The Banan Temple was a tough one. 358 steps to get to the top! But there was a nice view once you got up, and the ruins were simple - large blocks stacked up - but interesting to see how well the temples were still preserved.
The Phom Sampov/Killing Caves are located high on a hill, so my driver suggested I hire a local to lead me so I won't get lost. He connected me with Siephon (not sure how to correctly spell his name), who the tuktuk driver said "he's a man, but don't worry, he's a lady boy". Throughout my tour, the town people would see him and would laugh and tease him in a playful way. He didn't seem too annoyed by it; he was playing along with it. It was pretty entertaining to hang out with him. Our communication was so limited because he didn't speak that much English, only enough to tell me what sight was what and some directions on where to go. But he would bust out singing Khmer pop songs as we walked.
He definitely made my trip up to Phom Sampov brighter! Especially considering we were looking at the Killing Caves too. I wasn't sure if I was ready to come face to face with it, but I figured going to the Killing Caves would prepare me later for Phnom Penh's Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields from the Khmer Rouge period.
I wanted to go to the Pepsi Factory that was abandoned in the 70s, but the tuk tuk driver said they had closed the doors to the public. It would have been cool to take some pictures there, because I read that it has been left untouched; there are still full bottles of Pepsi left inside. Ah well. Would have been neat to see. But I'm glad I got to do and see more of Battambang, besides the Bamboo Train. Would've been a shame if that was my only impression of the area.
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