Bamboo train in Battambang

One is writing this from one’s river facing terrace at Royal Hotel in Battambang in interior Cambodia. One has returned after a once in a lifetime experience. An unforgettable journey of a different kind. The adventure of cruising through acres of lush greenery for several hours in an open air train! A close encounter with the sights, sounds and smells of nature. Battambang is a small town nestled between Cambodia and Thailand on the banks of the Sangker River. There is an interesting legend from the 10th century about how Battambang got its name
The word bat in khmer means to disappear and dambong means stick. As the story goes, a cowherd who tended cows, had a stick which was magical. The cowherd could throw the stick at his herd and control his flock. For this he was called Ta Dambong or the uncle with the stick. Ta Dambong used to tie his cows on the bank of the river for grazing.

Ta Dambong became bored with tending cows and one day decided to become the king. Using his magical stick, he succeeded in overthrowing the old king and the crown prince fled to the forest and became a monk.

Ta Dambong had a dream that his reign would last only for seven years after which he would be dethroned by a hermit on a white horse. Hence, he decided to round up all the holy men in the region and kill them. Back in the forest the prince came to know that all the holy men were asked to present themselves to the king. But on the way to the capital, he met a hermit monk, who gave him a white horse to look after, while the hermit returned after meeting the king.

The price still dressed as a monk, alighted the horse which began to fly. As soon as Dambong saw the hermit on the horse, he knew that his end had come and threw his stick at the horse. But the magical horse made the stick disappear and Dambong fled for his life. The hermit king dethroned Dambong and reclaimed his throne that was rightfully his and lived happily ever after. Thus the city was called bat dambong which is khmer for disappearing stick. Over the centuries, batdambong metamorphosed into battambang, which is the present name.

Battambang is a small town located on the banks of the Sangker river. The Sangker river got its name from the giant sangker tree which was cut and laid across the narrow river in the days when there were no bridges, to enable residents to walk across to the other side over the tree! One of the unique attractions in Battambang is the four hour ride on the bamboo train from Dambong to Teppedey. The bamboo train is known as lorie or norie in Cambodia. There is only one train which leaves Battambang at 6 a.m. for Phnom Penh. The villagers have developed an ingenuous device to utilize the railway tracks after the train has left for Phnom Penh.

The norie consists of a bamboo base mounted on a pair of iron wheels which are placed on the rails. This contraption which resembles a railway trolley is powered by a small portable diesel engine. There are many nories traveling along the way and when one comes across another norie, the lighter of the two is dismantled and moved to the side of the tracks, allowing the heavier one to pass! Battambang is the only town in the world, where one can explore the bounties of nature while cruising along the railway tracks in an open air bamboo train.

The speed of the norie can be controlled and it has a powerful braking system, designed to stop it if it comes across another norie enroute. The cruising speed is 10 km. per hour uphill, while it slightly goes up while going downhill. One can watch a variety of birds nestling on the huge trees that border both sides of the track. Birds love to fly alongside the norie and it is indeed a delightful experience to watch sparrows, kingfishers and kites in full flight alongside one’s bamboo train. After one crosses the lush green paddy fields which stretch for miles, the norie enters thick evergreen forests where the birds give way to the butterflies. Hundreds of colourfully painted butterflies flit alongside the railway tracks and it is a pleasure to watch them. One stops at a tiny station along the way for a cup of freshly brewed green Oolong tea and sliced dragon fruit before continuing to one’s final destination which is Teppendey.

Phnom Teppendey is a tiny hill which is home to a small temple and one returns to Dambomg station in the same norie after spending a few hours exploring the beauteous scene as seen from the summit of the hill. The return journey is more exciting as the norie crawls uphill at snail’s space, allowing more time to watch the variety of butterflies and birds that one encounters at every moment of this unique mode of transportation.

A unique feature of one’s return trip is an encounter with another norie transporting a motorcycle and rider. One gets down and one’s norie is dismantled in minutes allowing the heavier one to pass after which one continues one’s round trip to Dambong station.

The Cambodian Government is under intense pressure from vested interests who want these baboo trains to be banned and steps may be taken in the near future to prevent these indigenous bamboo contraptions from using the unused railway tracks laid down by the Cambodian Government. So the best time to visit Cambodia for an unforgettable journey on the bamboo train is now.

Experience the magic before this simple pleasure becomes extinct within the next few months! This bamboo train ride is worth it just to see the hundreds of colourful butterflies which flit around both sides of the track throughout one’s journey. Flying alongside the numerous birds, who seem to compete with the bamboo train is a memory which one will treasure for a lifetime!

Experience the magic before this simple pleasure becomes extinct within the next few months! This bamboo train ride is worth it just to see the hundreds of colourful butterflies which flit around both sides of the track throughout one’s journey. Flying alongside the numerous birds, who seem to compete with the bamboo train is a memory which one will treasure for a lifetime! AlsoTeppendey is a great place for freshly steamed rice with garden vegetables, wild mushrooms flavoured with wild ginger and wild mint. The food was as delicious as it looks in the accompanying photograph. As a vegan since 1995, I always get nutritious vegan food, even in remote corners of the globe like Teppendey. What the mind conceives and believes, it achieves!