ITINERARY
Day 1: Phnom Penh - Arrival (D)
Transfer from Phnom Penh International Airport to the hotel.
Phnom Penh city tour: Visit the Victory Monument, Visit the Royal
Palace, built by King Norodom in 1866 on the site of the old town, and
the Silver Pagoda. Located within the grounds of the Royal Palace, the
Silver Pagoda is so named because of its floor, which is made up of 5000
silver tiles. The treasures include a solid gold Buddha encrusted and
weighing 90kilos and a small 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal
Buddha (please note that the Palace is sometimes closed when the King
is in residence). Dinner
at Khmer Surin restaurant. Accommodation at hotel.
Day 2: Phnom
Penh(B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
In the morning we use cyclos to visit the Wat Phnom Temple, Phnom
Penh’s namesake, the Central Market and the National Museum also
called Musee des Beaux-Arts. A French archaeologist and painter,
Georges Groslier, designed it in Khmer style in 1917. The museum
contains a collection of Khmer art - notably sculptures. .
Visit the Notorious Tuol Sleng Museum by vehicle. In 1975 Tuol Svay
Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces and
turned into a prison known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). It soon
became the largest such center of detention and torture in the
country. More than 17.000 people held at S-21 were taken to the
extermination camp at Choeung Ek to be executed; detainees who died
during torture were buried in mass graves in the prison ground. The
museum displays include room after room of these photographs of men,
women and children covering the walls from floor to ceiling;
virtually all the people pictured were later killed. Visit the
Russian Market (Psah Tuol Thom Pong), a lively outdoor market where
you will find antiquities, silver and gold jewelry, gems, silk,
kramas, stone and wood carvings, as well as T-Shirts, CDs and other
souvenirs. Mekong sunset cruise one hour (joint tour). Dinner at
local restaurant. Accommodation at hotel.
Day 3: Phnom Penh -
Kratie(B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
Drive to Kratie via Kompong Cham & Snuol.
Lunch at local restaurant in Snuol.
Arrive in Kratie and check in at hotel. In the afternoon, city tour
of this small provincial town with its good examples of sumptuous
colonial architecture. This tiny town on the Mekong is an unexpected
delight, with a relaxing, indolent atmosphere. Further north stop at
the best riverside vantage point from which to view the rare
freshwater Irrawady dolphins which can be best seen late afternoon.
Then, drive back to Kratie. Dinner at local restaurant and
accommodation at Oudom Sambath Hotel (2-star, best available).
Day 4: Kratie -
Kompong Cham - Kompong Thom(B,L,D)
Breakfast at local
restaurant.
Visit Kratie pagoda and market. Continue to Chhlong, a small and
peaceful village on the Mekong River bank with both, typical Khmer
and Colonial architecture. One unique and beautiful wooden house is
called 100 columns house for its many columns supporting the house,
dating from 19th century. Before arriving in Kompong Cham, visit
Chhup, the biggest rubber plantation in the country, established
during the French colonial time by the French tire Maker Michelin.
Lunch at local restaurant in Kompong Cham.
Visit Wat Nokor Pagoda with its ancient temple and modern style
pagoda (12th century) and then drive to Kompong Thom. Arrive in
Kompong Thom and check-in at hotel. Dinner at local restaurant and
accommodation at Stung Sen Hotel (2-star, best available).
Day 5: Kompong Thom -
Siem Reap(B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
Depart Kompong Thom for Sambor Prei Kuk, located 35km northeast of
Kompong Thom. Visit the ancient capital of Chenla with its 100
temples dating from the Pre-Angkorian period. Return to Kompong
Thom.
Lunch at local restaurant.
Continue to Siem Reap. On your way to Siem Reap you will stop at the
Naga Bridge (Spean Pratpo), located 40 Km from Siem Reap. Arrive in
Siem Reap and transfer to the hotel. First visits of Angkor
complex if time permits and only after 17:00 hrs. Dinner and
accommodation at hotel.
Day 6: Siem
Reap(B,L,D)
Visit the Roluos Group. The monuments of Roluos, which served as the
capital of Indravarman I (reigned 877-89), are among the earliest
large, permanent temples built by the Khmers and mark the beginning
of Khmer classical art. Preah Ko erected by Indravarman I in the
late 9th century dedicated by the King to his ancestors in 880.
