Bamboo Train (Nori)
A Hand-Built Bamboo Platform Speeding Through Rice Fields
Bamboo Train (Nori) — Quick Facts
- What is it?
- experience — A Hand-Built Bamboo Platform Speeding Through Rice Fields
- Where?
- Battambang , Cambodia
- Entry Fee
- Around $5 USD per person
- Opening Hours
- Daily, daylight hours — typically morning or late afternoon for the most comfortable temperatures
- Time Needed
- 45 minutes – 1 hour (around 15 minutes each way, plus a stop)
- Best Time
- Late afternoon, for cooler temperatures and better light over the rice fields
- Don't Miss
- Watching two oncoming norries meet and the lighter one get lifted off the tracks by hand
What to See on the Bamboo Train
The Ride
A bamboo platform on two axle sets, powered by a small petrol engine, rattles along narrow-gauge tracks through open rice paddies and rural villages at a surprising clip. The ride runs about 15 minutes out, with a short stop at a small roadside shop, then 15 minutes back.
Meeting an Oncoming Train
The single-track line means oncoming norries have to be resolved somehow — by long-standing local convention, the platform carrying fewer passengers is lifted off the rails by hand in under a minute to let the other through, then set back down. It’s the ride’s signature moment.
The Countryside
Beyond the novelty of the train itself, the route is a genuine slice of rural Battambang — stilted houses, grazing cattle, and rice fields that change colour with the season.
How to Get to the Bamboo Train
The bamboo train departs from O Dambong, a few kilometres east of central Battambang.
- Tuk-tuk: Easily arranged through any Battambang guesthouse, usually combined with other sights like Phnom Sampeau
- Bicycle: A flat, manageable ride from town for confident cyclists
Practical Tips
- Bring a hat and sunscreen — there’s no shade on the platform
- The midway stop sells drinks, snacks and a few souvenirs; there’s no obligation to buy
- Often combined in a half-day tour with Phnom Sampeau and the Killing Cave
- Cash only, paid on arrival
Nearby Attractions
- Phnom Sampeau — the hilltop temple and bat cave, commonly paired on the same half-day trip
- Battambang Street Art Quarter — back in town, for the afternoon or evening
Nearby Attractions in Battambang
temple Phnom Sampeau
A Hilltop Temple, Killing Caves, and a Sunset Bat Exodus
temple Wat Banan
A Quiet, Climbable "Mini Angkor Wat"
market Psar Nat (Central Market)
Battambang's 1936 Art Deco Market
village Daun Teav Rice Paper Village
Hand-Made Rice Paper on the Banks of the Sangkae
Practical Info
- Entry Fee
- Around $5 USD per person
- Opening Hours
- Daily, daylight hours — typically morning or late afternoon for the most comfortable temperatures
- Time Needed
- 45 minutes – 1 hour (around 15 minutes each way, plus a stop)
- Best Time
- Late afternoon, for cooler temperatures and better light over the rice fields