Experience the best of Battambang

Battambang lies on the Sangkae River in the middle of Cambodia's main rice-growing plain, and its French colonial shophouses, many of them faded and weathered, still line the streets near the water. The covered market anchors the old town, and a short walk leads to art galleries and cafés. Phare Ponleu Selpak, an arts school, stages circus shows that tell Cambodian stories.

Out of town, Wat Banan, an eleventh-century temple with five towers, crowns a hill reached by a long stairway, and Wat Ek Phnom is a ruined Angkorian shrine north of town. At Phnom Sampov, a hill with caves, bats stream out at dusk in a long dark ribbon over the fields. The Tonle Sap lake lies to the east.

Battambang's oranges and rice are well known in Cambodia, and fried noodles, grilled river fish, fermented fish paste and sticky rice cooked in bamboo are everyday food. Most rain falls between May and October and turns the fields bright green, while the months from November to April are drier.