Day 1: Arrive – Siem Reap

Welcome to Siem Reap! Visit Les Artisans D Angkor, home of the handicraft center and the Old Market “Phsa Chas”, a lively outdoor market where you will find antiquities, silver and gold jewelry, gems, silk, kramas, stone and wood carvings, as well as T-Shirts, CDs and other souvenirs.
Stay overnight in Siem Reap.

Day 2: Siem Reap

Proceed to enjoy a full-day excursion to Angkor Thom and Temples. You will visit the wonderful Angkor Thom (the Great City) including the Southern Gate, the famous Bayon temple (12th century in the center of city remains one the most enigmatic temples of the Angkor group composed of 54 gothic towers decorated with 216 smiling faces of Avalokitesvara. Baphuon temple is lying just to the north of Bayon a pyramidal representation of the mythical Mont Meru. Terrace of Elephants used as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king’s grand audience hall; Terrace of the Leper King a platform 7m high, with a statue.

Later continue with a visit to the picturesque Ta Prohm. This beautiful temple is one of Angkor’s jewels and is overgrown with fig trees, giving a haunting yet exotic atmosphere.  The magnificent roots of the trees have merged over the centuries with the temple’s huge stone blocks, emphasizing a ‘forgotten city’ feeling.  The temple was built by King Jayavarman VII to commemorate his mother. It is time to visit the wonderful Angkor Wat Temples – one of the seven greatest architectural wonders of the world, as a temple and mausoleum for King Suryavarman II at the peak of the Khmer empire in the first half of the 12th.

Angkor Wat is probably the best-preserved of the Angkorean temples, with a central tower surrounded by four smaller towers. The central monument represents the mythical Mount Meru, the holy mountain at the center of the universe, which was home to the Hindu God Vishnu. The whole complex covers 81 hectares, a rectangular wall measuring 1025 meters by 800 meters borders the inner edge of the moat, and the temple’s greatest sculptural treasure is its 2 km-long bas-reliefs around the walls. In the late afternoon, visit the Phnom Bakheng temple, which is the first temple in the Angkor region built by the Yacovarman I King in the first of the 9th century, located on a slope gently hill where thousands of tourists are grouping on the hilltop to catch a memorable time of life when viewing the marvelous sunset, the distant Angkor Wat in the jungle.

The evening is at leisure for walking in a busy pub street. Pop up at a bar for a cool drink or shop at Angkor Night Market.

Stay overnight in Siem Reap.

Day 3:  Siem Reap – Phnom Penh City Tour

Transfer you to the airport for your flight to Phnom Penh. You will visit the impressive colorful Khmer-style Royal Palace complex built in 1866 by the Predecessors of King Norodom. Nearby is the Silver pagoda (The emerald Buddha temple), which contains plenty of Buddha Statues decorated and made of gold, diamond, gemstone, and silver. We will stop at the Independence monument and explore the National Museum a beautiful Khmer architecture building that contains more than 5000 art antiques made of bronze, wood, gold, silver, copper, sandstone, and others. We pass through the river-front park where 4 rivers met at a junction including the mystical Mekong.

Later visit the Independence Monument. We visit the Royal University of Fine Arts where the young Cambodians learn the ancient arts of their ancestors. The most interesting part of this structure is the Dance Academy. Here, many young children practice the graceful movements of the beautiful national dances. Walk up to the sacred hill Phnom Daun Penh – also the name of a pagoda and the name of the capital nowadays. Then we stop at Central Market, a large market constructed in 1937 in the shape of a dome with four arms branching out into vast hallways with countless stalls of goods. The initial design and layouts are from French architect Louis Cauchon.

Stay overnight in Phnom Penh

Day 4: Phnom Penh

Visit the Choeung Ek museum, where between 1975 and 1978 about 17,000 men, women, children, and infants detained and tortured at S-21 were transported for extermination. Then we go shopping around the Russian market and enjoy the bustling daily activities of the locals. Visit Wat Phnom Temple, a small hill crowned by an active Wat (Pagoda) that marks the legendary founding place of Phnom Penh. Last we will take a cruise to see the sunset on the Mekong and Tonle Sap River in the “Four Arms” section where the Mekong meets the Tonle Sap River before splitting into two branches.

Stay overnight in Phnom Penh

Day 5: Saigon Departure

We will transfer you to the airport for your return journey.