theme parks , they offer whatever they have , old style tourism , they take you to an ornament maker, a pot maker , typically ,they will try to show their way of living and we can call it a cultural trip , simply understating their lives and  experience their culture .  And the people of Cambodia showcase whatever they could to make their visitors happy.

Those two guys who were busy doing a roof work in a small house near the ticket counter rushed to the spot to attend the situation; they haphazardly put a bed sheet and two pillows for the visitors to sit. That’s the privilege they give to the visitors  to avoid them from sitting on a bare bamboo mat and to  give a cushion  for the bumpy ride  on the suspension less train. We were ushered to board the train(?)  while  we were gheraoed by  the hawkers-,small children with all kind of products , cut mangoes, pine apple, beads etc .

 The train was ready to go , and one of them in ‘checked Bermuda’ was the driver ‘the loco pilot’, I sat cross legged  in the front , to get my  favorable  experience. The driver started the motor and the Bamboo train started moving,  accelerating to a speed of at least 40 Kms per hour, without any signals, guards , whistles or flags. The sound was similar to  that of the normal  train , and it crossed small lakes , paddy fields , small hamlets in between, two or three culverts and there were people looking at us as moving exhibition products. Since I was in the front and there was no wind shield , and traveling closer to the Ground level, in that speed, I had to  have a faceoff with  all the  insects in  Battambang.

But it was fun , with the rumbling sound of the train, it gave an experience of traveling from the Train engine  with the driver ,also an  open air train experience .  I could inhale the fresh air mixed with the smell of the soil from the paddy field. the ride  went on for  30 minutes   and stopped at a place , may be a  station , where some shops on shakes, with liveliness, with music; looks like they  open it,  when occasional tourist shows up .The Bamboo train operator will alert them and 30 minutes  travel time is good enough to  set up the shop and to serve  chilled beer . They sell merchandise, food, souvenir, and the some kids were selling talisman tags with Cambodian flags and brother bands they tie it in our hands which we can’t refuse. 

While we were checking out in the shops  , the driver and the conductor with the help of others repositioned  the so called train by lifting it and turning to the reverse direction . Oh! we are going to go back! In fact! When another bamboo train or the real train comes in the opposite side of the track , they will lift the bamboo train and  keep it in the shoulder space of the track, to give way and they will replace it back to the track once it is  cleared of the way . These Bamboo trains will be used as a goods train on visitor less days,  to carry their farm materials to the market or farms. While coming back, most of the shop keepers, employees boarded the train, it seems their work at the station was over and calling it a day , and they returned back with their materials and constantly chatting their own date to day affairs in their language.

Its yet another experience , close encounter with the Cambodian villagers and enjoyed the feel and smell of the country side .

There are countries starved off with tourist contents  and they go all out to  give whatever they could to give an experience to their visitors  ,but there are some  countries   who have everything but  choose to ignore and keep in mute .

-Experienced on 26th of January 2024,- Rajesh babu @ O Dambong Village, near Battambang , Cambodia