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If you have never visited Cambodia before and are limited on time, the highlights not to miss are the ancient, UNESCO World Heritage-listed temples of Angkor and the Mekong riverside capital of Phnom Penh, once regarded as the Venice of old French Indochina.
Siem Reap is the northern Cambodian town that is home to the world's single largest religious monument, Angkor Wat, together with a vast scattering of ancient temples dating back to the middle ages. Amongst them is the Bayon Temple, famous for its enigmatic faces carved out of stone that stunned the French colonial-era explorers who stumbled across them in the dense south East Asia jungle, and Ta Phrom, later used as the setting for Lara Croft's adventures in the film Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie.
However there is much more to see in around Siem Reap, including floating villages on the vast Tonle Sap Lake that also date back to mediaeval times, stunning rural scenery, living Cambodian villages and the unforgettable smiles of the welcoming Cambodian people.
Siem Reap town itself is a burgeoning tourist centre with charming, boutique hotels, an impressive array of fine restaurants, and a lively pub street that rocks into the night.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital city, a six hour drive or one hour flight south of Siem Reap, is a bustling metropolis of around 2m people that is enjoying a revival following years of civil war and the Khmer Rouge. Located on a confluence of rivers, the city still features some fine colonial-era architecture, a Royal Palace and many excellent restaurants and exuberant bars. A visit to the Toul Sleng "Death Museum" is a must in order to try to appreciate the resilience of a people who have been through hell and back, and the Toul Toum Pong Market is a treasure trove for souvenirs and finding gifts for friends and relatives back home.
6 Days Siem Reap & Phnom Penh
Below is just a suggestion, itinerary can be adjusted to your personal preferences.
Day 1: Siem Reap: Angkor Wat Sunrise, Cultures & Arts Experience [B, -, D]
Rise at the crack of dawn to begin your journey out to the Mother of all temples, Angkor Wat. It is 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 the most famous temple at Angkor. After enjoy a picnic breakfast as well as a good luck blessing from a senior monk. As the crowds return to their hotels, you can 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.
Then, continue your day by traveling to the rural district of Puok, home to the Artisans d'Angkor silk weaving project to visit a working silk farm where it is possible to learn about all aspects of the production process. Start by learning about the cultivation of mulberry trees and the diet of the silk worm, then see them form cocoons where they produce the silk. Later, witness the harvesting of the silk, the preparation of the thread and the dyeing process. At the end of the tour, you may want to make a quick stop to visit the silk boutique on site, where there is a selection of sumptuous creations on sale. Artisans d'Angkor was established to revitalise the Cambodian handicraft industry, drawing on the rich foundations of the Angkor empire. The project offers skills training and employment opportunities for young disadvantaged Cambodians and is part-owned by the artisans themselves. Continue to the Chantiers Ecole workshop of Artisans d'Angkor, a handicrafts cooperative helping to revive the artisan skills of the Angkor era, and learn about different techniques, including laquerware, stone carving and silk painting and visit the impressive showroom.
On the way back to Siem Reap, you can make a quick visit at the Cambodia Landmine Museum to learn more about the scourge of landmines and the shadow they cast over rural communities in Cambodia with a visit to this flagship museum promoting mine awareness and education. The Land Mine Museum displays a large collection of weapons of war, including guns, rifles, rocket launchers, mortars, bombs and landmines. The site includes a mocked up minefield and visitors can attempt to locate the deactivated mines. The museum is a rich resource of information about landmines and UXO with many educational displays detailing how certain mines are used and in what situations. There is also a DVD available telling the story of landmines and UXO in Cambodia and the disastrous impact they have had on the population. Not only a weapon of war, they are a weapon against peace. The Landmine Museum promotes land mine accident prevention awareness and public education; and provides educational facilities, programming and rehabilitation facilities for survivors of land mine injuries. It also provides education and support for dozens of at-risk, land mine-affected children who have suffered overwhelming hardships. The Cambodia Landmine Museum was created so that it might serve as a place of healing for bodies, hearts and minds.
