Welcome to Enchanting Journeys

Welcome to incredible Kingdom of Cambodia - the charming yet confounding kingdom that casts a spell on visitors. In Cambodia, ancient and modern worlds collide to create an authentic adventure.

Arrive in Siem Reap, the gateway to an ancient world capital city

After you exit in the Arrival Hall at Terminal? - Siem Reap International Airport, subsequent to Immigration & Customs, you will be welcomed by The Journeys representative who will ensure your comfort & transfer you to the hotel, help you settle in & provide you with some useful tips for exploring the area as well as discuss the program for the next day.

Arrive at the hotel & Check-in.

*Check-in time is 02.00 pm. For earlier arrivals in the morning, we will request the hotel for a complimentary early Check-in but cannot be guaranteed unless reserved & paid for ‘immediate occupancy’.

Wrapped in rainforests, edged by golden sands, crowned by volcanoes, studded with ruins of lost civilisations: this is Southeast Asia as you have always imagined it. The life-support system & gateway for the temples of Angkor, Siem Reap was always destined for great things

Breathtaking Antiquity | Empire of Temples | Cambodian Spirit

Siem Reap, a once quaint laid-back & pleasant village, located on the shores of the Tonle Sap Lake, the greatest sweet water reserve in whole Southeast Asia, in northwestern Cambodia, is the gateway to the world famous temple ruins of Angkor, the seat of the Khmer kingdom from the 9^th - 15^th centuries. The life - support system & gateway for the temples of Angkor, Siem Reap was always destined for great things. The name of the city literally means Siamese defeated, referring to the victory of the Khmer Empire over the army of the Thai kingdom in the 17^th century. 

Siem Reap has reinvented itself as the epicentre of chic Cambodia, with everything from backpacker party pads to hip hotels, world-class wining & dining across a range of cuisines, sumptuous spas, great shopping and a creative cultural scene that includes Cambodia's leading circus. The proximity of the Angkorian ruins has turned Siem Reap into a boomtown in less than half a decade.

Visitors come here to see the Temples, of course, but there is plenty to do in & around the city when you are templed out. Angkor is a place to be savoured, not rushed & this is the base from which to plan your adventures. Still think 3 days at the temples is enough? Think again with Siem Reap on the doorstep.

Balance of the afternoon is at leisure to relax or explore independently.

Later in the evening, you will be treated to a Welcome Dinner with a winning mix of exclusive & creative local ‘fine-dining’ Khmer cuisine at the gourmet Embassy Restaurant run by local legends the “Kimsan Twins” whose creative flair has brought them huge success in Cambodia & beyond through participation in international competitions & training under the guidance of Michelin starred French Chef Regis Marcon, Both sisters - local legends in the culinary scene, have skillfully risen to the top of an industry typically dominated by male Chefs.

For anyone looking for a new & exotic gourmet experience in Siem Reap, The Embassy provides an exclusive fine dining experience, a full gastronomic experience with fine food & fine wine in luxurious surroundings. You can discover new & magnificent flavours & unique tastes which can be found only in the Kingdom of Wonder. All dishes are inspired by & use season local ingredients which can be found in the provinces of Cambodia at varying times of the year.

Return to the hotel.

And now comes the ‘raison d’etre’ of coming to Cambodia in the first place.

Wake up at dawn, meet the Tour-guide in the Lobby at 06.00 am & head to Angkor Wat.

Experience the Temples of Angkor in a different way today by a bike tour with customized ‘remork’ (similar to the Thai tuk tuk) back up & assistance. A guide will accompany you on bicycle as well short ride to the outskirts of town where you will be briefed by an operational staff member who will check your bicycle & fitting.

Set off on the first stretch to Angkor Wat, where your bike will stay with the remork driver. You will enter & exit Angkor Wat from different entrances & the bikes will be transferred in between so there is no need for you to backtrack. 

Welcome to heaven on earth. Angkor Wat is stunning at any time of the day, but sunrise & sunset are especially beautiful times to watch the play of light on the stones.

Angkor’s vast complex of intricate stone buildings includes preserved Angkor Wat, the main temple, which is pictured on Cambodia’s flag.

Wat is the Khmer name for temple, which was probably added to "Angkor "when it became a Theravada Buddhist monument, most likely in the 16^th century. After 1432 when the capital moved to Phnom Penh, Angkor Wat was cared for by Buddhist monks

Angkor is the earthly representation of Mt Meru, the Mt Olympus of the Hindu faith & the abode of ancient gods. The temples are the perfect fusion of creative ambition & spiritual devotion. The Cambodian ‘god-kings’ of old each strove to better their ancestors in size, scale & symmetry, culminating in the world’s largest religious building, Angkor Wat.

Angkor’s vast complex of intricate stone buildings, in their beauty & state of preservation, is unrivaled & its mightiness, magnificence bespeak a pomp & a luxury surpassing that of a Pharaoh or a Shah Jahan, an impressiveness greater than that of the Pyramids, an artistic distinctiveness as fine as that of the Taj Mahal. The main temple is pictured on Cambodia’s flag.

The largest, best preserved & most religiously significant of the Angkor temples, Angkor Wat impresses visitors both by its sheer scale & beautifully proportioned layout, as well as the delicate artistry of its carvings. An architectural masterpiece, its perfection in composition, balance, proportions, relief's & sculpture make it one of the finest monuments in the world.

Breaking from the Shaiva tradition of previous kings, it was originally constructed in  the first half of the 12^th century as a Hindu temple  dedicated to Vishnu (Hindu god), in Yasodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, by King Suryavarman II. It was the state temple & his eventual mausoleum.  

It is generally accepted that Angkor Wat was a funerary temple for King Suryavarman & oriented to the west to conform to the symbolism between the setting sun & death. The bas-reliefs, designed for viewing from left to right in the order of Hindu funereal ritual, support this function. Angkor Wat is the earthly representation of Mt Meru, the Mt Olympus of the Hindu faith & the abode of ancient gods. The Cambodian god-kings of old each strove to better their ancestors’ structures in size, scale & symmetry, culminating in what is believed to be the world’s largest religious building.

It is the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring 162.6 hectares & is acclaimed as one of the most inspired monuments ever conceived by the human mind. It was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of his reign

As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation, was never abandoned to the elements & has been in virtually continuous use since it was built. It is considered the epicentre of Khmer civilisation & a source of fierce national pride.

.

The traveller's first glimpse of Angkor Wat, the ultimate expression of Khmer genius, is matched by only a few select spots on earth. Simply unique, it is a stunning blend of spirituality & symmetry, an enduring example of humanity’s devotion to its gods. Relish the very first approach, as that spine-tickling moment when you emerge on the inner causeway, will rarely be felt again.

To approach the temple, visitors first cross the vast moat, continuing along a broad causeway lined with naga balustrades. As you enter the main building, ascend through a series of galleries & courtyard before reaching the central sanctuary, which offers beautiful views back over the causeway & across the surrounding countryside

The plan of Angkor Wat is difficult to grasp when walking through the monument because of the vastness. Its complexity & beauty both attract and distract one's attention. From a distance Angkor Wat appears to be a colossal mass of stone on one level with a long causeway leading to the center but close up it is a series of elevated towers, covered galleries, chambers, porches & courtyards on different levels linked by stairways.

The sandstone blocks from which Angkor Wat was built were quarried from the holy mountain of Phnom Kulen, more than 50 km away & floated down the Siem Reap River on rafts. The logistics of such an operation are mind blowing, consuming the labour of thousands. According to inscriptions, the construction of Angkor Wat involved 300,000 workers & 6000 elephants, yet it was still not fully completed.

Covered galleries with columns define the boundaries of the first & second levels. The third level supports five towers - four in the corners and one in the middle & these is the most prominent architectural feature of Angkor Wat. Graduated tiers, one rising above the other, give the towers a conical shape and, near the top, rows of lotuses taper to a point.

The height of Angkor Wat from the ground to the top of the central tower is greater than it might appear: 213 meters (699 feet), achieved with three rectangular or square levels (1-3). Each one is progressively smaller & higher than the one below starting from the outer limits of the temple.

Enjoy the intricate stone carvings that adorn nearly every surface of the outer gallery walls with some 1,700 Apsaras, or celestial dancers, sculpted into the walls. The temple is admired for the grandeur & harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs which narrate stories from Hindu mythology, including the famous Churning of the Ocean of Milk & for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

Depart from Angkor Wat & continue cycling to the other ancient city of Angkor Thom, the famous walled city covering an area of 10 sq km & the last capital of the Great Khmer Empire under the reign of Jayavarman VII.

Enter through the monumental South Gate, an impressive stone gate carved with Elephants over a causeway lined on either side by 54 statues of demons & gods, each carrying a giant Naga & capped with four giant faces of the Buddha.

Angkor Thom is undeniably an expression of the highest genius. It is, in three dimensions & on a scale worthy of an entire nation, the materialization of Buddhist cosmology, representing ideas that only great painters would dare to portray.

Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire, was a fortified city enclosing residences of priest, officials of the palace & military, as well as buildings for administering the kingdom. These structures were built of wood & have perished but the remaining stone monuments testify that Angkor Thom was indeed a "Great City" as its name implies. Temples inside the walls of the city are Bayon, Phimeanakas, Baphuon, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King, Prah Palilay, Tep Pranam & Prasat Suor Prat.

The Royal Palace situated within the city of Angkor Thom is of an earlier date & belonged to kings of the 10^th - 11^th centuries. Although the foundations & an enclosing wall around the palace with entry towers have been identified, little evidence remains of the layout of the buildings inside the enclosure.

The French ascertained a general plan of the Royal Palace. It included the temple-mountain of Phimeanakas & surrounding pools together with residences & buildings for administering the capital, which were probably at the back of the enclosure. Jayavarman VII reconstructed the original site of the Royal Palace Palace to erect the city of Angkor Thom, which was centered around the Temple of Bayon & surrounded by a wall.

At the center of the Kingdom complex rise a Golden Tower flanked by more than twenty lesser towers & several hundred stone chambers. On the eastern side is a golden bridge guarded by two lions of gold, one on each side, with eight golden Buddhas spaced along the stone chambers. North of the Golden Tower of Bronze (Baphuon), higher even than the Golden tower. a truly astonishing spectacle.

A quarter of a mile further north is the residence of the King rising above his private apartments is another tower of gold, These are the monuments which have caused merchants from overseas to speak so often of "Cambodia the rich & noble "

Symbolically, Angkor Thom is a microcosm of the universe, divided into four parts by the main axes. The temple of the Bayon is situated at the exact center of the axes and stands as the symbolical link between heaven and earth. The wall enclosing the city of Angkor Thom represents the stonewall around the universe and the mountain ranges around Meru. The surrounding moat (now dry) symbolizes the cosmic ocean.

A long causeway leading to each entry tower is flanked by a row of 54 stone figures on each side - demons on the right & gods on the left-to make a total of 108 mythical beings guarding the city of Angkor Thom. The demons have a grimacing expression & wear a military headdress whereas the gods look serene with their almond-shaped eyes and wear a conical headdress. (Some of the heads on these figures are copies; the original ones have been removed and are at the Angkor Conservancy in Siem Reap).

Continue to the Terrace pf the Elephants & the Terrace of the Leper King, former spaces for public cermonies, both adorned with dramatic bas reliefs.

See the many temples within its borders, including the fascinating 12^th century Bayon temple, one of the most popular & compelling in Angkor. Explore the galleries of beautifully preserved bas reliefs & ascend narrow stairs to reach the central sanctuary, where you will find magnificent enigmatic giant stone faces looking out over the far-flung provinces of the Great Khmer Empire & smiling enigmatically down at you from every angle.

Return to the hotel by late morning where there will be time to relax with a refreshing dip in the pool.

Afternoon, accompanied by the Tour-guide, proceed to the Angkor Archeological Park again to see some more.

Arrive at the 12^th century Ta Prohm, the ultimate Indiana Jones fantasy making the ‘Tomb Raider Temple’ one of the most picturesque & memorable of the Angkor temples. Its appeal lies in the fact that, unlike the other monuments of Angkor, it looks very much the way most of the monuments of Angkor appeared when European Explorers first stumbled upon them. Cloaked in dappled shadows, this unique Temple’s crumbling towers & walls have been left largely locked in the slow muscular embrace of vast root systems of trees & vines.

Alternatively, depending on the season & the crowds, we may visit Preah Khan temple. Built by the same king in a similar style, this larger temple complex is also largely left in ruins & its labyrinthine layout & fewer visitors makes a more intimate experience even in the high season months.

At Ta Prohm, the remork will pick you up at a different point from which you enter. From there it is a short remork ride to Srah Srang, a public swimming pool for everyone in the ancient kingdom except for elephants who were called “the levee breakers”.

Finish off with a relaxing gondola cruise on its moat while watching the sun set with a glass of champagne.

Reach the embarkation point at Prasat Chrung for boarding your own Gondola.

Angkor Gondola is a unique Khmer traditional boat service near the South Gate of Angkor Thom on a small Baray, a type of reservoir typical of ancient Khmer water management.

Khmer people have been known as skilled boat makers throughout history & 29 of the ancient Khmer boats & Cham boats sculptures in Bayon temple are seen, demonstrating the courage of the Navy in a war to win a victory over Cham, during the reign of King Jayavarman VII’s period.

One of these types of boats has been carefully reconstructed to resemble the fine art work done in the past. Known as a ‘Kongkear Angkor’, this Gondola is a unique Khmer tradition boat service in Siem Reap.

Glide gently along holy waterway where history, nature & culture come alive, as the sun begins to set over the gate of Angkor Thom or from Prasat Chrung. You will enjoy & view the past & photograph along the great all of Angkor Thom, Royal Secret Path and City Guard Post. Simply sit back, relax & savour the champagne & canapes (included) while the temple ruins of Angkor & the lush nature pass by.

The 1 hour Cruise finishes. Disembark & head back to the Angkor Thom gate to meet your Remork driver & transfer back to your hotel to relax for an hour &  freshen up for the next adventure.

Later in the evening, meet the Tour-guide in the Lobby at 06.00 pm & zip off in the waiting Remork to embark on a culinary adventure. Uncover hidden treasures & areas favored by locals to sample some of Cambodia’s lesser known ‘exotic’ cuisine!

First stop will be the famous Bugs Cafe. Experience the gastronomical discovery of these typical Cambodian delicacies by savoring some sophisticated tapas, cooked in a fusion of French & Khmer cuisine by a Chef formerly from a 5 star hotel. (If you are not quite that adventurous yet, please note that certain dishes can be served without insects! If that does not work for you, we can change the venue)

Next, explore the streets around Psar Chas (Old Market), which are lined with various stalls selling pancakes, fruit shakes, fried bananas, waffles, coconut rice cakes, and various fried rice & noodle dishes. Take your time to sit down anywhere and enjoy anything you like! Make sure to stop at one of the many fresh fruit stalls to try a range of exotic local fruit, including dragon fruit, longans, mangoes, mangosteens, snake fruit & the smelly but very tasty durian!

Then, head over to the Sombai rice wine workshop to sample a selection of spirits made from fermented rice. Taste the unusual concoctions infused with local fruits & herbs, accompanied by local snacks.

Continue the culinary adventure around Wat Damnak, where a handful of smoke-filled corrugated-iron roofed shacks & fancier open-sided eateries serve one of Siem Reap’s most popular street food snacks like sach ko ang jakak (beef skewers marinated in palm sugar, soy & kroeung - a paste of lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, kaffir lime, garlic), barbecued over coals on a traditional clay grill. If beef isn’t your thing, try out some BBQ frog, eel, chicken, or fish.

End the evening at one of the family-run dessert stalls near Wat Polanka. Combining a myriad textures, from silky glutinous surfaces & crunchy shaved ice to smooth medicinal jellies, creamy coconut milk &  flavors that are exotic to foreign palates. From yellow bean to durian, Khmer desserts are an acquired taste for many visitors.

The Foodie Trail tour concludes & you will be transferred back to the hotel.

Today, you will get a deep understanding of Khmer cuisine at an interactive Cooking course. As you know that Siem Reap City is not just a Temple town for you to wonder, but it is also a city that offers a variety of great Cooking styles, too.

Khmer food is one of the major national identities that reflect the ways of life, thought & mind of the Khmer people which are hidden in the taste of consumption of meat dishes & sweet food.

Khmer cuisine shares many commonalities with the food of neighbouring Thailand - although, less chilli, sugar & coconut cream are used for flavor - & of neighboring Vietnam, with which it shares & adopts many common dishes, as well as a colonial history, as both formed part of the French colonial empire in Southeast Asia.

It has drawn upon influences from the cuisines of China & France, powerful players in Cambodian history. The Chinese began arriving in the 13^th century, but Chinese migration accelerated during the French period. Curry dishes, known as Kari show a trace of cultural influence from India.

The many variations of rice noodles show the influences from Chinese cuisine. Preserved lemons are another unusual ingredient not commonly found in the cooking of Cambodia's neighbors; it is used in some Khmer dishes to enhance the sourness.

The Portuguese & Spanish also had considerable influence in Cambodian affairs in the 16^th century, introducing chili & peanuts into Asia from the New World. However, chili never gained the same status or prominence as it did with the cuisines of neighboring Thailand, Laos & Malaysia. Even today very few recipes include chili.

One legacy of French, the baguette - known as nom pang in Khmer - is ubiquitous in all parts of Cambodia today. Cambodians often eat bread with pate, tinned sardines or eggs. One of these with a cup of strong coffee, sweetened with condensed milk, is an example of a common Cambodian breakfast. Freshly buttered baguettes can be made into sandwiches (also called nom pang) & may be stuffed with slices of ham or any number of grilled meats, with Kampot pepper, similar to Vietnamese banh mi. The French also introduced beer, butter, pate, coffee, chocolate, onions, carrots, broccoli, potatoes & many other types of non-native produce Southeast Asia.

