DAY 1 : PHNOM PENH ARRIVAL (-/-/D)
On arrival check into your hotel. Your guide will brief an orientation of the city along the way. Once checked in we leave you at your leisure.
In the afternoon, explore the stunning Royal Palace complex, home to the Cambodian royal family and a symbol of the nation. Continue to the Silver Pagoda, named after the 5000 silver tiles covering the floor, each weighing 1kg. Inside are some of the country's most cherished treasures, including a life-size gold Buddha studded with 9584 diamonds, the largest weighing 25 carats. There is also a delicate emerald Buddha made of baccarat crystal, which gives the temple its Khmer name of Wat Preah Keo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). Continue to the nearby National Museum, home to the world's finest collection of sculpture from the Angkor period. Dinner at Romdeng restaurant. Overnight in Phnom Penh
NOTE : kindly note that should you arrive early, an early check-in is not included and subject to hotel’s availability.
DAY 2 : PHNOM PENH COOKING CLASS (B/L/D)
This morning enjoy a cooking class at one of the very best restaurants in the city, at Malis. Luu Meng is Cambodia’s most renowned chef and he will guide you through a morning to remember that includes shopping for ingredients at the local market and then preparing and cooking some choice courses which you can then enjoy for lunch. The afternoon is free at your own leisure. A sumptuous evening dinner is taken at Van’s restaurant.
DAY 3 : PHNOM PENH / SIEM REAP (B/L/D)
Today you come face to face with the horrific crimes of the Khmer Rouge. Tuol Sleng was a former high school that the Khmer Rouge turned into a centre for interrogation, torture and death. Today it is a museum and serves to remind visitors of the terrible atrocities that came to pass in Cambodia. Tuol Sleng is a profoundly moving experience and not everyone will want to visit. However, it is key to understanding the hell into which Cambodia descended and how far it has come in the years since.
Then travel out of town to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. An old Chinese cemetery, Choeung Ek was turned into an extermination camp for political prisoners. Despite the horrors of the past, it is a peaceful place to go and a tranquil spot to reflect on the tragic events that engulfed Cambodia and its people. Enjoy lunch in the capital at PSE (a French NGO supporting children from the garbage dump) where their Lotus Blanc restaurant serves excellent international and Asian cuisine. You then take a tour of the PSE facilities where both schooling and work/life skills are available to the children and youths as a way of escaping the poverty of their lives spent on the city’s main garbage dump.
Leave Phnom Penh and travel northeast pausing at Skuon, affectionately known as 'Spiderville', where it is possible to sample the local delicacy of deep fried tarantula! Then journey west to the provincial capital of Kompong Thom and onto Siem Reap and check into your hotel. Dinner at Meric restaurant.
DAY 4 : SIEM REAP (B/L/D)
In the morning head to Banteay Srei, Angkor’s ultimate art gallery. This petite pink temple is the jewel in the crown of Angkor-era sculpture. The elaborate carvings here are the finest found in Cambodia and the name translates as ‘Fortress of the Women’, thanks to the intricate detail here, considered too fine for the hands of a man. Later you visit the 12th century temple of Banteay Samre. Built by King Suryavarman II, the genius behind Angkor Wat, this temple has been extensively restored. Return to Siem Reap for a private cooking class at the Sugar Palm restaurant, the first choice of restaurants in town for many food officiandos. Home-cooked Cambodian food including an introduction to prahoc will be on the menu as you work with the head chef to produce dishes that will make your mouth water in anticipation.
DAY 5 : SIEM REAP (B/-/D)
Rise early to travel to Ta Prohm in the dawn light. Ta Prohm has been abandoned to the elements, left as it was ‘discovered’ by French explorer Henri Mouhot in 1860, the tentacle-like tree roots here are slowly strangling the surviving stones. Then return to the hotel to enjoy some free time.
In the afternoon, visit the immense walled city of Angkor Thom that was the masterpiece of King Jayavarman VII. The scale is simply staggering.Begin your visit at the Terrace of the Leper King, continue along the Terrace of Elephants, and visit the Baphuon, once of the most beautiful temples at Angkor, dating from the 11th century. The climax is the enchanting temple of the Bayon. Its 54 towers are each topped off with the four faces of Avalokiteshvara (Buddha of Compassion).
For dinner head to one of Siem Reap’s abundant Cambodian BBQ restaurants to enjoy a ‘do it yourself’ grill, choosing anything from chicken to crocodile, depending on your own palate.
DAY 6 : SIEM REAP / TONLE SAP / ROLUOS TEMPLE (B/L/-)
Today travel back in time to one of the earliest capitals in the Angkor area, Hariharilaya, now known as Roluos. You encounter Bakong, the earliest of the temple mountains, which later became the signature of Khmer kings. Then head for the market in the small country town of Roluos before heading out into the countryside to visit a working farm to find out more about farming techniques that bring the produce of the land to the dinner table.
Next stop is Kompong Pluk where you board small wooden boats for the trip to visit Kompong Pluk. Cruising down a narrow waterway, enter this medieval floating village, where the houses stand atop stilts as much as seven metres above the water. Everything lives on the water - pigs, dogs and people - all jockeying for space in this incredible floating town. Explore the local wat here, before boarding a bigger boat to take you through the flooded forest and across the Great Lake to Chong Kneas and the holy mountain of Phnom Krom. Climb Phnom Krom for a glorious sunset over the Tonle Sap before heading back to Siem Reap by road
DAY 7 : SIEM REAP DEPARTURE (B/-/-)
Rising at the crack of dawn, journey out to 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. You stay at Angkor Wat to enjoy a picnic breakfast. As the crowds return to their hotels, venture into Angkor Wat to enjoy its magnificence in peace and quiet, beginning at the bas-reliefs that tell of tales from Hindu mythology and of the glories of the Khmer empire.
Afternoon is free at leisure until transfer to the airport for your departure flight.