Battambang to Pursat
Day 3: Battambang to Pursat 106km/65 miles
We started at 6, in the dark. Breakfast was rice noodles at a country market. Mangoes for a dollar a kilo (2.2 lbs). I bought a baguette with jam for 25¢.
The landscape became more jungle-like and the people more outgoing. Children shouted hello from the side of the road or from houses behind the bushes 50 yards back, and people smiled more often.
A Westerner passed me. He was drafting behind a tractor pulling sacks of rice. The guys on top of the bags were relaying to the driver to keep a decent pace so the cyclist could trail them. I accelerated and caught up with him, cruising at speed and very little effort. He was casually sipping a Coca Cola. We chatted for a minute; he was from France and on his way to Phnom Penh. I realized I was leaving Masuda-sensei far behind, so I let them continue on.
![Crossing into Pursat Province. ពោធិ៍សាត់ [poːsat] Pursat means \"floating banyan.\" According to Wikipedia, the root word ពោធិ៍- Poŭthĭ [poː], a Khmer word derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word for the bodhi (बोधि) tree (which is where the Buddha became enlightened), and -សាត់ săt [sat] which comes from the Khmer word រសាត់ rôsăt [rɔːsat] meaning \"to float.\"](./IMG_5551.jpeg)
We checked into the KM Hotel in downtown Pursat. Rooms with a pool and river view for just $18. I asked someone why it was so cheap. She said she didn’t know the English word, but it was probably because of “washing black money.” Nevertheless, I was glad we were staying here two nights. Some Cambodian Americans were down by the pool blasting Little Richard and Chuck Berry. Later, I saw an American exercise equipment infomercial dubbed in Khmer on TV.
Ryan L. Barnes
Designated Associate Professor, Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences
My research interests include linguistic landscape and computer assisted language learning.