Traditionally, Cambodians eat their meals with at least three or four dishes. A meal will usually include a soup, or samlor, served alongside the main courses. Each individual dish will be either sweet, sour, salty or bitter in taste. Chilli (fresh, pickled or dried) & chili sauce is served on the side and left up to individual diners & to their taste. In this way, Cambodians ensure that they get a bit of every flavor to satisfy their palates.

Would you like to learn how to make authentic quality Khmer food like you eat in the restaurants? Well look no further. Today’s 4 - 5 hour Cooking Class gives you the opportunity to learn how to prepare traditional & delicious Khmer dishes under the guidance of a genuine professional Chef & learn the difference between Khmer & other regional cuisines

Morning at 08.00 am, you will be picked up to travel to a village near the famous Banteay Srei temple to meet a  renowned Chef at her home & learn the traditional secrets of  local Cooking techniques that was forgotten many years ago.

Reach the beautiful traditional teak home of Kiwi-Cambodian chef Kethana Dunnett (who with her husband Bruce, owns Sugar Palm  restaurants in Phnom Penh’s &  Siem Reap's best Cambodian restaurants), set amidst the rice fields in the countryside outside Siem Reap. Kethana has worked with many celebrity chefs, such as Gordon Ramsay & Luke Nguyen and offers exclusive Cooking class at the couple's home, taught in their stunning kitchen.

The Sugar Palm restaurants are characterized by authentic Cambodian cuisine - traditional home-style comfort food of the kind that Chef Kethana learnt to cook from her mother & grandmother. It is worth doing Kethana's class just to discover her secret to cooking one of Cambodia's finest fish amok dishes. This way we hope you will enjoy the fresh flavors of Cambodia & that the subtleties of the Khmer cuisine will intrigue & delight you.

‘Some’ of the delicious dishes you may learn to create are -

·    Cambodian Mango Salad - Using fresh and light ingredients, this is a salad everyone will enjoy.

·      Fish Amok - Amok is on every visitors 'must do' list. Cooked in a young coconut, Amok is a smooth curry that can be made with either fish, chicken, or tofu.

·       Sticky Rice Balls with Palm Sugar and Grated Young Coconut

·   Prahet Chien - Minced fish on sugar cane Cambodian Curry - unlike its Thai neighbor, Cambodian foods do not tend to be hot and spicy, relying instead on layers of fragrant spices.

·      Nom Tong Noun - Khmer brandy snaps & the delicious, slightly sweet treat is impossible to resist.

The experience commences with a Welcome Drink, then a walk with the Chef to the local Market to purchase the vegetables & herbs to be used in your meal today. Discover the sights & sounds of the thriving market as you gather freshest products for your meals. You can witness the daily activities & living style of local people selling products & operating the market.

Kethana & Bruce keep things fairly casual and you can be as hands-on (or not) as you like. You will learn the difference between Khmer & other regional cuisines, as well as how to create some of the dishes served at Sugar Palm. Learn how to prepare delicious 3 Course Cambodian cuisine with good instructions.  Along the way you will learn about the herbs & vegetables that are grown at most Khmer households & are used in daily cooking.

Try your hand at making delicious & authentic Cambodian meals, and learn the tips & tricks of the country’s traditional cuisine that you can then re-produce at home. Everyone will have his or her own cooking station & equipment.

Distinguished by a subtle use of spice, delicate flavours, myriad textures & mouth-watering aromas, Cambodian dishes are best enjoyed shared. And so the experience ends with lunch.

At the end of the course, you will get the chance to enjoy the fruits of your labor as you sit down in the wooden pavilion, perched over a charming pond, to enjoy the lunch that you just cooked, which includes 2 appetizers & 2 main dishes. Your dishes will be served to you one by one, letting you enjoy & compare dishes.

After lunch, you will proceed to the nearby Golden Silk Pheach Farm where you will learn about silk weaving.

Golden Silk Pheach is a working silk farm near Banteay Srei with a boutique selling beautiful clothes & textiles woven on the farm.

Having left Cambodia to study in France, founder Sophea Pheach returned to her country to volunteer in refugee camps on the Thai border & soon after opened a village for orphans of the war.

Pheach established Golden Silk Pheach as an NGO in 2002 to provide employment for the former orphans & other disadvantaged women from surrounding villages. Pheach calls the silk farm a Preservation Center, because her aim is to safeguard the traditional silk production process & Golden Silk Pheach is one of only a few farms where the process is fully integrated in one location, from raising the increasingly rare yellow silk worms to hand-weaving the silk on traditional wooden looms.

Boasting 12 hectares of mulberry trees, the silk farm is home to numerous workshops where you can learn about the process, watch the women at work & try your hand at weaving on a loom. You will tour the mulberry farms, weaving rooms, dying facilities & a crafts shop. The boutique sells silk & other textile products, all hand-woven & dyed with natural pigments.

From here, drive on to the “gem” of the Angkor area, the pretty temple of Banteay Srei  - a 10^th century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, located in the same area of Angkor, north-east of the main group, wonderfully well preserved & with many 3 dimensional carvings.

First discovered, it was assumed to be from the 13^th or 14^th centuries, as it was thought that the refined carving must have come at the end of the Angkor period. It was later dated to AD 967, from inscriptions found at the site. It is one of the smallest sites at Angkor, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in stature.

Considered by many to be the jewel in the crown of Angkorian art, this small Temple cut from sandstone of a pinkish hue, displays truly remarkable fine bas-reliefs - fine examples of classical Khmer art of stone carving anywhere on earth

Banteay Srei means ‘Citadel of the Women’ & it is assumed to have been built by a woman, as the elaborate carvings are supposedly too fine for the hand of a man. Is is one of the few temples around Angkor to be commissioned not by a king but by a Brahmin, who may have been a tutor to Jayavarman V.

The Temple is square & has entrances at the east & west, with the east approached by a causeway. Of interest are the lavishly decorated libraries & the three central towers, which are decorated with male & female divinities & beautiful filigree relief work.

Classic carvings at Banteay Srei include delicate women with lotus flowers in hand and traditional skirts clearly visible, as well as breathtaking re-creations of scenes from the epic Ramayana adorning the library pediments (carved inlays above a lintel). However, the sum of the parts is no greater than the whole - almost every inch of these interior buildings is covered in decoration. Standing watch over such perfect creations are the mythical guardians, all of which are copies of originals stored in the National Museum.

Return to the hotel by evening & relax.

Later in the evening, accompanied by the Tour-guide, embark on another culinary discovery. You can enjoy lots of delicious food while ensuring that your tourism dollars are going towards sustainable community development & ethical projects.

Today, embark on a fascinating experience exploring the culinary delights of Cambodia. Although not as well-known as the cuisine from neighboring countries, Cambodia has a great variety of national dishes & there are many stories to be told by your Tour-guide.

Cambodia has come a long way over the past few decades, and an increasing number of social projects & initiatives have arisen to help drive sustainable development in the country. One distinctive feature of the culinary scene in Cambodia is a vast selection of social enterprise restaurants cafes & training facilities run by NGOs dedicated to helping young disadvantaged Cambodian people gain valuable work skills & employment opportunities.

Proceed to Marum Restaurant, an incredibly popular training restaurant set in a delightful wooden house with a spacious garden.

Marum is named after the Moringa, or 'Tree of life'. Part of the Tree Alliance group, an NGO that works with street children. Your visit not only gives you an incredible dining experience, but also helps build a new life for the students in training there (with your contribution!)

Tree Alliance runs a full child protection & social reintegration program that includes outreach on the streets & in marginalized communities, Drop-in Centers for street children, Transitional Homes for children separated from family, non-formal education & vocational training in the hospitality industry through fully functional training restaurants for local street kids & disadvantaged youths.

It is the program’s goal that every child access education & every youth have the skills to obtain stable employment. The Program also supports other at-risk groups, such as drug users & sex workers, to access rehabilitation & to prevent sickness. In recent years, they have increased focus on youth employment. The staff at the restaurant are provided on-the-job training to provide them with a better chance of securing employment in the hospitality industry.

Enjoy creative local cuisine, delicious cocktails & fruit shakes, made using only the freshest ingredients. Make sure you try the Khmer style slow cooked pork ribs and save space for the chocolate & Kampot pepper lava cake!

Come back to the hotel.

Early morning, meet the Tour-guide at 06.00 am & with a packed western breakfast from the hotel, embark an incredible tour to learn about life in a typical Cambodian village, interact with friendly locals and discover traditional village customs & cultures.

Drive along traditional dirt roads through lotus fields & rice paddies in beautiful Cambodian villages where rice & fish can frequently be spotted drying alongside the road to Ta Brak village with its paddy fields & sugar palm trees, to observe the typical village life-style.

A western packed breakfast from the hotel will be taken and, on arrival in the village, you will meet & sit down with a family to share this breakfast. You will enjoy learning about local village life early in the morning when villages generally are most active.

