INTO THE TRADITIONAL KHMER ART AND CULTURAL - 8 DAYS/ 7 NIGHTS - From: 607$

Upon arrival at Phnom Penh Airport you will be greeted and transferred to city center by our guide for hotel check-in. Take your time to relax after your tired flight. In the late afternoon, take an enchanted cruise on Mekong river to catch the sunset moment and enjoy the amazing sightseeing along Mekong River while having a lovely glass of Rose wine. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Spend this day for the capital city. Your exciting story of Phnom Penh starts with an observation of Independence Monument which was built in commemoration of the end of French colonial rule in 1953 and to gratitude to those who spend their life to fight for country’s liberty. After that, take a visit Wat Phnom and then to the National Museum. Offically inaugurated in 1920, the museum offers an excellent example of Khmer architecture. Explore its development of culture through an fantastic range of sculptures coming forth from all different periods of Cambodian history. This will be an unforgettable introduction to Angkor. Then take a visit to Royal Palace, built up by King Norodom  in 1866. So many different structures are grouped together just in the space of the palace, creating an extraordinary collection of Khmer art. One of the highlights is Silver Pagoda, with remarkable works including a 90-kilogram golden Buddha encrusted with 9584 diamonds, Baccarat crystal conceived in the 17th century and a Buddha featuring emerald

Keep travelling towards the south of the city and visit the Tuol Sleng genocide museum, you will have the closest and most authentic look of the Khmer Rouge regime - the darkest and forgettable period of Cambodia’s history. Then visit a former secondary school, which was transformed into a detention centre under the Khmer Rouge. Behind the gates with the famous name ‘S21’, thousands of residents and soldiers were detained, tortured and wasted their life here. Transfer after that to local art school in Phnom Penh for learning traditional dance or even Khmer martial art. Meals are on your own to discover the diversity of unique cuisine here. Overnight at the hotel.

Notes:
+ When we visit the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda our guides are unauthorized to lead, so guides on site will be the ones to do .+ In case the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda are closed without notice (only sometimes for official ceremonies), we will rearrange the visit with another if possible.
+ Because of limited capacity of the local art school (maximum 5 persons/ course), big group might be divided into smaller group size for back-to-back visiting.

Departure for Siem Reap by a brief flight. You will be welcom at the airport and transferred to your hotel. From 1.30 pm onward room is at your disposal. In the afternoon discover one of the most ancient sites of the region: the Roluos group. At the begining, pay visits to the impressive Bakong Temple, dating back to 9th century. Keep following your guide to Preah Ko and Lolei (today it is a small monastery). Take a cycling tour around Bakong and the surrounding countryside where an aperitif will be prepared.

Return to Siem Reap for a visit to Artisan D'Angkor, an organization whose the only purpose of training uneducated youth from countryside in traditional handicraft skills. This will offer you chances to explore traditional Cambodian handicraft skills and see the artisans at work. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Today we travel 15km from Siem Reap towards a golden silk farm. Directly observe all the steps of making silk in the traditional way from the very first step of raising silkworms, then taking their blend to weave the silk and finally dye it. Continue our trip towards Banteay Srei – a charming small pink temple. Dating back to 10th century and still known as the Citadel of Women, this temple owns a most impressive jewel of Khmer art.

Our guide will wait for you at your hotel reception to transfer you to the very famous world heritage site of Angkor Wat. Built up in the 12th century (1112-1152) in honour of Vishnu, with incredible bas reliefs and soaring towers, Angkor Wat is known as one of the most amazing monuments made by mankind in the world.

