In the southwest of the Tonle Sap Lake, Battambang is located on the Sangker riverbank. Most of the buildings in this Battambang have both French colonial-style and Cambodia’s traditional architecture. Unlike other tourist towns, the local economy is mainly based on planting rice and crops, logging and mining sapphire. The surroundings of the countryside are ancient temples, the ruins of the Angkor period, caves, waterfalls, and even the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge regime. Battambang is the main hub of the Northwest connecting the entire region with Phnom Penh and Thailand, and as such it’s a vital link for Cambodia.