DAY 01: PHNOM PENH – ARRIVAL (D)
Pick up from Phnom Penh airport upon arrival by our private vehicle and English-speaking guide. Check in at hotel and at your leisure.
Evening Phnom Penh’s Culinary Underground: Local Food Tour by Remok (Khmer Tuk Tuk)
Our Phnom Penh Evening Food and Beer Tour takes you to the heart of Cambodian cuisine, visiting the kind of mom-and-pop restaurants that the major guidebooks don’t know about. In order to cover the ground between these spread out destinations, we’ll travel by tuktuk, zooming past some of Phnom Penh’s best-known landmarks in a tuktuk, covering a total distance of around 10km. The tour kicks off at a streetside noodle joint where we’ll add local veggies and herbs on top of the nation's most popular dish. Our next couple stops are at tiny family-run restaurants where you can see them preparing their specialties. Travel through Cambodia's past and learn how the country's war-torn past has influenced modern cuisine. Pull up a plastic stool and watch life pass by while eating shoulder to shoulder with other locals. The tour ends at a lively rooftop bar where you can grab a pint of local craft beer or a cocktail made with local rum. Pass By: Russian Market Our tour will finish at a rooftop bar overlooking the Russian Market.
Overnight in Phnom Penh
DAY 02: PHNOM PENH – EXPLORE (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. In the morning, head out to the Choeung Ek Memorial, where a stupa made up of some 8,000 human skulls marks the site of the infamous Killing Fields. This was the execution ground for the torture victims of Tuol Sleng and standing in this peaceful setting it's almost unthinkable to imagine that to date nearly 9000 corpses have been exhumed from the area. Confront Cambodia's tragic past on a guided tour of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former school which served as a Khmer Rouge torture center. It's estimated that more than 20,000 people were held and tortured here.
Lunch at the local restaurant.
In the afternoon, visit the National Museum. Housed in a beautiful traditional building, it contains many outstanding examples of Khmer craftsmanship. Learn about a brighter period in Cambodian history with a visit to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. Explore Wat Phnom, a peaceful temple situated on a hill for which the city is named. According to legend, a 14th-century woman named Penh found sacred Buddhist objects in the nearby river and placed them here on the small hill.
Overnight in Phnom Penh
DAY 03: PHNOM PENH – BATTAMBANG (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. This morning we leave early by private bus for our trip to Battambang.
Journey to the busy riverside town of Kompong Chhnang where you stop to see the silversmith village and the pottery village. Continue drive to the small town of Krakor and turn off the main road to visit the incredible floating town of Kompong Luong. The largest floating community on the Tonle Sap Lake, there are almost 10,000 inhabitants living here.
Everything floats on water, including the schools, the clinic, the shops and the petrol station. You will explore by boat and experience life in a real floating community untouched by mass tourism.
Lunch at local restaurant. After lunch, drive to Pursat and visit the stone carving in Pursat.
Later continue to Battambang, the second largest city in Cambodia. It is located on a rich and fertile plain, which provides much of the rice and other important crops for the country. Check into your lovely hotel and leave the rest of the afternoon free to soak up the atmosphere of this quixotic riverside town or walk through the town to discover its beautiful colonial architecture.
Overnight in Battambang
DAY 04: BATTAMBANG (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. Full day tour of Battambang: After breakfast drive along the picturesque Sangker River to Wat Slaket pagoda, the residence of the provincial Buddhist patriarch. Visit a Khmer Ancient House and make a stop to see the production of rice paper used for making spring rolls. Continue to visit Wat Ek Phnom. Visit the Provincial Museum and the local market.
Lunch at the local restaurant.
Next, transfer to a local village for a ride on the Bamboo Train. The train comprises of a simple bamboo platform on 4 wheels with a small motor, and was created by local villagers to facilitate the transportation of goods. Travel 8km on the train to the next village through beautiful landscape and rice paddies. On arrival at the village visit a workshop specializing in wooden sculpture.
Afterwards we travel to Stung Treng situated on the banks of the San River (which flows into the Mekong River a few kilometers out of town).
Afternoon, visit Phare Ponleu Selpak, this centre supports around 30 orphans and trafficking victims and is schooling more than 1,200 pupils, over 400 of who study visual arts, music, Circus, drama and dance for leisure or vocational training.
Then continue to visit Phnom Sampeau is the name given to a small mountain 8km outside of Battambang. Its elongated form means it runs parallel to the road which leads you there, it's dramatic limestone cliffs protruding from its otherwise forest cover. A charming village road leads you to the base of the mountain past a grand pagoda, a cave gaping from the rock face, and a carved Buddha's head built into the same rock face. Once on the winding road to the top, halfway up is a cave which was used by the Khmer Rouge to deposit bodies of its victims. Bones of these victims remain today, and the sight is a harsh reminder of Cambodia's recent history. Continue further to the top where there is a selection of modern pagodas and stunning views across some of Cambodia's most sublime landscapes.
Enjoy a magnificent view of the surrounding plains until sunset.
Overnight in Battambang.
DAY 05: BATTAMBANG – BANTEAY CHHMAR – SIEM REAP (B, L)
Breakfast at your hotel then check-out. Road journey to Banteay Chhmar: This morning, venture beyond Angkor, for deep in the countryside at the exquisite 12th-century Temple complex of Banteay Chhmar. Reminiscent of the undiscovered ruins of Angkor, Banteay Chhmar languishes peacefully in the forest, inviting intimate wanderings, free from other tourists. Upon arrival, visit the community of local villagers before starting to explore the temple ruins on foot.
