ITINERARY:
Day 1: Arrival Phnom Penh (L-D)
Arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport and transfer to the hotel
(rooms may not be ready until the afternoon).
Phnom Penh city tour: Visit the Victory Monument, 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 -
throughout the ages. Visit the Royal Palace, built by King Norodom in
1866 on the site of the old town, and the Silver Pagoda. Located within
the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda is so named because of its floor,
which is made up of 5000 silver tiles. The treasures found inside
include a solid gold Buddha encrusted and weighing 90kilos and a small
17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha. End your afternoon
with the visit of the Wat Phnom Temple, Phnom Penh’s namesake. Dinner at
local restaurant and accommodation at hotel.
Day 2: Phnom Penh -
Battambang (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
Depart Phnom Penh for Battambang by overland transfer. Stop in
Kompong Chhnang to see the pottery village. Visit the floating
village with private boat at Krar Kor.
Lunch at local restaurant.
After lunch, visit the stone carving in Pursat. Arrive in
Battambang, and check-in at the hotel
Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at TE.O Hotel (2-star,
best available).
Day 3: Battambang (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
Drive along the picturesque Sangker River to Wat Slaket Pagoda, the
residence of the provincial Buddhist patriarch. Continue to visit
Wat Ek Phnom. Visit a market where Prahoc, the Cambodian fish paste,
is made.
Lunch at local restaurant.
Visit the Provincial Museum (closed on Saturdays / Sundays) and the
local market. Drive to Phnom Banon, with its five sandstone towers
on top of a hill and enjoy a magnificent view of the TE.O Hotel
(2-star, best available).
Day 4: Battambang -
Siem Reap(B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
Option I (This option is available between mid July to mid February
only, when water levels are sufficiently high to navigate the
Sangker River and Tonle Sap!)
Travel by private boat to Siem Reap along the Sangker River and
enjoy unspoiled landscapes and traditional daily-life scenes. Stop
at Cheur Khmao Pagoda, “Black Wood Pagoda”, in Bak Prier floating
village and cross the floating village of Prek Tuol.
Picnic lunch on board.
Continue by boat across the Tonle Sap Lake to Chhong Kneas floating
village. On arrival transfer to Siem Reap and check-in at hotel.
Option II (Feb-Jul)
Depart from Battambang to Siem Reap via Sisophon by overland
transfer.
Lunch at local restaurant in Sisophon.
Continue to Siem Reap. Arrive in Siem Reap and transfer to hotel.
Dinner at accommodation at hotel.
Day 5: Siem
Reap(B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
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. See the unique interior
brick sculptures Prasat Kravan, the Srah Srang reservoir (known as
“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 6: 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. Enjoy the sunset on Angkor Wat.
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 7: Siem
Reap(B,L,D)
Morning, transfer to Banteay Srei temple (10th c), regarded as the
jewel in the crown of Classical Khmer Art. Continue to Ta Prohm, one
of the area’s most beautiful temples. Ta Prohm has been relatively
untouched since it was discovered and retains much of its mystery.
In the afternoon, you continue your temple visits to Preah Khan.
Built by the King Jayavarman VII, Preah Khan is, like Ta Prohm, a
place of towered enclosures and shoulder hugging corridors. Unlike
Ta Prohm, however, the temple of Prea Khan is in a reasonable state
of preservation and ongoing restoration efforts should maintain and
even improve this situation. Neak Pean, a fountain built in the
middle of a pool (representing the paradisiacal Himalayan
mountain-lake), Ta Som and Banteay Samre, built in the third quarter
of the 12th century. It consists of a central temple with four wings
preceded by a hall and accompanied by two libraries, the southern
example remarkably well preserved. Two concentric walls enclose the
ensemble. Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at hotel.
Day 8: Siem Reap –
Departure(B)
Breakfast at hotel.
Silk Farm of Puok: Learn about the different stages of the complex
process of producing handmade silk. Then continue to Wat Inkosei
built on the site of an ancient temple, which still remains. and to
Wat Bo pagoda to view its well-preserved paintings. You will also
observe monks making the various moldings, which adorn the pagodas.
Visit to “Les Artisans d’Angkor - Chantiers Ecoles” of Siem Reap and
time at leisure at a local market (if time permits). Transfer to
Siem Reap airport for departure flight to the next destination.
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