In the evening, enjoy Circus Art performance, called “Phare, The Cambodian Circus” – a non-governmental organization in purpose of supporting community development through activities of providing educative, social and cultural services to children and their families. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Get on a tuk-tuk this morning and we head to Preah Khan Temple, located in the northern end of Angkor. Dating back to 1191, this temple is built up by Jayavarman VII in honour of his father, for the purposes of being both a city and a place for Buddhism studies. Neak Pean, erected in the same era, also known as Entwined Nagas, is the only island temple of Angkor. Four smaller basins, presenting the image of the four great rivers flowing from the earth’s four cardinal points, link and meet together at the large central basin. You will also see the superb statute of Balaha, one of the most interesting features of this site, speaking for the legendary saviour of shipwrecked boats. Angkor will be still many things to explore as we go further south. Built up from the 12th century and during the reign of Suryavarman II, the two spectacular temples of Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda will be our next interesting destinations to visit. They are prominent for their very beautiful sculptured images honouring Shiva and Vishnu.

After lunch (your expense)  and relaxation, continue our trip by visiting the Great City of Angkor Thom.  Your afternoon begins with the south gate and the famous Bayon temple. Dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries, the Bayon is dedicated to Buddhism and composed of 216 smiling faces of Avalokitesvara on 54 gigantic towers. Afterwards, pay visits to the Terrace of the Elephants. In the past, it was served as a base for the king’s grand audience hall and used as a gigantic reviewing stand in occasion of public ceremonies. Then come explore the Terrace of Leper King, dating back the 12th century, on which many beautiful Apsaras was sculptured. Wrap up your day with a visit Theam House - an exceptional artist’s workshop and studio at the heart of art and creativity. Theam’s work is interested in transformation of nature, inspired by the Khmer culture and the recovery of Cambodian life after decades sinking in war and silence. The modern creations influenced by Khmer has created some amazing artefacts, such as customized meditation statues, customized elephants having its origin from Kampong Chhnang and triptychs.

Take a break from this interesting meeting to enjoy a cocktail in the lush tropical garden. All meals of day are on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Spend the whole day for an excursion to Thousand Lingas river, also called “Kbal Spean”- the head of the bridge. After moving by car, you have to spend 45 minutes more to walk through the jungle to reach the river that provides water for the irrigation of Angkor. The bed of the river is lavishly sculpted. Many lingas lay there, lovely touched by the crystal-clear waters. Bas-reliefs display from the Brahman pantheon such as Brahama born out of a lotus or Vishnu lying. Lunch is served at a local restaurant.

After that, try the feeling to the the first explorer as we go deep to the jungle towards the Bang Melea Temple, remote temples of Angkor Park, erected in the middle of the twelfth century during the reign of Suryavarman II, far from the bustling Angkor Wat. Beng Mealea particularly adapts to the meditation and reverie, inhabited by celestial dancers (Apsaras). The tree roots have gently wrapped this temple and create an astonishing symbiotic relationship between mineral and  vegetable. In the evening, enjoy dinner with an Apsaras performance. Overnight at the hotel.

This morning, departure for Kompong Khleang to enjoy lovely villages with peaceful atmosphere. Locals here only live on stilt houses, which provides you an unique natural environment and breathtaking views of rice fields, floodplains and water far away to the horizon. Meet up with lovely children and hospitable locals while wandering along the village. Then, hop on a boat and cruise along the canals towards a large lake populated by Vietnamese people. Because of the seasons, those poor but friendly people are displaced from their homes. Have a picnic lunch in a home of a villager, upon arriving back to the village.

In the afternoon, visit Lotus farm to experience firsthand every steps from the spinning to the weaving. In fact, the lotus stem provides a special and ecological lotus fiber. It is very exceptional to get the lotus threat from the lotus stem.
To wrap up your day, you will be introduced the art of palm leaf handicraft in the village of Smok. Smok is a Cambodian traditional palm leaf box. Made by locals, this simple item is used for many different purposes, often of a traditional cake wrapping, a souvenir box, a lunch box or a flute box. This box are easily-broken and recyclable to protect the environment. Have your own meals. Spend your night at the hotel.

Take your last time here to relax at hotel's pool or stroll around Old Centre Market for shopping before transferring to airport for your onward flight. Room is at your disposal before noontime only. Meals on your own. Our services end here.