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Day 1: Royal Palace/ Silver Pagoda/
National Museum/ Central Market
Transfer to your hotel for check in. You
will be taken on a tour of Phnom Penh
city. In the afternoon, you will enjoy a
visit to the Royal Palace built in 1866
by King Norodom. Visit Silver Pagoda so
named because of its floor that is
comprised of 5,000 silver tiles.
Then, visit
to the National Museum which is
exclusively devoted to preserving and
displaying Khmer arts and sculptures.
Visit the Central Market and then you
are free to enjoy the delights of Phnom
Penh nightlife. Overnight in Phnom Penh.
Day 2: Killing
field Choeung Ek/ Tuol Sleng/Wat
Phnom/Independent Monument/Russian Market
After breakfast, drive
to the Killing fields of Choeung Ek, where between 1975 and 1978 about
17.000 men, women, children and infants (including nine westerners) were
detained and tortured at S-21 prison. Visit the notorious Tuol Sleng
Genocide Museum known as Security Prison 21 (S-21) where in 1975 Tuol
Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot's security forces and
turned into a prison known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). It soon became
the largest such center of detention and torture in the country.
Afternoon, visit the
city's namesake Wat Phnom which was founded in 1373 which was built as
the pagoda to house Buddhist relics washed ashore by the river. Continue
visiting the Independent Monument which was built in 1958 following the
country's independence from France. Visit the Russian Market (Psah Tuol
Thom Pong), a lively outdoor market where you will find antiquities,
silver and gold jewelry, gems, silks, kramas, stone and wood carvings,
as well as T-Shirts, CDs and other souvenirs.
Overnight in Phnom Penh
Day 3 : Phnom Penh - Siem Reap (Angkor)
Breakfast at hotel.
Transfer to Phnom Penh airport for departure to Siem Reap. Upon arrival
at Siem Reap airport, you will meet and transfer to hotel. Afternoon,
take a boat trip & enjoy the wonderful views of Tonle Sap Great Lake.
Also visit the beautiful Phnom Krom temple by the Tonle Sap Lake.
Accommodation at hotel
Day 4 : Angkor Complex
This morning start our
trip to visit the ancient capital of Angkor Thom (12th century). See the
South Gate (with its huge statues depicting the churning of the ocean of
milk). Visit Bayon Temple (unique for its 54 towers decorated with over
200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara), the Royal Enclosure - Phimeanakas,
the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. Then visit the
fabulous Ta Prohm Temple which is embraced by the roots of enormous fig
trees, and it is one of Angkor's most popular temples.
In the afternoon, visit
the World Heritage which is well known as Angkor Wat, which is one of
the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. In the
evening, view sunset at Phnom Bakheng from where you will have a
spectacular view of the Western Baray and Angkor Wat. Accommodation at
hotel.
Day 5: Angkor Complex
Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning, you will continue the visit of
more fabulous temples. Included are Prasat Kravan (with its unique brick
sculptures), Srah Srang ("The Royal Baths" which was once used for
ritual bathing. Move on to Banteay Kdei (surrounded by four concentric
walls), Eastern Mebon (guarded at its corner by stone figures of
harnessed elephants, and some of which are still in a reasonable state
of preservation), and also the "Mountain Temple" of Pre Rup.
In the afternoon,
transfer to the archaeological site and continue for more temple tours.
Visit Ta Prohm - one of the most beautiful temples in the area. Then,
visit Takeo, Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda temples.
Accommodation at hotel
Day 6 : Roluos Group/Neak Pean/Preah
Khan/Srah Srang/Banteay Kdei
Visit Roluos group of temples. These 3 monuments served as the capital
during the reign of King Indravaraman I (877-89), are among the earliest
large and permanent temples of the Khmer classical art period. Preah Ko,
erected by Indavaraman I in the late 9th century was dedicated by the
King to his ancestors. Bakhong is the largest and the most interesting
of the Roluos group temples with its active Buddhist monastery. Lastly,
visit Lolei, which is four brick towers replicas of the ones at Preah Ko.
It was built on an islet in the center of large reservoir by Yasovarman
I; the founder of the first city of Angkor.
Afternoon, visit Neak
Pean, a fountain built in the middle of a pool and representing the
paradisiacal Himalayan mountain–lake. Continue to visit Preah Khan,
built by King Jayavarman VII, then Srah Srang (Royal Bath) and Banteay
Kdei Temple, in the ruin and confusion of Banteay Kdei the carvings take
one’s interest. They are piquant, exquisite and seem meant to make
adorable a human habitation. Overnight in Siem Reap.
Day 7 : Kbal Speak, Banteay Srey, Banteay
Samre
After breakfast, drive to Kbal Spean and walk about 45 minutes through
the forest to the top of the hill to reach Kbal Spean, the "Thousand
Linga River" which you can discover the 10th-12th century sculptures
chiseled into the rocky riverbed - the Royal Bath and the waterfall.
Then, continue to the enchanting temple of the Banteay Srei – a nearly
everyone's favorite site. The special charm of this temple lies in its
compact size, remarkable state of preservation, and the excellence of it
decorative carvings.
In the afternoon, visit
Banteay Samre which is one of the most complete complexes at Angkor due
to the "anastylosis" restoration method being used. The name Samre
refers to an ethnic group of mountain people that inhabited the region
at the base of Phnom Kulen and were probably related to the Khmers. No
inscriptions have been found at this temple, but the style of most of
the architecture is of the classic arts of the middle period - similar
to Angkor Wat.
The proportions of
Banteay Samre are splendid with unique feature is an interior moat with
laterite paving, which when filled with water must have given an
ethereal atmosphere to the temple. Return to Siem Reap at the end of the
afternoon.
Overnight in Siem Reap
Day 8 : Siem Reap - Departure
Breakfast at hotel and
free at leisure until time to transfer to the airport for departure
flight. |