Experience a 30 minute ox cart ride, a traditional rural mode of transporting people & goods, passing through the village on the way to the local market. Explore the colourful displays of vegetables, herbs & other locally grown produce, and mingle with the shoppers who come to buy the fresh ingredients.

Walking through the village provides ample opportunities to stop & chat with locals & to observe their activities. Depending on the time of year, they may be planting rice, weaving thatch coverings for their roofs, harvesting vegetables, making fish traps etc. or other similar tasks. For a truly immersive experience, you can lend a hand & join the locals in these activities!

Walk to the village Pagoda & partake in a special Buddhist tradition. Local monks will impart wishes of good luck & success in a solemn, age-old ceremony with a water blessing.

Leaving the village, travel to the nearby 9^th century Bakong Temple, part of the Roluos group & the main temple of an ancient center of Khmer civilization known as Hariharalaya,   

From here, you will travel to a floating village to observe the life-style there.  

Reach the embarkation point in Mechrey village to visit a small fishing village on the edge of the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest lake.

Don life jackets & board a specially-designed shallow-drafted wooden motorized boat - originally used by park rangers to catch poachers - manned  by experienced sailors &  travel out through near empty waterways on the Tonle Sap, seeing the floating villages & flooded forests, crocodile & fish farms (crocodile & fish farm dependent on current water levels).

Zipping across the water, you will have an opportunity to stop & take some impressive photos of the lotus flowers which are considered important in Buddhism mythology (views of the lotus & rice fields will vary, depending on the season).

Stop at one of the crocodile & fish farm (depending on current water levels) in the floating village where you will learn about some of the trades people on the lake work in.

Reach Preak Toal, a permanent floating settlement located on the banks of the Sangke River, complete with church, schools & village stores.  A hive of activity, it is Tonle Sap's largest floating village & also the jump off point for the best birdlife spotting in the region (season dependent).

Change to a villager’s paddle boat & see ordinary Cambodians going about their daily life in the floating village with houses built on stilts on the floodplain along the Lake. Nearing the lake, see floating houses that move location with the annual ebb & flow of the lake’s waters.

Cruise along the canal with houses on either side: depending on the time of the visit, the houses will either have immediate access to the water or stand perched on stilts high above the ground, a phenomena caused by the annual rising & receding waters of the Tonle Sap Lake. Most of the villagers rely on fishing activities to support their families. Pass by the boats & nets used by local fishermen, some of whom will be fishing in the waters through which the boat passes.

Fishermen, boat-makers, markets, schools, spirit houses & waving children are always in plentiful supply.

Along the way, gain a better understanding of the local lifestyle with lunch in a floating family house. This is a unique opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the way of life of the local people - sitting inside a stilted house interacting with the villagers while watching the boats pass outside.  

All this combination with the experience of villagers’ life among the wildlife conservation area in the large inland lake, will give you a very good understanding of what it is to be a Cambodian in the floating village.

Spend a couple of hours before getting on the Boat back to the Disembarkation Point in Mechrey village from where you will embark on yet another interesting experience.

Come back to the hotel to freshen up to get ready for another interesting ‘not to be missed’ Cambodia experience.

Evening around 06.00 pm, meet the Rep & proceed to see the breathtaking show "Phare -The Cambodian Circus" featuring the energetic & talented young professional artists & high-flying acrobatics with live music.

The Show is one of Cambodia’s most innovative social enterprise models. Profits generated through ticket, refreshment, merchandise & private performance sales support the free education, professional arts training & social support programs of Phare Ponleu Selpak in Battambang.

More than just a Circus, Phare performers use theater, music, dance & modern circus arts to tell uniquely Cambodian stories; historical, folk & modern. The young circus artists will astonish you with their energy, emotion, enthusiasm & talent.

All Phare artists are students & graduates from Phare Ponleu Selpak’s (www.phareps.org) vocational training center in Battambang, formed in 1994 by 9 young men coming home from a refugee camp after the Khmer Rouge regime. They were greatly helped during that time by an art teacher using drawing classes as therapy who wanted to share this new skill among the poor, socially deprived & troubled youngsters in Battambang.

The Group founded an Art School & a Public School offering free education. A Music School & Theatre School were next and finally, for the kids who wanted more, the Circus School. Today more than 1,200 pupils attend the public school daily & 500 attend the alternative schools. Phare Ponleu Selpak also has extensive outreach programs, trying to help with the problems highlighted in their own tales.

“Phare - the Cambodian Circus” offers these students & graduates a medium to hone their skills & a place to earn a decent wage. Money that will take them out of poverty & give them self-respect & freedom.

The Phare experience begins from the moment you approach the venue in Siem Reap. You will see larger-than-life images of Phare artists on banners & billboards along the street.

As you enter the site, you are greeted by the smiling faces & a warm welcome of the customer service team. You pause to take your first photo of the evening: the authentic red big top with colorful lights made from recycled plastic bottles.

With your ticket in hand, you pass by the story panels that provide you a little background of the artists as you enter the newly redesigned Phare Boutique, where you can get some of the most extraordinary souvenirs, including original artwork from Phare visual artists. Maybe, one of the hand-crafted items will catch your eye. Of course, you know you need to take home several Phare t-shirts & polo shirts as souvenirs for your friends & family. Don’t worry if you can’t make up your mind just yet. Phare Boutique will be open after the show as well.

Between Phare Boutique & the Big Top, you will discover open-air Phare Cafe, serving drinks, snacks and delicious meals. Here, before the Show, you will enjoy a 3 course meal (included, no drinks) dining on Fish Amok & Beef Kroeung & other delicacies.

Another drink? Popcorn with real butter? No problem. You’re welcome to take it into the Big Top.

08.00 pm – time to proceed to the Tent for the 1 hour main event.

The smile automatically comes to your face as you find a seat in the traditional, authentic, circular Big Top. May be, you are thinking of a circus you went during your childhood, but guaranteed, this will be unique. The music, acting, acrobatics & high-energy music will captivate you. At the end, the artists welcome you on stage for a chat or group photos.

You exit the Big Top feeling exhilarated. When you pass back through Phare Boutique on the way out, you know exactly which souvenirs you will take home.

With your bag in hand, you jump in one of the tuk tuks waiting for you back to the hotel to look at all the pictures you took & upload them to your social media?

Or maybe, you want to discover the Pub Street? (if you do, then you will have to find your own way back to the hotel).

Cambodian food, the most overlooked of all Asian cuisines, is largely unknown elsewhere in the world. Yet Cambodia's savory noodle dishes, fresh seafood & tempting sweets, its street food & classic Khmer recipes, reflect the rich history & culture of this beautiful country A morning spent navigating the city’s food markets & street food stalls will vanquish any doubts about Cambodian food..

Early morning, meet the Tour-guide at 07.00 am & proceed for a 4 hour Food Tour into one of Siem Reap's colorful local food market, which provides a unique opportunity to learn about Cambodian life & culture.

You will be introduced to popular Khmer market specialties & street snacks, plus a few of Cambodia's exotic tropical fruits & will sample authentic Khmer breakfast dishes in a variety of off-the-beaten-tourist-path settings, from street-side food stalls to busy local markets.

Come back to the hotel to Check-out & depart for Battambang, driving through Cambodia’s beautiful countryside with lively local villages & temples and farms with rice paddies.

Enroute, stop at Prasat Phnom Banan Winery located midway between Battambang & Prasat Banan, in an area known for its production of chilli peppers (harvested from October to January).

Cambodia’s only winery grows Shiraz grapes to make reds. It tastes unlike most wine you have ever encountered, but is actually quite earthy & complex.

Officially recognised by Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines & Energy, Banan wines belong to that exclusive club of wineries whose vintages improve significantly with the addition of ice cubes. The Phnom Banan Winery produces several thousand bottles of wines, brandy & fresh grape juice per year.

Most work is done manually. With no large modern machinery, no fancy equipment, no big factories or assembly lines. In a small room filled with baskets of bottles, you will see a woman sitting on the floor, sealing & labelling each bottle of wine, brandy & other drinks produced at the Winery. To seal the bottles, this woman literally puts a piece of plastic wrap on each bottle & holds each bottle up to a small steamer which shrinks the plastic to fit the bottle.

Meet the passionate wine-making family & stroll through the vineyards flanked by palm trees, where they grow Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to make their red wines, as well as Black Queen & Black Opal grapes to make their roses. Sampling takes place in an attractive garden pavilion. You can taste some of the produced wines or brandies, grape juice & honey ginger juice for free. It is also possible to purchase bottles of Cambodian wine or brandy directly at the Winery.

After spending an hour, continue on to Phnom Banan Temple, the best kept of the remaining Khmer ruins in the area, though again, when compared to Angkor Wat it isn't so impressive.

This 11^th century Angkor-era mountaintop temple located on the top of approximate 400 meter mountain is definitely worth a look. As you approach, you will see the 5 distinctive towers pointing skyward, like a smaller version of Angkor Wat. At the base of the mountain, there is a steep laterite staircase flanked by nagas. Some locals claim the 5 tower layout here was the inspiration for Angkor Wat, although this seems optimistic.

