6 December 2016. Running the tourists at Poipet

So, fully prepared for the ensuing bit of character building, I set off fromthe IndoChina Hotel at 09.00. They provide a courtesy bus to the border which was extremely helpful. There was a big queue of traffic going up to the crossing, with lots of goods being wheeled across. I wish I'd taken some pictures but I was a bit focussed on my mission.
Thair emogration was a breeze and then one finds oneself in no man''s land but with a cleearly labelled route. To the right is the building for getting a visa on arrival. This involved paying $30 plus a 100 baht sweeteneer, which gets dropped into a big blue tin immediately behind the screen. I think some people make a point and refus to pay this 'bribe' but I decided that I wasn't going to solve the problems of corruption single handed and wanted to avoid a potentially long delay. As it was, I had my visa in three minutes.

Then on to the Cambodia immigration, about 200 metres further on, past the casino. Another form to fill out and short queue to wait in line and I was through. The whole process took perhaps half an hour.
Then the fun begins of obtaining anormal - as opposed to tourist rip-off -transport to one's destination. I had a bus company in mind and just marched off down the street brushing off all the "where you going?" enquiries. The problem was the bus company's offices where a good deal further down the road than I had imagined and, although I had a street number, none of the buildings did so. Having walked about 1 km, I came across the TSS booth. It looked legitimate, as indeed it was. There bus to Battambang left at 11.30 and cost $5.

In fact it left at 12.00 but went at a reasonable speed down the good road that took us all the way to a  bus depot on the outer edge of Battambang. There I did a deal with a tuk tuk who took me to the hotel, immediately picking up a local lady to augment his fare.He was a nice guy who, like all the drivers, seemed desperate to sign me up for a full day of touring to follow.
The hotel itself is really nice. A bit run-down, but proportionate to its price and in a nice laid-back way.

Indeed, the town of Battambang seems a really pleasant laid back and potentially arty and bohemian place with quite few trendy establishments appealing to the Western visitor. It certainly doesn't seem to me somewhere to rush through if one is not in a rush.

In the evening I went to the About the World Cafe. I struck up conversation with a German/French couple who spent a lot of time in Battambang. They said  the cafe had been opened by a Spaniard at the end of a round the world trip but that he had given up the business literally two days ago. The new owner was rushing about but it all seemed a bit disorganised and I'm glad I had some companions to talk to while waiting for the food. The German seemed very well-informed and genuinely sad at our Brexit result and I cheered him up slightly perhaps by telling him of Sarah Olney's victory.
By now, it was 09.30 and the centre of Battambang was already largely in good night mode. I made my way back to the hotel and had a pleasant beer looking out onto the swimming pool.