We had no set itinerary for our Cambodia backpacking trip, so when it was getting time to leave Siem Reap we decided to head to Battambang, which is 77km (just short of 50 miles) to the West towards the Thai border.

The bus trip to Battambang takes between 3-6 hours because the route is convoluted and not direct and has to go via Sisophon, and as the bus trip was advertised as a six-hour trip it seemed like the ideal solution to kill three birds with one stone: take a boat trip (initially I’d wanted to take the boat from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh), see floating village life, and reach our next destination.

We booked the boat at one of the travel offices in Siem Reap. We wandered around a few to compare prices, and they were all within the $22 to $25 range, one way. We actually got quoted a lower price the night before, but we didn’t have money on us, and when we returned the next day the price had shot up to $25. So we went in search of a lower rate and found tickets for $22. But wandering around the town in blistering heat in search of a few dollars discount hardly seemed worth the effort, but Red felt better that he got a “deal.”

Pack Your Lunch

We spent the money we saved on a picnic for the trip and bought drinks and snacks from the local market to see us through the journey.

Free Transport to the Chong Khneas Pier

Lucky (or unlucky) for us we were the first to be picked up in the morning. The boat was due to leave at 8am, and the ticket price includes the bus to the Tonlé Sap pier. We were picked up at 6 o’clock in the morning which seemed odd because the pier was only about 1/2 hour away. We’d forgotten to factor in the multiple pickups around Siem Reap and the erratic way the driver zigzagged across the city navigating rush hour traffic to find all the sidestreet guesthouses to pick up our fellow boat passengers.

At the Chong Khneas Pier

We’d been told that the boat would take about seven hours, but while we were waiting to board we overheard other travelers swapping horror stories of boat trips taking twelve to fifteen hours because of engine failure or running aground.

I wasn’t sure if we had enough sandwiches for a fifteen-hour boat trip, but I figured that the wet season was the best time to take this Battambang trip because the water levels are high enough to keep the boat moving. So we pushed that concern to the back of our minds.

Our positive outlook almost waivered when we boarded the small ferry. Two rows of narrow plastic seats hardly seemed sufficient for the journey, but we dug out our travel pillows and took a pair of seats each. I don’t know how we managed it, but Red and I got a double seat to ourselves for most of the journey, whereas most of the other seats had two people in them, except when travelers went up on the roof to lay down on a comfortable bed of backpacks.

Our Boat trip to Battambang

The first part of the boat journey was across the Tonle Sap lake, and then we navigated narrow waterways bordered with high grasses and reeds along the Sangker River. Every now and then, the landscape would open up, and we’d catch sight of fishermen in long narrow boats casting out their nets.

The views of the small fishing village gave us a sense of Cambodian riverside living. Next to the floating houses were floating shops, hardware stores, churches, and government buildings.

All perched precariously on rickety wooden platforms along both sides of the riverbank.

It was a voyeuristic journey along the river. These river houses offered open plan living with the front wall of the house opening straight out onto the platform patios. It was difficult not to peer into the villager’s homes, and we witnessed the recurring cycle of daily life.

Multi-generations in sarongs were clustered together. Hair was being cut, lunch was being cooked, floors were being swept, and there was a lot of sitting on their patios watching us, watching them.

Small groups of boys who didn’t look old enough to be out from under their mother’s gaze, were balanced into narrow boats and navigating themselves along the river.

Other kids waved excitedly at us from their homes, or where they were swimming in the river. All of this enthusiasm, despite the ferry, being a daily service in both directions.

As well as being a primary mode of transport between Siem Reap and Battambang, these tourist boats are also used as a short-distance pick and delivery services between the various river villages.

Our boat came to a standstill on multiple occasions while we waited for a local villager to navigate their narrow boat alongside the ferry to drop off or pick up a poorly wrapped parcel, a wicker basket full of groceries, or an engine part.

Stopping for Lunch

After about four hours we stopped for lunch, and our boat moored up at a little local restaurant where dad was manning the cash box, Grandma was cooking the rice and noodles, and Mum and pre-teen daughters were peeling and chopping pineapple into plastic bags for the tourists. Our boat descended upon the jetty like a hoard of locusts and within seconds the platform was crammed.