The Temple was built by Udayadityavarman II, son of Suryavarman I, & despite some looting, it is in a considerably better state of repair that Wat Ek Phnom. There are five temple structures, like Angkor, with the middle being the largest. There are impressive carved lintels above doorways to each of the towers & bas-reliefs on the upper parts of the central tower. The structures are pretty much intact, but unfortunately like so many Khmer ruins, they have fallen victim to massive looting. Several delightfully carved lintels are also housed in the Battambang Museum.

It is a rather steep climb with 358 stone-steps from ground level up to reach the ruins of Prasat Banan Temple, but the incredible views across surrounding countryside from the top are worth it. With small villages dotting the endless rice paddies which are punctuated with the characteristic sugar palm trees. To the south, you will see Crocodile Mountain & to the northwest, Phnom Sampeau.  A large field gun kept at the site once has now been removed.

Luckily at the top, a few industrious drink sellers emerge, who will also be happy to show you around the temple & then the 3 Caves below on the left (when looking at the ruins from the stairs) which are well worth exploring (though note the cave entrance is almost at the base of the hill, so be sure you are finished with the ruins before you agree to go down).

Continue driving to Battambang.

Arrive by late afternoon & Check-in at the hotel.

There is something about Battambang that visitors just love, a perfect blend of relatively urban modernity & small-town friendliness. Forget the fact that there is really not all that much to do in the city proper: the colonial architecture teetering into genteel disrepair, the riverside setting, the laid-back cafes - they all make up for it.

Of all of Cambodia’s large urban centers, Battambang is undoubtedly the most alluring. Located amidst attractive rolling countryside to the west of Tonle Sap Lake, the town enjoys a peaceful riverside location & possesses some of the country’s best-preserved colonial architecture.

The name Battambang or Batdambang, literally means "loss of stick" referring to a legend of the Preah Bat Dambang Kranhoung (Kranhoung Stick King).

Founded in the 11^th century Battambang the former capital of Monton Kmer, is Cambodia's 2^nd largest city & capital of Battambang Province. Until the war years, in which almost every infrastructure was destroyed, it was the leading rice-producing province of the country. The riverside town is home to some of the best-preserved, French colonial architecture in the country. The network of charming old French shop houses clustered along the riverbank is the real highlight here & there are a number of Wats scattered around the town.

The picturesque Battambang did not give way to the Khmer Rouge movement after the fall of Phnom Penh, but it has been at the centre of the ongoing government Khmer Rouge conflict ever since the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 pushed the genocidal regime out of Phnom Penh to the Northwest. Until the surrender deal of Leng Sary (Khmer Rouge number three man based in Pailin), Battambang was the Khmer Rouge stronghold in the region.

In the earlier history Battambang flip-flopped back & forth between Thailand (called Siam before their 20^th century renaming) & Cambodia. It has been a part of Thailand most of the time since the 15^th century, with Cambodia regaining control (more specifically due the French) in 1907. The Thais grabbed it again, with Japanese assistance, in 1941 & kept the region in their camp until the World War II years in 1947. The Allied Forces helped persuade the Thais that the region was originally part of ancient Cambodia & the world community would not take kindly to the Thais holding onto it further.

Like the rest of the Northwest, there is still a lot of Thai influence apparent. The main currency is still the Thai Baht and many people are able to converse in Thai. But the area is very Khmer, with ancient Khmer ruins scattered around & even the ways of life are much more similar to the rest of Cambodia than to Thailand.

Battambang city today, is a peaceful & pleasant place. The main parts of the city are situated closed to the Sangker River, a tranquil, small body of water that winds its way through Battambang Province connecting the Cardamom Mountains with Tonle Sap Lake that feeds the paddy fields with water on the way, which results in Cambodia's best rice crop.

Although it is laid-back to the point of being horizontal, the city has its own unique dynamism. In fact, in recent years, it ha’s also developed into an emerging arts hub & became known for being at the cutting edge of an emerging Cambodian art scene with several galleries & creative spaces around town showcasing the work of local artists.

At the core of the city’s artistic revival is Phare Ponleu Selpak. The sprawling arts establishment, established by one-time refugees from Cambodia’s civil war, teaches visual, applied and performing arts to underprivileged kids. Its centerpiece is its circus school with students performing in energetic & often-thought provoking productions under the school’s big top.

The healthy art scene in the city, meanwhile, is complemented by a clutch of high-quality restaurants specializing in everything from fine French dining to more humble, but still delicious, Khmer delicacies.

The small Museum here has a collection of Angkorian-era artifacts & beyond the town there are a number of hilltop temples, yet more Wats & a pretty large lake. One of the more famous hills is Phnom Sampeau (Ship Hill) with the notorious killing caves.

That Cambodia's best-known Circus (the magnificent Phare Ponleu Selpak) is here is no coincidence: the city has an enduring tradition of producing many of Cambodia’s best-loved singers, actors & artists.

Outside the city's confines, meanwhile, timeless hilltop temples & bucolic villages await. Not to mention the most scenic river trip in the country, which links Battambang with Siem Reap, a great base for visiting the nearby temples, such as Phnom Banon & Wat Ek Phnom, as well as the closeby villages

Evening around 07.00 pm, accompanied by the Tour-guide, head out to another ‘social-enterprise’ restaurant.

Proceed to stylish Jaan Bai Restaurant (meaning ‘rice bowl’ in Khmer), established by the Cambodian Children’s Trust to provide training and employment for disadvantaged youths, with all profits going to support the activities of the Trust.

Cambodian Children’s Trust (CCT), co-founded by Tara Winkler & Pon Jedtha, is a non-profit child protection organisation based in Battambang, Their holistic, community-led Village Hive model empowers families & achieves transformational change for vulnerable children, giving them opportunities to reach their full potential in life.

Jaan Bai is Battambang's foodie treat, with a sleekly minimalist interior offset by beautiful French-Khmer tilework lining the wall. The menu likewise is successfully bold. Order a few of the small plates to experience the range of flavours, or go all out with the tasting menu.

Return to the hotel.

Morning, meet the Tour-guide in the Lobby at 08.00 am & head into the historic center to explore the town, beginning at the lively local markets, which are much busier than those in Siem Reap.  

Battambang is the rural heartland of Cambodia & the center for production of rice, pineapples, coconuts & many other different types of produce. You can quench your thirst with a freshly squeezed sugar cane juice.

Walking around the historic heart of the city, you may be lucky to see a procession of saffron robed monks of their morning alms collection.

Battambang also has an impressive collection of architecture that is some of the best preserved in Cambodia, including glittering Buddhist Pagodas, Chinese shop-houses, a historic Chinese temple, early 20^th century French colonial villas & administrative buildings, and modernist architecture from the 1960s, Cambodia’s ‘Golden Age’.

Then, proceed to visit Wat Povil (or Wat Tahm-rai-saw or White Elephant Pagoda), one of the frequently accessed tourist spots situated in the city center area. This temple which is known for its elaborate architectural structure.  Observe the monks, stop to admire buildings & drop into the adjacent art galleries.  

Try some of the award-winning coffee at Kinyei Cafe before stopping for lunch at Lan Chov Khorko Miteanh for some hand-pulled noodles and handmade dumplings. Nicknamed ‘Noodle Guy’ or ‘Chinese Noodle’ by expats, Lan Chov Khorko Miteanh is a simple, no-frills eatery with a stall-like kitchen with boiling pots & woks on gas stoves at the front. This is where the most unlikely of noodle masters, wearing low-slung shorts, singlet & flip-flops, makes hearty handmade dumplings & silky hand-pulled noodles to order

Battambang’s bucolic hinterland is also well worth exploring. Outside the city's confines, meanwhile, timeless hilltop temples & bucolic villages await. Not to mention the most scenic river trip in the country, which links Battambang with Siem Reap, a great base for visiting the nearby temples, such as Phnom Banon & Wat Ek Phnom, as well as the closeby villages

Hop onto the vehicle to see some of the many cultural villages around Battambang.

Visit the tourism village of Wat Kor centred around the temple of the same name & known for the cluster of very old traditional Khmer heritage houses dating from 1900s.

Two of the approximately 20 heritage houses in the Wat Kor are open to visitors: Mrs Bun Roeung's Ancient House & neighbouring Khor Sang House. Kor Sang is still owned & occupied by the original builder's grandchildren & you might want to interact with the landlord & landlady.

Built of now-rare hardwood floors worn lustrous over a century of bare feet & surrounded by orchard gardens & many types of trees including a sapodilla tree & some golden plum trees that are as old as the house, they feature wide verandahs & exude the ambience of another era with many artefacts including traditional mirrors, tables, chairs, wardrobes, cases & family photos.

Mrs Bun Roeung's Ancient House was built in 1920 by a local lawyer & the current Owners have turned the rear section of the house into homestay accommodation – a unique option for architecture & history fans. Khor Sang House was built in 1907 by the French-speaking Owner’s grandfather, who served as a secretary to the province’s last Thai governor. The rear section dates even earlier, from 1890.

