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Battambang

Cambodia

Around the countryside...

With our escorts...

To a lake...

And the operators...

Of the Bamboo Train...

A bamboo train!? The French colonialists built a highly respected train network throughout Cambodia. Unfortunately, like the current British Rail network, it has been left to decay and one train per day runs down this line.

Some highly enterprising villagers decided to introduce their own rolling stock (lessons here for the restructuring of Railtrack?). Armed with some bamboo strips, a metal bed frame, a "lawnmower" engine and wheels and axle (how did they fashion those?)...Oh, and a stick to run along the gound for a brake. They now run services up and down the line from village to village stopping wherever requested.

Have you spied a potential problem? There's only one track. Common law Asian rules apply - the bigger one stays on the track, the smaller one gets disassembled and lifted off the track to make way.

And when the real train comes? Everyone better get out the way!