We bought drinks and were pleasantly surprised they were reasonably priced. I’m not much of a soda drinker, but that ice cold coke tasted delicious on such a stifling hot day. The people on the left-hand side of the boat (me included) were treated to the full effects of the mid-day sun during the journey, so bear this in mind when you’re packing your drinks (and your sunscreen) for your trip.

2nd part of our boat trip

Whereas the first half of the journey was a shutter marathon. With our tourist cameras going off at every fisherman, kid, house, bird, and boat, the second half of the journey was more relaxing and gave way to moments of contemplation about life revolving around the river.

One of the most eye-opening experiences of this trip was seeing the amount of rubbish piled up. Majestic stilt houses had piles of rubbish underneath them just waiting to leak into the river at high tide.

Cambodia hasn’t long escaped from the shadows of war, so it’s understandable that recycling and trash management isn’t at the top of anyone’s agenda. But rubbish is a real problem along this stretch of river. You would hope the next generation becomes more self-aware about trash management, but I think it may take three generations to make an impact.

The bench in front of me was occupied by a young mother we picked up at one of the villages en route. She was maybe in her late twenties, with a couple of young children. For six hours she fed them various snacks from plastic bags, boxes, and gave them bottles of drink. The mother threw a constant stream of rubbish in the river, and the kids followed her lead. If this is what the new generation is being taught, how many generations will it take to change behavior?

The river was more Chocolate Milk than Café Au Lait, but locals were still fishing in it, swimming in it, washing clothes in it, and riding boats with leaky engines in it. I was beginning to go off the idea of eating fish in Cambodia, not only because of the activity happening in the river, but also rubbish piled up on the river banks, or lazily floating by our boat.

At one point I was surprised to see a woman waist deep in the river swishing around laundry to get it clean. From a distance, it looked like she was washing an off-white T-shirt or dress, and Red and I joked that there was no chance of her getting her garment clean in that water, even though she was making spin cycle moves underwater with her arms. It wasn’t until we drew up alongside and she took her washing out of the river, that we saw it was actually a plucked chicken. Red decided the rest of the trip he was going to be a vegetarian to avoid being served River Chicken.

Arrival in Battambang

The joy of seeing river houses and the local scenery started to fade in the sixth hour of our trip, and evaporated in the seventh. But joy resurrected itself after eight hours, when the houses (and unfortunately the rubbish) become more densely populated along the river bank, which we took as a sign that we were getting closer to Battambang.

Time to disembark

We pulled up to a narrow pier holding tentatively at the bottom of a steep bank, which was more slope than steps. Trying to juggle a backpack up this slippery slope, while fending off over-enthusiastic tuk-tuk drivers on the way down, was an adventure in itself, especially after over eight hours in our plastic bucket seats.

I had no idea how far out of town we were, or how far our guest house was away, and I wasn’t relishing the task of negotiating a taxi fare with no clue of how long the journey was. But then I spied a driver with a sign for our Lux Hotel guest house, so we made a beeline for him and settled back into a much comfier seat for what turned out to be a fifteen-minute drive to the guest house.

It was a complimentary tuk-tuk ride but included the customary up-sell of local day trips to the bat caves and local temples. He gave us his card when you dropped us off at the hotel, but you could see the doubt in his eyes as we wandered away to check in.

We were grateful to be on dry land, and the draw of a comfy bed in such close proximity meant we decided to forego a look around the town in daylight, and opted instead for a late afternoon nap to recharge our batteries before going out for the night.

Would we make the trip again? Hell No!

Are we glad we did it rather than driving? Hell Yes.

Angkor Express Boat

Angkor Express Boats operate between Siem Reap to Battambang and return by express boat across Tonle Sap Lake. Officially the trip take six hours, but this will vary depending on the season. Our trip took just over eight hours.

Bus Journey Alternative

As a comparison, a minibus can take anywhere between three to six hours and costs in the range of $5-$7.