Bakong the largest and most interesting of the Roluos group temples,
with his active Buddhist monastery just to the north of the east
entrance. Lolei built on an islet in the center of a large reservoir
(now rice fields) by Yasovarman I, the founder to the first city at
Angkor.
In the afternoon, continue your temple tour to the unique interior
brick sculptures of Prasat Kravan, Srah Srang (“The Royal Baths” was
once used for ritual bathing), Banteay Kdei (surrounded by 4
concentric walls), Eastern Mebon, (guarded at its corner by stone
figures of harnessed elephants, some of which are still in a
reasonable state of preservation) and the mountain-temple of Pre Rup
until sunset. Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at hotel.
Day 7: Siem
Reap(B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
In the morning, visit the most famous of all the temples on the
plain of Angkor: Angkor Wat. The temple complex covers 81 hectares
and is comparable in size to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Its
distinctive five towers are emblazoned on the Cambodian flag and the
12th century masterpiece is considered by art historians to be the
prime example of classical Khmer art and architecture. Angkor Wat’s
five towers symbolize Meru’s five peaks - the enclosed wall
represents the mountains at the edge of the world and the
surrounding moat, the ocean beyond.
Visit the South Gate (with its huge statues depicting the churning
of the ocean of milk), the ancient capital of Angkor Thom (12th
century), Bayon Temple (unique for its 54 towers decorated with over
200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara), the Royal Enclosure,
Phimeanakas, the Elephants Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper
King. Sunset at Angkor Wat. Dinner at local restaurant and
accommodation at hotel.
Day 8: Siem Reap
(B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
Morning, drive to the remote Beng Mealea temple through the typical
Khmer countryside (60Kms from Siem Reap) There is a lot to see in
the approximately 2½ hours drive as it takes you through many lively
villages and along kilometers of rice paddies. Explore the long
abandoned temple (11th C), strangled by the jungle. Lunch box will
be provided at the site.
Proceed to the Banteay Srei temple (10th century) regarded as the
jewel in the crown of classical Khmer art. Then visit Banteay Samre,
one of the most complete complexes at Angkor due to restoration
using the method of “anastylosis”. The name Samre refers to an
ethnic group of mountain people, who inhabited the region at the
base of Phnom Kulen and were probably related to the Khmers. No
inscriptions have been found for this temple, but the style of most
of the architecture is of the classic art of the middle period
similar to Angkor Wat. The proportions of Banteay Samre are
splendid. A unique feature is an interior moat with laterite
paving, which when filled with water must have given an ethereal
atmosphere to the temple. Drive back to Siem Reap. Dinner at local
restaurant and accommodation at hotel.
Day 9: Siem Reap
(B,L,D)
Visit the floating village of Chong Khneas, located 10 kilometers
south of Siem Reap. Take a boat trip in a traditional wooden
boat on the Tonle Sap Lake, the “Great Lake” of Cambodia, one of the
largest in Asia.
Note: From Feb-July, the visit to the Tonle Sap lake is not
recommended because of the low water level. The below visits will be
provided instead:
Visit the Silk Farm of Puok. Learn the different stages of the
complex process of producing handmade silk
Visit Wat Inkosei built on the site of an ancient temple, which
still remains. Continue to Wat Bo pagoda to view its well-preserved
paintings. You will also observe monks making the various moldings,
which adorn the pagodas.
Afternoon, visit Preah Khan. Built by King Jayavarman VII, Preah
Khan is, like Ta Prohm, a place of towered enclosures and
shoulder-hugging corridors. Unlike Ta Prohm, though, it’s well
preserved and ongoing restoration efforts should improve this
situation. Visit as well Neak Pean a fountain built in the
middle of a pool and the temple of Ta Som. Dinner at local
restaurant and accommodation at hotel.
Day 10: Siem Reap
(B)
Breakfast at hotel.
In the morning, continue the temple tour to Takeo, Thommanon, Chau
Say Tevoda and Ta Prohm, one of the area’s most beautiful temples.
Ta Prohm has been left relatively untouched since it was discovered
and retains much of its mystery. Its appeal lies in the fact that,
unlike the other monuments of Angkor, it was abandoned and swallowed
by the jungle, looking very much the ways most of the Angkor temples
appeared when European explorers first stumbled upon them. Trannsfer
to the airport for the departure flight.
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