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Bat tambang
PHOTO
KENJI O
“
I WASN’T EXPECTING
it to be this fast!” I yell — partly in
amazement, partly in fear — over the loud, rhythmic clanking
of metal wheels on worn-out railway tracks. As our shoddy
vehicle hurtles through the Cambodian countryside, the
balmy wind on our faces, I tighten my grip on the handlebars
until my fingers turn white. I am amazed that this so-called
“
bamboo train” — a makeshift platform on wheels — is able
to go faster than Manila’s railway push-trolleys, clocking
speeds of up to 50km per hour.
Edgar Alan Zeta-Yap takes a bamboo
train ride through Cambodia’s
countryside and experiences French
colonial heritage and strange eats
along the way
I was utterly terrified: the idea of derailing and crashing into
the thorny brush at any minute was real and present danger.
Like a scene out of an Indiana Jones movie, my friends and
I found ourselves careening through the rural outskirts of
Battambang, three hours by bus from Siem Reap. Since the
road between Saigon and Angkor is an over-trodden tourist
route, we decided to detour west of Tonlé Sap Lake to this
less visited city, often praised for its well-preserved French
colonial heritage. A remaining example can be seen with the
abandoned railway tracks, something that resourceful locals
have been converting into vehicle routes for decades.