Mekong Express run two buses every day in either direction.

• Siem Reap to Battambang: 8 a.m., 2 p.m.
• Battambang to Siem Reap: 8 a.m., 2 p.m.

The first bus from Siem Reap, and the second bus from Battambang have larger seats and take 25 passengers, whereas the other two buses are smaller, and seat 18 passengers.

Taxi Option

Private taxis between Siem Reap to Battambang cost around $40, and you’re best off organizing this through a local travel agent or your guest house. This is a good option for two or three travelers with bags, but if there’s four of you, the best option is to book through Book Me Bus, to book an SUV for around $50-55. It just depends how much comfort you want.

But if you go by road, you’ll miss a memorable boat trip.

Other Resources:

Video of Boat Ride from Siem Reap to Battambang

• Article from Notes on Traveling about Taking the boat from Siem Reap to Battambang

If you have travel tips or additional resources about taking this boat trip (in either direction) please leave a comment below. Especially if you’ve written an article about it.

Flashpacking through Cambodia

Flashpacking through Cambodia: For Baby Boomers on a Budget is my latest Roving Jay travel guide full of travel tips, advice, and sample itineraries for flash packers who want the back packing experience without foregoing some of life’s creature comforts – like a comfortable bed, a hot shower, free wi-fi, and somewhere to plug your electric toothbrush in.

I spent almost three months backpacking around Cambodia in 2017/2018 to research this travel guide, and I share insights and first hand knowledge of tourist traps and off-the-beaten-path discoveries. We ate street food, drank 50c beers, and travelled by train, bus, minivan and tuktuk to identify the best ways to get from A to B.

If you’d like to receive a free Review Copy ahead of the general public release, please click here.

Here’s my Cambodia posts on this blog:

• Cambodia Visa and Arrival at Siem Reap Airport
• Cambodia: How to Avoid the Crowds at Angkor Wat
• Filling up your scooter in Cambodia
• The Best Tasting Street Food in Siem Reap
• Angkor Wat at Dawn: Is it worth it?
• Come face to face with Angkor Thom’s Bayon
• Good vs. Evil at Angkor Thom’s Impressive Southern Gate
• The Baphuon Temple and the Terrace of the Elephants at Angkor Thom
• Visiting Siem Reap’s War Museum
• Where to Stay in Siem Reap
• Visiting Siem Reap’s Markets
• Give your taste buds a disco at Siem Reap Night Market
• Responsible Tourism at Joe to Go in Siem Reap
• What to See and Do in Siem Reap
• Which Siem Reap Floating Village should you visit?
• Memorable Boat Trip from Siem Reap to Battambang
• Libations and Bric-a-Brac tempt our purse strings in Battambang
• Vegetable Amok at About the World Restaurant in Battambang
• Cooking Classes at Nary’s Kitchen Battambang
• Pomme Bar, Restaurant and Hostel, at the Core of the new Battambang
• An educational trip around Battambang’s Central Market
• Sightseeing and things to do in Battambang Cambodia
• Bayon VIP Bus from Battambang to Phnom Penh Cambodia
• Exploring Phnom Penh’s 172nd Street in the dark
• The challenge of wandering Phnom Penh’s streets
• A visit to Phnom Penh’s Central Market
• Exploring Phnom Penh’s Markets
• Phnom Penh Photo Diary
• Tops sights to see in Phnom Penh
• Touring S-21 Security Prison (Tuol Sleng Museum Phnom Penh)
• A reflective visit to The Killing Fields
• Taking a train from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville
• The majesty of Otres Beach sunsets
• Our Workaway Gig at Otres Beach Market Cambodia
• Working Away to make Cambodian Bagels
• Cambodia Pastry Wars: The Battle of the Quiche
• Our Cambodia workaway gig renovating a market stall
• Unwind on Cambodia’s Koh Ta Kiev Island
• Cambodian Beach Massage and Grilled Seafood
• Building Community during our Cambodian Workaway
• Gecko Village in Kampot Cambodia – a Photo Essay
• Christmas Eve in Kampot
• more coming