It is a great place to wander, especially late in the afternoon when the opposite (east) bank of the Sangker River is bathed in amber tones by the sinking sun. Picturesque bridges span the river, the spires of Wat Kor glow bright platinum & Khmer village life is on full display.

Drive on to another village to see locals & artisans making products by hands. Immerse yourself in rural Cambodia & learn how to make special countryside delicacies like Khmer noodles & grolan (sticky rice stuffed in bamboo) rice cakes, hear about the food & traditions that define local life & even sample some of the freshly-made products.

Make your way towards a local fish paste market. The smell may be slightly overwhelming for some, but we are sure you will find this stop fascinating! Watch the process of making prohac, (fish paste, a Cambodian staple).fish paste making & learn about the fishing culture in a community that depends on the sea for its sustenance.

Mingle with the locals & artisans & learn how rice paper is produced. Then, find out more about the humble banana - a fruit native to Battambang. Meet a local villager who has been involved in the dried banana trade for more than 20 years & discover how this simple trade has sustained the lives of many families in the village.   

Cap it all off with a ride on the famous Bamboo Train - one of the world’s most unique rail journeys.   

A relic from the infamous Khmer Rouge years of genocide, the gondola-like train was testament to locals’ ingenuity in providing travel during those disruptive years. The country’s railroad system was abandoned in the 1970s during the civil war. It was a decade later before proper trains began running again, though the persistence of guerilla fighting meant its infrastructure was in tatters. The Bamboo Train has been set up by the villagers in order to facilitate the transportation of goods & persons, as there are no regular trains in the area.

The famous “bamboo train” (or Nori) is an eccentric & noisy improvised rail vehicle contraption that runs along a short section of track just outside town. Later, it became more of a curiosity than a transport service, attracting thousands of international tourists who simply want to experience the Bamboo Train’s famous bumpy outdoor ride.

However these Norries have been dying a natural death as finally road infrastructures have improved. The doughy Bamboo Train has been maintained as a carnival ride for tourists, making itself relevant despite the need for a proper rail service to take pressure of the gridlocked road highways.

The drivers have petitioned the local government to keep the Bamboo Train alive, but at this stage officials think that is unlikely. For the moment though, the train will continue to travel… until someone tells the drivers they are at the end of the line.

Reach the Bamboo Train station & board. 

The “train” itself is very basic: a mobile bamboo platform on 4-wheels is activated by a small motor & which moves along the old train tracks with drivers with poles like gondolas pushing the train down the line. The Trains run at speeds of up to 50 km / hour on the metre gauge tracks from Battambang to Poipet. Sitting on the platform, you will travel the 8 km to the next station through beautiful landscape & rice paddies. An amazing experience – a true rollercoaster ride without loops!

Disembark & drive back to the hotel passing through a landscape of paddy fields & sugar palm trees.

If time (& Tour-guide) permits, you may also see the nearby Phnom Sampeau - home to the notorious killing caves, which are cruel reminders of Cambodia’s troubled past. Serenity & inhumanity represented in one place make for an interesting & unnerving experience. The Caves offer a dazzling spectacle at dawn - millions of bats emerge from the Cave & take to the sky,

Reach the hotel by evening.

Freshen up before meeting the Tour-guide again & embark on another ‘foodie’ tour.

Stop at a handful of local eateries & stalls along the riverside where there is chance to sample some of the region’s renowned street food snacks, from fried rice-flour pancakes to barbecued beef skewers marinated in the local lemongrass-based paste called kreoung, as well as desserts.

Come back to the hotel.

Early morning, depart for Phnom Penh, driving along rustic back roads of the beautiful Cambodian countryside passing through local villages & pagodas in a province famous for growing the best rice in Cambodia.

Stop at Oudong to visit a local family to learn about palm sugar production, and then climb Mount Oudong to enjoy spectacular views over the countryside

Oudong served as the capital of Cambodia under several sovereigns between 1618 & 1866, during which time ‘victorious’ was an optimistic epithet, as Cambodia was in terminal decline. A number of kings, including King Norodom, were crowned here.

The main attractions today are the twin humps of Phnom Udong which have several stupas on them. Both ends of the ridge have good views of the Cambodian countryside, dotted with innumerable sugar-palm trees.

The larger main ridge - the one you will hit first if approaching from NH5 - is known as Phnom Preah Reach Throap Hill of the Royal Fortune, so named because a 16^th century Khmer king is said to have hidden the national treasury here during a war with the Thais. Phnom Udong really fills up with locals at weekends but is quiet during the week.

At the foot of the mountain, stop for a local picnic-style lunch in a rustic hut.

Continue driving to Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s busy capital, can’t help but conjure up an image of the exotic. The glimmering spires of the Royal Palace, the fluttering saffron of the monks’ robes & the luscious location on the banks of the mighty Mekong – this is the Asia many daydream about from afar.  

Arrive at the hotel by afternoon & Check-in.

A hub for both the Khmer Empire & French colonialists, Phnom Penh sits at the junction of the Mekong & Tonle Sap rivers & can be an assault on the senses.

Phnom Penh - the name can’t help but conjure up an image of the exotic & many consider it to be one of the friendliest capitals in Asia, as Cambodians have not yet become jaded by mass tourism. It is a bit unfortunate that one of the tourist industry's selling points for Phnom Penh has to do with wars that took place in the 1970's (i.e. Killing Fields, Toul Sleng), as visitors may associate the city with these historical events when in fact Cambodian culture, including its art & music is quite remarkable.

The Khmer temples & monuments found here are some of the most stunning examples of Buddhist architecture & art, and Phnom Penh has no shortage of these.

Once the ‘Pearl of Asia’, Phnom Penh’s shine was tarnished by the impact of war & revolution. But the city has since risen from the ashes to take its place among the hip capitals of the region, with an alluring cafe culture, bustling bars & a world-class food scene.

Despite being a bit rough on the edges, Phnom Penh retains its former charm as a leafy South East Asian capital with a nice riverside promenade & numerous beautiful Cambodian Buddhist wats, palaces, & other artifacts.

Tuk tuk & Motorbikes whiz through laneways without a thought for pedestrians; markets exude pungent scents; &d all the while the sounds of life - of commerce, of survival - reverberate through the streets. But this is all part of the attraction, watch the street life & absorb the local colour.

The beauty that made it a 'Paris of the East' before 1970 is hidden beneath the reality of modern day Cambodia, though there are a few French colonial buildings remaining. The wide boulevards & promenades envisaged by the French are mostly used as parking spaces & market stalls: pedestrians are not in favour.

The innermost part of the city, known as "riverside" is where most tourists will go, as it hosts cafes & restaurants aplenty. On its walkable riverfront, lined with parks, restaurants & bars are the ornate Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda & the National Museum, displaying artifacts from around the country. At the city’s heart is the massive, art deco Central Market.

The city is slowly gaining high rise buildings, traffic lights & Western style shopping malls. It does not have the huge colonial British architectural heritage like Yangon in Myanmar, and is light years behind Bangkok.

Later in the afternoon, meet your Tour-guide in the lobby at 02.00 pm & proceed for an orientation drive -around some of the city’s most historically significant sites on your way to Bodia Spa also known as the “Cambodian Cocoon” & referred to as the most interesting day spa in the region, to relax & unwind after the long flight.

Get pampered with a relaxing massage designed for a relaxation of the mind & body. This natural oil massage works to stimulate blood circulation & improves energy flow. The therapist focuses on the head, face, back, neck & shoulders to loosen muscles & ease tensions. The therapeutic touch helps to improve the central nervous system & relieve stress.

Bodia Spa is uniquely designed using only natural & local resources with modern Khmer architecture that reflects the traditional well-being. The calming aspect of the healing reflects traditional, non - clinical & holistic based therapies. Treatments are performed by professionally trained female & male therapists, using 100% Cambodian Bodia Apothecary organic products, produced locally.

Come back to the hotel.

Evening, meet the Journeys Rep / Driver & transfer to indulge yourself in a delicious dinner at Malis Restaurant with an elegant setting, one of Phnom Penh's top addresses for authentic Khmer cuisine. 

Located in the heart of Phnom Penh, near the Independence Monument, guests can choose to dine in the outdoor courtyard or in air-conditioned comfort. The tables surround a beautiful tropical garden with flowering frangipanis and a trickling water feature beside a giant statue of Jayavarman VII, abiding by the principles of Feng Shui.

When you dine at Malis, not only do you get to savor delicious Cambodian cuisine, you also consume an important story. During the 1970’s under the Khmer Rouge, many of Cambodia’s traditional recipes that had been passed on for centuries were forgotten & vanished from the kitchen. Malis was born in 2004 out of the desire & passion to restore Cambodian cuisine to its former glory & put Cambodia back on the map as a culinary destination. Renowned for its fresh seasonal produce, delicate flavours & generous hospitality, Master Chef Luu Meng & his team, decided to revive Cambodian cuisine from the past, adapt it to the present & preserve it for the future.