In the evening, you might like to dine at La Noria Restaurant, which hosts an evening of Cambodian shadow puppetry. All the children performing here have been trained by the Krousar Thmey. Krousar Thmey is a Non-Government Organization which helps deprived and disabled Cambodian children. Enjoy your dinner while witnessing a puppet show, which blends traditional folklore with modern themes, and also seeing some popular Cambodian dances, including classical and folk, accompanied by traditional Khmer instruments.
Overnight in Siem Reap.
Day 2: Siem Reap: Small circuit biking day [B, L, -]
After breakfast at your hotel, you will be met by your guide and tuk-tuk to transfer you to the entrance of the Angkor Park. Once away from the hustle and bustle of the main city roads, you can start cycling to Angkor Thom, Bayon and Elephant Terrace & Terrace of the Leper King, picnic lunch at one of the stalls in the temples near Bayon or Ta Prohm.
Angkor Thom - This Royal city was first built under the reign of Udayadityavarman II in the 11th Century. It was destroyed when the Chams from Vietnam rose up against the Khmers and invaded, sacking the city, and was subsequently renovated by King Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th Century. Its vast walls, some 6m wide, 8m high and 13km in length contain many monuments.
Elephant Terrace & Terrace of the Leper King, at the North of the Baphuon lies the Royal city, of which very little remains. The first owes its name to the outstanding depiction of elephants, while the second gets its name from the magnificent sculpture of King Yasovarman, popularly known as the Leper King. The original of this statue is now in the National Museum in Phnom Penh.
Baphuon, once of the most beautiful temples at Angkor, dating from the reign of Uditayavarman I in the 11th century. It has undergone a massive renovation by the French and is now once again open for viewing.
Bayon Temple - this temple mountain, built by Jayavarman VII, is situated in the centre of the city of Angkor Thom. It is a three-tiered pyramid with its entrance facing east. The central shrine is surrounded by 54 towers all crowned by gigantic faces, representing Avalokite-shvara but with the features of Jayavarman VII. They gaze out to the North, South, East and West, and wherever you are in the temple, you are surrounded by these enigmatic faces, with their unnerving smiles. Unlike his preDayessors who had worshipped the Hindu deities of Shiva and Vishnu, Jayavarman VII adopted Mahayana Buddhism as the fount of royal divinity. This sets The Bayon apart from many other Angkorean monuments.
After lunch, you can continue on your ride to Gate of the Dead (east gate), then pass the pyramid temple of Takeo, take the road to Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm 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. The last leg of your adventure takes you past the World’s largest ever swimming pool of Sra Srang where the most famous of Angkorian kings, Jayavarman VII, was known to take an occasional dip. Then cycle through the plains and rice fields where (depending on the time of year) you may see people working in the fields and finally arrive at Pre Rup, which may have been used as a crematorium. At this pyramid temple you can celebrate your accomplishments with a cold drink as you admire the sunset over the Cambodian countryside. At the end of the day, the tuk tuk will be waiting to transfer you back to town.
Overnight in Siem Reap.
Day 3: Siem Reap: Rolous & Kampong Pluk [B, L, -]
Today, after breakfast at your hotel, you can start your day by traveling back in time to one of the earliest capitals in the Angkor area, Hariharilaya, now known as Roluos. Encounter Bakong, the earliest of the temple mountains, which later became the signature of Khmer kings. It is a giant pyramid, its cardinal points marked by giant elephants. After Roluos, you may want to head over 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.
Then, travel to Kompong Pluk where you will board small wooden boats for the trip to visit Kompong Pluk. Cruising down a narrow waterway, you will 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, crocodiles and people, all jockeying for space in this incredible floating town. You can 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. You then can climb the Phnom Krom for a glorious sunset over the Tonle Sap before heading back to Siem Reap by road.
Overnight in Siem Reap.
