Bamboo Train Battambang — Local services in Battambang

You arrive to an old, unused train station where you give USD$5 to a chubby fella, and then turn your attention to the twenty workers.

There is a dank vibe, sadly familiar of the times you've been ripped off and the realisation that your money is going to places you'd prefer not - i.e the chubby guy gets 80%, the worker gets about $1 (more on this later).

Next you see the little bamboo platform - it's a pretty cool, resourceful use of materials. But you also realise at this point, any show ride you've been on was more engaging.

So then there is the ride itself. I'm not precious, it was cool - but two or three minutes in, you understand "this is it...". The scenery, whilst enjoyable, is nothing you haven't seen already, the people running the show make exactly 0 attempt to engage with you other than when you come up to another bamboo train and you're told to get off to allow the other through - a surreal highlight throughout.

As you approach another train, other tourists share that same humbled weak smile, a shared understanding that yes: I too was sucked into this morose waste of time.

You then end up in a small village where there is basically child labour, everyone wants your money for braclets and drinks - however the woman working there is very lovely and if you do this ride, do it for her.

We didn't buy anything as it can reinforce ideas that kids working is better than letting them attend school. As we leave, the lovely lady informs us to please tip the driver as almost none of the fee goes to him.

So you're on your way back - nothing new here. Then you tip the driver and his face springs to life for the first time, and you feel like saying 'thanks for breathing during that, because I though we were dead'.

If you've never travelled in your life (...you're in Cambodia, so you have at this point) then mayyyybe you'll enjoy this, but honestly, just go check out the temples on the mountain and the bat caves. They're excellent.

Avoid this, it's...

We arrived at the bamboo train with little to no fanfare. It almost seemed like the old bamboo train was not going to be operating. But out of a little Hut came a driver asking for $5 and we said sure thing here it is! I have read many comments about people thinking that it's a waste of money or that they were forced to tip, which we were not, and that they were forced and pressured to buy things at the turnaround, which we were not. Now that may be because of covid and that there were just four of us there. There is a good chance that we have been the only people to have ridden the bamboo train in a couple weeks, so there were no vendors at the turnaround point. Four of us got on the bamboo train and enjoyed the ride, it was a nice escape from the regular temples and pagodas. We got to enjoy the countryside while trying to have a conversation by screaming at each other because it was quite loud. But that was definitely fun trying to. We had somebody trying to negotiate a cheaper price in our little group, which I do not suggest doing because these people have not been getting tourists and I could not bring myself to push for a discount. I was happy to pay the full price because these people need the $5 or rather 10, for us as a couple, than we needed it. Go there with expectations of just riding the rails enjoying the rice paddy fields and the occasional dog or cow crossing the tracks at a leisurely pace where you think you're going to end up running them over and possibly skinny chickens playing "Chicken" on the tracks! 😆 Kids running along the tracks waving and smiling at you, which anybody who has been to Cambodia understands is one of the joys of this country! The innocent smiles of the children, such a delight. Even though this is not a hidden gem, because it is a tourist thing to do here in Battambang, I can definitely recommend it and I can say don't listen to the other reviews that complain about tipping or things like that, just go...

I had low expectations for the bamboo train due to all the negative reviews. But I had a free day to explore and figured might as well try it. My girlfriend and I absolutely loved it. We had the whole train to ourselves. Not another tourist in sight. We were here during low tourist season.

Yes, it can get really loud, but it didn't bother us. I can see why it would, though, if you have sensitive ears. It doesn't feel like the safest thing in the world. In fact, when we took off the first time and accelerated to max speed, I was sure we were going to fly off the tracks. But that's all part of the experience.

A lot of people talk about being exposed to the sun the entire time, and yeah, I can see how that wouldn't be much fun. Fortunately, for us, it was overcast during the first 90 percent of the ride. The final 10 percent it rained like crazy on us. We got drenched, but it was such a fun experience. No one asked for a tip, but in retrospect, I wish I had given one.

Our driver was super friendly. The end happened so fast. They were quickly breaking the train down and running to cover while we were simultaneously running to a tuk tuk. By the time I thought about tipping, we were already on the road heading home.

A lot of people talk about being pressured to tip. I don't think that's okay, but I do think a tip is definitely warranted. The locals totally deserve it. I still feel really bad that I didn't...