11 DAYS PHNOM PENH – BATTAMBANG – SIEM REAP – KOMPONG THOM – PHNOM PENH

Itinerary

ITINERARY IN DETAILS:

DAY 1: ARRIVAL PHNOM PENH
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 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 as well the Wat Phnom Temple, Phnom Penh’s namesake before doing a relaxing Sunset cruise on the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers.Overnight in Phnompenh.
 

DAY 2: PHNOM PENH - BATTAMBANG(B,L,D)        
Breakfast at hotel.
Depart Phnom Penh for Battambang. Stop in Kampong Chhnang to see the pottery village. Visit the floating village of Kampong Loung by boat.
Lunch at local restaurant.
After lunch, visit the stone carvers of 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 surrounding plains until sunset. Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at TE.O Hotel (2-star, best available).
 

DAY 4: BATTAMBANG / SIEM REAP(B,L)
Breakfast at hotel.
Option I (Mid July – Mid Feb)
Travel by private boat to Siem Reap along the Sangker River: 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.

Note: During the dry season from Mid Feb-July, the low level of the Sangkar River does not allow navigation between Battambang and Siem Reap.

Option II (Feb-Jul)
Depart from Battambang to Siem Reap via Sisophon by overland. Lunch at local restaurant in Sisophon. Continue to Siem Reap. Arrive in Siem Reap town and transfer to hotel. Overnight in Siem Reap.

DAY 5: SIEM REAP(B)
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. Overnight in Siem Reap.

DAY 6: SIEM REAP(B)
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. Overnight in Siem Reap.

DAY 7: SIEM REAP(B)
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. Overnight in Siem Reap.

DAY 8: SIEM REAP(B)
Breakfast at hotel.
Silk Farm of Puok.  Learn 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. Overnight in Siem Reap.
 

DAY 9: SIEM REAP -KOMPONG THOM(B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
Depart Siem Reap for Kampong Thom. En route, visit traditional villages and stop at the ancient Naga Bridge (Spean Pratpo), located 40 Km from Siem Reap. Arrive at Kampong Thom and check-in at hotel.
Lunch at local restaurant.
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. Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at Stung Sen Hotel (best available).
 

DAY 10: KAMPONG THOM-PHNOM PENH(B,)
Breakfast at hotel.
Depart Kompong Thom for Phnom Penh, en route visit Wat Kohear Nokor (11th century). Arrive in Phnom Penh and check in at hotel.
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 90kilograms and a small 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha. Then continue to the notorious Tuol Sleng Museum (S 21 prison). This former school was used as a prison by Pol Pot’s security forces and became the largest center for detention and torture during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. Time at leisure at the Russian Market (Psah Tuol Tom Poung). Overnight in Phnompenh.
 

DAY 11: PHNOM PENH – DEPARTURE(B)
Breakfast at hotel.
Time at leisure until transfer to Phnom Penh International Airport for departure flight to the next destination.