A picnic lunch will be served at the west gallery close to one of the site’s most mesmerizing bas reliefs—an exquisite example of Khmer craftsmanship. Famous for its signature faces of Jayavarman VII, the temple of Banteay Chhmar is an atmospheric place to explore.
Transfer to Siem Reap City to check into your hotel and enjoy the evening at your leisure.
Overnight in Siem Reap
DAY 06: SIEM REAP - ANGKOR WAT – ANGKOR THOM (B, L)
Rising before dawn, proceed for your exploration of the Mother of all temples, Angkor Wat. Believed to be the world's largest religious building, this temple is the perfect fusion of symbolism and symmetry and a source of pride and strength to all Khmers. Built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II, this is most famous temple at Angkor. Arrive at the monument as the sun rises and then proceed into the great structure to discover its intricacies, as described by your guide. You are driven back to the hotel afterward for breakfast and some time to freshen up.
Next, pay a visit to the immense walled city Angkor Thom that was the masterpiece of King Jayavarman VII. Following the occupation of Angkor by the Chams from 1177 to 1181, the new king decided to build an impregnable fortress at the heart of his empire. The scale is simply staggering and you will be awed by the achievement of King Jayavarman as you enter the city’s gates. The causeway is lined by an intricate bridge depicting the Churning of the Ocean of Milk from Hindu mythology in which the Devas (gods) and Asuras (devils) are engaged in tug of war with a naga (seven-headed serpent) to obtain the elixir of immortality. Begin your visit at the Terrace of the Leper King. This intricately carved platform was the royal crematorium and the statue that was originally thought to be the leper king is now believed to be Yama, the god of death
We continue along the Terrace of Elephants, originally used as a viewing gallery for the king to preside over parades, performances and traditional sports. At the southern end lies the Baphuon, once of the most beautiful temples at Angkor, dating from the reign of Uditayavarman 1 in the 11th century. It has undergone a massive renovation by the French and is now once again open for viewing.
Then proceed to the enigmatic and enchanting temple of the Bayon. At the exact center of Angkor Thom, this is an eccentric expression of the creative genius and inflated ego of Cambodia’s most celebrated king. Its 54 towers are each topped off with the four faces of Avalokiteshvara (Buddha of Compassion), all of which bear more than a passing resemblance to the king himself.
There is a break for lunch at local restaurant.
Next up is the mystical Ta Prohm, which has been abandoned to the elements, a reminder that while empires rise and fall, the riotous power of nature marches on, oblivious to the dramas of human history. Left as it was ‘discovered’ by French explorer Henri Mouhout in 1860, the tentacle-like tree roots here are slowly strangling the surviving stones, man first conquering nature to create, nature later conquering man to destroy. This was one of the settings for Lara Croft’s adventures in “Tomb Raider”.
Complete your exploration of the Angkor ruins with a visit to another temple that makes you feel like you have traveled back in time - Preah Khan. This large temple is left unrestored for the most part and is a fascinating maze of narrow passageways and windows that each offer their own unique view into the past. You are driven back to the hotel in the late afternoon.
Overnight in Siem Reap
DAY 07: SIEM REAP – BANTEAY SREY – TONLE SAP (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. Visit to Banteay Srey, known as Citadel of Women or a Pink Temple, and Banteay Samre Temples.
Lunch at local restaurant.
Afternoon enjoy a boat ride on the Tonle Sap Lake at KAMPONG PHLUK VILLAGE. This is the largest permanent fresh-water lake in South East Asia and flows into Tonle Sap River, joining the Mekong in Phnom Penh. We will see a fishermen's "floating village" with floating schools, floating police station, etc. It is same as a big village floating on the lake, and the "village" move from place-to-place following water levels and current.
Experience the magic of Tonle Sap Lake at twilight board the Taras floating restaurant for a drink or a cocktail as you watch the sunset over the lake. Transfer back to your hotel.
Overnight in Siem Reap
DAY 8: SIEM REAP – DEPARTURE (B)
Breakfast at hotel. Time at your own leisure until check out time by noon.
Transfer to Siem Reap airport for flight to next destination
GLOBE Stays in Cambodia
SIEM REAP
Phum Baitang Zannier Hotels
Nestled in 20 acres (8 hectares) of lush gardens and rice paddy fields, our hotel and “green village” sit on the threshold of UNESCO World Heritage Site Angkor Wat. Inspired by Khmer architecture, our 45 private terrace and pool villas are styled like traditional stilted farmhouses, while our Spa Temple G treatment menus embrace centuries-old local wellness practices.
PHNOM PENH
Rosewood Phnom Penh
In the heart of the Cambodian capital. Soaring 188 meters above the heart of Phnom Penh, the hotel occupies the top 14 floors of Vattanac Capital Tower, the city's most iconic modern structure and a symbol of the new Cambodia, with unobstructed views of the fabled Mekong River.
SONG SAA ISLAND
Song Saa Private Island
ETHICAL LUXURY RESORT IN CAMBODIA Welcome to a carefree paradise, an intimate escape, crafted with love, inspired by our surroundings. Song Saa Private Island offers luxury, serenity, and a deep connection with the environment.
Powered by
MakeWebEasy.com