Transfer back to the hotel.

Morning, meet the Tour-guide in the Lobby at 08.00 am & embark on a full day sightseeing tour of Phnom Penh, riding on traditional ‘Cyclos’.

Visit a selection of carefully-chosen highlights, from the remarkable buildings featuring some of the most stunning architecture to be found anywhere. Despite its turbulent recent history, Cambodia’s bustling capital retains its colonial-era charm with its wide, tree-lined boulevards and mixture of Eastern & Western architectural styles.

You will discover colonial façades & buildings of the “New Khmer Architecture” movement built during the 1950s & 1960s. This movement gave extra care to melding international influences with local materials & traditions. Cambodia's most famous architect, H.E. Vann Molyvann had a big hand in developing many of the structures you admire today.

Admire the mix of Khmer & French colonial architecture as the Tour-guide explains the history, structure & style of the buildings such as the Old Post Office, the Railway Station & the Central Market. Some of the buildings you are able to enter & explore while others can only be observed from the outside.

Enjoy Lunch at iconic Romdeng restaurant set in a beautiful colonial building surrounded by a lush garden & swimming pool. Plating up truly traditional recipes to creative Cambodian cuisine, their Menu will be sure to satisfy the longing for authentic Khmer cuisine. Try a tasty num pung, or French baguette & a nom bahn chok, a quintessential Khmer dish of rice noodles, green fish curry & fresh veggies. Although Cambodia’s cuisine may not enjoy the international fame of some of its neighboring countries, its national & regional dishes offer insights to the country’s heritage.

Eating here, you will contribute to the local well-being as Romdeng is run by the NGO Mith Samlanh, which has worked to build the futures of former street children & marginalized young people in Phnom Penh since 1994.

Continue the guided sightseeing, riding on the ‘Cyclos’

Visit the Royal Palace, built in 1866 & which has been home to Cambodian monarchs ever since (with the exception of the reign of the Khmer Rouge) & is still the royal residence today for His Majesty Norodom Sihanouk & Her Majesty Preah.

Cambodia’s Royal Palace & adjacent Silver Pagoda is a complex of buildings which serves as the royal residence of the king of Cambodia, offering intriguing insight into Cambodia’s past & present. The Palace identified by the iconic high yellow walls that shelter the site, is one of Phnom Penh’s most splendid architectural achievements & one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.

Sprinkled with history, the beautifully manicured grounds & ornate buildings also offer a reprieve from the hustle & bustle of surrounding capital life - making a trip to the Royal Place a must on every visitor’s itinerary. Locals like to bask in its beauty every day - flocking to the small patch of grass that sits in the shadows of the palace’s Moonlight Pavilion to feed the birds, enjoy snacks or place offerings.

The grounds of the Palace & Silver Pagoda are awash with regal structures, intimate temples, collections of gifts from foreign leaders & murals that paint a picture of the country’s past.

Large parts of the sprawling grounds & formal gardens are open to the public, featuring artistic topiary, fanned palmyra, colourful bougainvillaea & Parisian-inspired paths. However, as it still remains the official royal residence, the areas devoted to royal living are closed to visitors.

There are several entrances to the palace, with the eastern Victory Gate reserved for royalty & VIPs, granting direct access to the Throne Hall. The northern gate, or funeral gate, is only opened after the death of a monarch. In February 2013, the late King Norodom Sihanouk’s body was brought out of this gate to begin the 6 km procession through the capital. Cambodians flocked from across the country to pay their respects to the much-revered king. The capital’s streets were lined with mourners dressed in black & white.

The western gate is referred to as the executing gate & was used to bring prisoners out of the palace to be killed in front of the palace. The southern gate is the ‘commoners’ entrance’, & is how the public reaches the Silver Pagoda.

Buildings that are open to the public include the golden-spired Throne Hall, which is painted yellow to symbolise Buddhism - the main religion in Cambodia - and white to represent Hinduism, the dominant religion during Angkorian times. There are 5 doors to the front of the hall, with the central one reserved for royalty.

The grand golden thrones that sit inside are only used for coronations. The front throne is reserved for the king, with the queen sitting on the rear seat. Hers is taller & built on a golden stage with three stairways - one for the queen herself & the other two for the Brahmin priests who oversee the queen during the ceremony.

See the amazing royal collection & the beautiful architecture. The sculptures & sheer construction of the palace leaves even the most seasoned traveler in awe because of the stunning structure.

The Silver Pagoda is an impressively ornate structure that is also known as Wat Preah Keo, or ‘Temple of the Emerald Buddha’. Originally built as a wooden construction in 1892 under King Norodom, it was rebuilt in its current state in 1962, dripping with silver & jewels, it is one of Cambodia’s only temples to survive under the Khmer Rouge. However, half of its contents were pillaged or destroyed during the Vietnamese invasion & years of turmoil that followed.

Despite this dark chapter in the country’s history, the Pagoda’s extravagance still nestles in every nook & cranny. The floor is covered with 5 tonnes of silver spread across, more than 5,000 tiles. The staircase leading to the pagoda is made of Italian marble, with the temple home to a life-sized gold Buddha dripping with 2,086 diamonds. The largest is said to weigh a hefty 25 carats.

Nods to Cambodia’s rich culture can be found inside the pagoda. The walls are lined with golden Buddhas, ancient art & traditional masks used in many classical dances. Gifts from various heads of states, such as statues, can also be found inside the building.

Continue on to the adjacent National Museum, predominantly constructed in the traditional Khmer style with sand-stone, where you will be taken around by a trained museum guide who will show you some wonderful pre - Angkorean pieces from the temples as well as a stunning collection of ancient Khmer art.

Containing the world’s largest collection of Khmer art (housing roughly 5,000 Khmer artifacts dating back from 4^th - 13^th centuries), the exhibits are complemented by more recent examples of Cambodian art. The Museum is housed in a terra-cotta-roofed structure of traditional Cambodian design, which was built between 1917 & 1920. The roof of the museum is also home to one of Cambodia’s largest bat colonies!

The tour concludes but the Khmer discovery continues. 

Reach the Sovanna Phoum Theatre & Art Gallery for the evening Shadow Puppet Theatre followed by a classical Dance performance. (Note: Shadow puppet performances are only held on Fridays & Saturdays. On other days, visit the Royal Arts School for a traditional Apsara dance performance).

Proceed for a sumptuous dinner at the famous Foreign Correspondents’ Club located along the riverside promenade in an iconic colonial building, one of Phnom Penh’s architectural gems with great views over the river. 

Return back to the hotel.

Today, embark on a fascinating experience exploring the culinary delights of Cambodia. Although not as well-known as the cuisine from neighboring countries, Cambodia has a great variety of national dishes & there are many stories to be told by your Tour-guide.

Meet the Tour-guide in the Lobby at 07.00 am (or even earlier) & proceed on a 2 hour Walking Tour to the vegetable market, as many buyers will do to make their purchases. Walk through the aisles as the Tour-guide explains the different fruits, herbs & vegetables used in Khmer cuisine. Try some seasonal, local fruits along the way.

Walk to the beautiful, domed, deco Central Market, which offers a ‘kind’ of kaleidoscopic view of what is on offer in Cambodia, shopping wise.

Shopping in Phnom Penh is a major attraction for tourists who love to buy back some souvenirs from this exotic Asian land. The clean Central Market (Phsar Thmei) is one of those busy bazaars that are always filled with effervescent crowd from one end to the other. Whoever loves to browse endlessly through small yet enticing shops, with the widest range of products for sale, will find the Central Market an enchanting place. The present English name makes it popular to the tourists.

The Market stocks everything right from food items to clothes & silverworks. The jewelry & some of the gold ornament that you will find in the interior of the market are really unsurpassable in design & style.

Constructed in 1937 on a site which was previously a swamp that was used to accumulate runoff rainwaters, it was initially designed by Jean Desbois & the construction was supervised by French architects Louis Chauchon & Wladimir Kandaouroff.

The dark-yellow Art deco building is shaped in the form of a cross with a nice central dome with 4 wings branching out into vast hallways with countless shops selling gold & silver jewelry, antique coins, fake name-brand watches & other such items.

The market building is a beautiful one, a spectacular instance of Cambodian architecture. Central Market also sells electronic items & there is also plenty of second hand stuff that locals can buy here at an affordable rate. The gateway to the market is lined with hawkers who sell different kinds of tidbits. Around the main buildings are stalls offering Krama (the traditional checked scarves), stationery, household items, cloth for sarongs, flowers & second hand clothes, usually from Europe & the US.

For photographers, the fresh food section affords a lot of opportunities. There are a host of good value food stalls on the structure's western side, which faces Monivong Blvd.

From here, move on to another quaint shopping place - the vast Russian Market. This sweltering bazaar is the one market all visitors should come to at least once during a trip to Phnom Penh.