Day 4: Siem Reap: Outer Temples Visit [B, L, -]
Early morning, enjoy your breakfast before journey north to the Kbal Spean. The original ‘River of a Thousand Lingas’, Kbal Spean is an intricately carved riverbed deep in the foothills of the Cambodian jungle. The river flows down to the Tonlé Sap lake, and in ancient times its holy waters breathed life into the rice fields of the empire via the most complex irrigation system the world had ever seen. The Khmers venerated its limestone bed with a riot of carvings, including the delicate deities Vishnu and Shiva with their consorts. Lingams are phallic representations sacred to Hindus as fertility symbols and hundreds, perhaps thousands, are carved into the bedrock here. The carvings were only rediscovered in 1969 when French researcher Jean Boulbet was shown the river by a local hermit. A trip to Kbal Spean is one of the easiest ways to experience a short jungle trek in the Angkor area, as it is a steady but scenic climb to reach the river carvings. The path winds its way through knotted vines and big boulder formations and occasionally offers big views over the surrounding jungle. And there is a small waterfall below the carved riverbed, perfect for cooling off after the hot climb.
Continue, heading south 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. Originally believed to date from the latter part of the Angkor period, inscriptions at the site suggest it was built by a Brahman in 967. However, some architectural historians have suggested that the inscriptions may date from an earlier structure on this site and the temple is in fact later, marking a high-water mark in Khmer sculpture.
In the afternoon, you can travel to the lost temple of Beng Mealea, the titanic of temples, a slumbering giant lost for centuries in the forests of Cambodia. It is the most accessible of Angkor’s lost temples, a mirror image of Angkor Wat, but utterly consumed by the voracious appetite of nature. Constructed by Suryavarman II (1113-1150), the builder of Angkor Wat, the forest has run riot here and it is hard to get a sense of the monument’s shape amid the daunting ruins. Here it is possible to enjoy an Indiana Jones experience clambering about the vast ruin. For those who want a more gentle adventure, there is also a sturdy wooden walkway running right into the heart of the temple. It is also possible to visit a nearby Angkor-era quarry from where stone was cut to build these massive monuments.
Late afternoon return to Siem Reap. Overnight in Siem Reap.
Day 5: Siem Reap ~ Phnom Penh [B, -, -]
After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the airport for your flight from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. Upon arrival, welcome and transfer to your hotel for check in. You might want to relax and freshen up before heading out to explore the city.
In the afternoon, 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 of torture and serves to remind visitors of the terrible atrocities that came to pass in Cambodia. 17,000 people passed through the gates of this prison and only seven lived to tell the tale.
The Khmer Rouge were meticulous in their record keeping, photographing all the prisoners and many of these haunting black and white images are on display in the cells. Enemies of the revolution were killed here, as well as many Khmer Rouge loyalists, denounced by an ever more paranoid political party. It became a production line for killing, as those that worked within its walls were unwaveringly loyal to Pol Pot. The party did not make mistakes, so those sent here had to be guilty. The role of the prison was not to prove innocence but to confirm guilt. 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 continue to explore the stunning Royal Palace complex, home to the Cambodian royal family and a symbol of the nation. You can begin amid the beautiful royal gardens, landscaped with tropical plants and studded with gleaming spires before entering the Throne Hall where the royal receptions are held and the Cambodian king's coronation took place, then pass the Napoleon III Pavilion made from iron, a gift from the French emperor in the 19th century.
Then over 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).
Overnight in Phnom Penh.
Day 6: Phnom Penh: Biking the islands of Mekong [B, -, -]
After breakfast, a driver will meet and transfer you to riverfront where you will take a boat across the Tonle Sap River and cycle north along the far bank of the river. This area is populated mainly by Cham communities. You will pass Coriander gardens and small wooden houses before crossing the peninsula to the ferry point. While waiting for the ferry, there will be a chance to visit a Chinese style Pagoda.
Continue the ride by taking a ferry to cross to Koh Otnyahdei, where you will enjoy a gentle ride around this small Mekong Island with its fertile farmland and small village communities. En route, stopping at a school to learn a little about Cambodia’s school system, a typical modern Khmer Wat, and a silk weaving house to see how those lovely silk scarves are produced.
From there, you can follow along small trails to the abandoned Zoo and relax in an overgrown, partly finished resort project before getting back (by a different route) to the boat where you will then enjoy another 2hrs sunset cruise.
After the cruise, a driver will be waiting to escort you back to the hotel or to the airport for your flight home.
