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| Arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport. Meet upon arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport and transfer to the hotel for check in. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight stay in Phnom Penh. |
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| Breakfast at hotel . Morning hours free at leisure to familiar with the city on own. Lunch at hotel. Afternoon proceed for the 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 5,000 silver tiles. The treasures found inside include a solid gold Buddha encrusted and weighing 90 kilograms and a small 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha. End up your afternoon with a visit to Wat Phnom temple, Phnom Penh’s namesake, from where you can enjoy views over the tree-lined avenues of Phnom Penh during sunset. Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at hotel. (B, L, D) |
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| Breakfast at hotel. Then visit the notorious Tuol Sleng Museum. 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 Thom Pong).Lunch at hotel. Visit the Central Market, a landmark in the city of Phnom Penh. Enjoy a joint Sunset Cruise on the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers. Dinner and accommodation at hotel. (B, L, D) |
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Breakfast at hotel. Depart to Kompong Cham by overland. Short tour of Kompong Cham to view examples of colonial architecture. Visit Wat Nokhor with its ancient temple and modern style pagoda (12th century).Lunch at local restaurant.(OPTIONAL MEKONG CRUISE Phnom Penh-Kompong Cham (available from 10 persons up)Enjoy a memorable cruise along the Tonle Sap River onboard the private boat Le Deauville from Phnom Penh to Kompong Cham! Pass through Cambodia’s beautiful landscape and discover peaceful villages and daily life along the way. Lunch onboard. After embarkation continue the itinerary overland.)
Continue to Kompong Thom. En route, visit Wat Kohear Nokor (11th century). Continue to Phum Prasat with its single ancient temple. Arrive in Kompong Thom. Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at hotel. (B, L, D)
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| Breakfast at hotel. Depart Kompong Thom for Sambor Prei Kuk, located 35 km 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. En route, visit traditional villages and stop at the ancient Naga Bridge (Spean Pratpo), located 40 km from Siem Reap. Arrive in Siem Reap and transfer to the hotel. First visit of the Angkor Complex at sunset (after 17:00 hours), if time permits. Dinner and accommodation at hotel. (B, L, D) |
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Breakfast at hotel. Later 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 Cambodia 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 enclosing wall represents the mountains at the edge of the world and the surrounding moat, the ocean beyond.
Lunch at hotel. Visit the antique capital of Angkor Thom (12th century): the South Gate with its huge statues depicting the churning of the ocean of milk, the Bayon temple, unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara, the Phimeanakas, the Royal Enclosure, the Elephants Terrace, and the Terrace of the Leper King. Enjoy the sunset at Angkor Wat. Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at hotel. (B, L, D)
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| Breakfast at the hotel. Later visit to Banteay Srei temple (10th century), regarded as the jewel in the crown of classical Khmer Art. Then continue your visit to 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. Lunch at hotel. Visit the floating village of Chhong Khneas, located 10 kilometres south of Siem Reap. Visit the village and take a boat trip in a traditional wooden boat on the Tonle Sap Lake, the "Great Lake" of Cambodia, one of the wonders of Asia. Dinner and Apsara dance show at Angkor Village theatre. Accommodation at hotel. (B, L, D) |
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Breakfast at the hotel. Later visit Ta Prohm, one of the most beautiful temples in the area, as it has been 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. Continue your temples tour at Neak Pean, a fountain built in the middle of a pool and representing the paradisiacal Himalayan mountain-lake, and Preah Khan, built by the King Jayavarman VII and, like Ta Prohm, a place of towered enclosures and shoulder-hugging corridors. However, the temple of Preah Khan is in a reasonable state of preservation and ongoing restoration efforts should maintain and even improve this situation.
Lunch at hotel. Afternoon visit to “Les Artisans d’Angkor - Chantiers Ecoles” and time leisure at local market (if time permits). Transfer back to hotel in Siem Reap for overnight stay. (B, L)
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| Breakfast at hotel . Then transfer to Siem Reap International Airport for departure flight to the onwards destination. (B, L) |
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| NOTE: Small deviations in the tour program are sometimes necessary, depending on weather, road and/or river conditions, flight schedules and room availability. |