It is the place to shop for souvenirs & discounted name-brand clothing (we obviously can’t vouch for the authenticity of everything, but along with plenty of knock-offs you will find genuine articles stitched in local factories). You will pay less than one-third of the price back home for brands like Banana Republic, Billabong, Calvin Klein, Colombia, Gap & Next.

The Russian Market, so-called by foreigners because the predominantly Russian expat population shopped here in the 1980s, also has a large range of handicrafts & antiquities (many fake), including miniature Buddhas, woodcarvings, betel-nut boxes, silks, silver jewellery, musical instruments & so on. Bargain hard, as hundreds of tourists pass through here every day. There are some good food stalls in the Russian Market if you are feeling peckish.

Continue on to a local restaurant that uses many of the ingredients seen at the market. Various dishes are ready cooked & French-style baguettes (num pang) & the tasty nom banh chok can be ordered: ideal for foodies & lovers of local, non-touristy experiences.

Post lunch, you will visit a sombre site indelibly linked forever to the history of Cambodia.

See the infamous Tuol Sleng High School, the remnants of the S-21 prison camp & hear about how the horrors of the regime unfolded in this innocent location. Peruse the sensitive exhibitions within the high school, which now houses the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. The Museum was one of hundreds of detention & interrogation centers created all over Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge who gave the former high school the sinisterly innocuous name S-21 where countless thousands of Cambodians were ruthlessly processed until they were dead. See the gallery that speaks eloquently of the brutality of the Khmer Rouge as you walk you through the different museum displays.

You might even get the chance to meet one of the survivors, who will enlighten you further on the sordid history of this once peaceful school.

From here, drive outside the city to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek where visitors can learn of the horrors that unfolded here decades ago.

The poignant memorial at Choeung Ek Genocidal Center represents one of the all too frequent dark periods in world history, between 1975 - 1979. The place has really direct links with the horrific past of Cambodia & Phnom Penh when during 4 years of awful civil war an estimated 1.7 million people were massacred.   

Listen as your knowledgeable Tour-guide describes the darkest period in Cambodia’s history & hear of the fateful day when the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh. Uncover the soul-stirring stories of one of the 20^th century’s most horrific tragedies.

Choeung Ek is the site of a former orchard & mass grave of victims of the Khmer Rouge - killed between 1975 & 1979, when men, women, children & infants who had been detained & tortured at S-21 prison were transported to the extermination camp here. The place has been most aptly been named as the Killing Field in Phnom Penh.

There were killing fields all over the country, where the Khmer Rouge regime executed over 1 million people, but Cheung Ek was believed to be the largest. The place is actually a mass grave where almost 17,000 innocents were slaughtered mercilessly for no fault of theirs. There were separate graves for men, for women & for children.

This place of incredible tragedy has today been sensitively converted into a peaceful Visitors’ Centre & the disturbing story is retold.

At the site, where the remains of an estimated 10,000 people were found, a sacred 17 story Choeung Ek Memorial designed in the style of a Buddhist stupa with glass panels was erected in 1988 to remember those who were killed at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. It displays 8000 skulls exhumed from mass graves of those executed at the site, are arranged in multiple layers.

The Memorial was constructed so as not to obscure the facts, but to show the grisly & honest truth. The skulls are a harsh reminder of a genocide that took place only 40 years ago & the Memorial is particularly disturbing as upon closer examination of the skulls, many of which bear marks of the trauma they suffered before their execution.

Along with the Stupa, Choeung Ek still has a number of visible pits that were used as mass graves & some human bones can still be seen in the area. Even today, following periods of heavy rain, fragments of clothing & bones from victims will surface through the mud.

The Cambodian government encourages Visitors to see the site & never to forget the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime. Every year on the 20^th of May, a Ceremony is held around the Stupa to bring peace to the spirits of the deceased. Note: Really frightening sites that sends shivers down the spine. Both Tuol Sleng Museum & the Killing Fields exhibits may be disturbing for some and aren't suitable for younger children & adults who are easily shocked.

Return to the city after sending a sombre 2 hours there.

Immediately on arrival in the city, proceed to the Riverfront to board a Riverboat for a cruise that will take you along the Tonle Sap & Mekong Rivers.

The Cruise Boat is a newly constructed vessel designed solely with lunch/dinner cruising in mind. With 365 degree views from the top, it has 140 seats with a rustic, wooden, Cambodian design with modern touches & is equipped with 3 toilets, running water from fresh water tanks & a water filtration system for clean, purified drinking water. The boat is licensed, inspected, with flotation devices, safety equipment & fire extinguishers onboard, with a staff well-trained in safety & first-aid procedures. A large commercial kitchen with floor-to-ceiling stainless steel walls & appliances, and rubber flooring is designed to prepare food for up to 120 guests in short order. Hygiene, safety & guest satisfaction are the priorities.

Upon boarding you will be welcomed with a Sunset Cocktail.

Departing about 05.00 pm, you will be cruising along the Phnom Penh riverfront while enjoying the subtle sounds of live traditional Khmer music on the upper-deck. You can also view the scenery from the main deck for a more cozy experience.

Leaving the Royal Palace you will journey to the junction of the Tonle Sap, Mekong & Bassac Rivers. Along the way, you may see floating villages & fishing families living on their house boats. See the capital at its most magical as you glide past the glittering Phnom Penh skyline on this 2 hour sunset dinner cruise.

Cruising on the Mekong, you will see the sunset over Phnom Penh in the distance. On the right day, the sunset is the highlight of the journey.

Dinner is served after sunset. An all-you-can-eat buffet made from fresh, local, organic food that is stored, prepped & cooked fresh daily on the boat in a stainless steel kitchen, never prepared on land hours before, and definitely not on a rusty charcoal grill. No fish from the river is served, ever. All original sauces are made onboard. Salad, spring rolls, organic brown rice, curry, fruit, fresh bread, sandwiches & a variety barbecue with Texas-style barbecue & Asian teriyaki sauce is served. There are low-carb, vegetarian, vegan & halal options available.

The Bar (no Drinks are included - direct payment) has spirits from around the world. Most any traditional cocktail can be made, but be sure and try one of many original signature cocktails, satisfaction guaranteed. Local & imported beers, as well as red & white wines by the glass or bottle. Fresh, locally grown coffee beans are ground just before brewing to ensure fantastic espresso, and coffee.

Sail along the Mekong River before turning up the Tonle Sap to take in the stunning Phnom Penh riverfront skyline after dark. Pass under the Japanese Friendship Bridge as you return to Pier.

Disembark & meet the Journeys Rep who will be waiting to transfer you back to the hotel.

Morning, meet the Tour-guide again at 08.00 am & proceed for 5 hour an excursion to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre to enjoy the Bear Care Tour.

The Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center is home to over 1200 animals of more than 100 species & is the biggest rescue center in Cambodia. The Alliance cares for & rehabilitates animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.

At this sanctuary for rescued animals, guests can see a vast array of Cambodia’s wildlife (which is usually very difficult to spot), ranging from the world’s largest captive collections of Malayan sun bears & pileated gibbons to rare animals like greater adjutant storks & Siamese crocodiles.

Rescued from poachers or abusive owners, all of the animals at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center - receive shelter & medical care as part of a sustainable breeding program. When possible, the center’s residents are released back into the wild once they’ve recovered & the center does its best to educate the public on issues of wildlife protection.

The variety of animals that you can see here is extensive, including an impressive tiger population. There is also a large population of elephants who enjoy painting as well as eating. The Center feels much like a zoo (which it is, to some extent) that’s also a safari park, or vice versa.

You will take an exclusive fun & fascinating behind the scenes tour of the Center & meet animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. But your tour will be at the Bear Section at one of the world’s biggest Sun bear sanctuary.

Find out what it takes to care for over 130 rescued Sun bears & Moon bears on the Bear Care Tour with the Free the Bears team. You will learn why the bears are threatened in Cambodia, while touring the world class facilities. Education Program, Research Program & what Free the Bears are doing to build a brighter future for bears in the wild. You will help the Bear Care Team to prepare food & special treats to keep the bears happy & healthy in their forest enclosures. 

Come back to the city.

But yet another Stop before returning to the hotel.

Head to the riverside area of Phnom Penh, a pleasant French style promenade that is great for people viewing. It is a gathering point for the locals & every evening, it turns into a very lively impromptu entertainment center. You can see & participate in free exercise classes, Khmer dancing, Meditation, Yoga sessions, musicians, magicians & whatever else you can think of. A lot of fun for all!

After spending an hour here, you will be transferred back to the hotel (if you want to stay back to explore more & discover some very interesting eating options in the proximity, you have to make your own way back to the hotel).

Finally, the mystical experience comes to an end and it is time to say good-bye.

Check-out of the hotel by 12:00 noon (if the departure time is later in the evening, we will request the hotel to allow  use of facilities & to leave the luggage at the Bell Desk). 

In time, you will be met by a Journeys Rep, who will ensure your comfort & transfer you to Terminal? -  Phnom Penh International Airport for the flight back home.  B

 .

 . 

***        End of Services      ***