Angkor Wat round-trip

Today you'll be able to visit more remote parts of Phnom Penh with your guide, such as the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields. In 1975 the Red Khmer invaded the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Pol Pot became prime minister of Cambodia and made a very cruel and bloody attempt to turn Cambodia into a communist agricultural state. Cities were destroyed and everyone was forced to become a farmer. Currency, education, religion and private property were abolished. From this point on marriages were arranged and children were separated from their parents. Anyone who did not cooperate was executed. Intellectuals and college-graduates were also executed; even wearing glasses or speaking a second language was enough to make someone a suspect. Pol Pot did not believe in their ideas and considered them annoying nuisances.

The Tuol Sleng Museum is quite an impressive museum. It confronts visitors quite directly with Cambodia's brutal past by means of photography. For instance, you'll see pictures of an old elementary school that was used as a prison for torturing political enemies during the rule of the Red Khmer. For many this was their last stop before they were taken to the mass graves of the Killing Fields, located just outside of Phnom Penh in an orchard. Over 17.000 people were killed.

At the end of this quite moving day, you'll spend the night in a small-scale hotel in town.

On this morning you'll travel by hydrofoil over the Tonle Sap Lake and the river with the same name and on to Phnom Penh. A car will take you to the boat pier. The trip should take about 5 hours, however it's best to count on the trip to Siem Reap taking most of the day. During the trip you can sit on the roof of the boat and enjoy the view of life on the mighty lake and its banks. Keep in mind that the sun reflecting on the water increases the risk of sunburn, even when skies are cloudy. It's also possible to sit inside in the air conditioned cabin. You'll cross Cambodia's largest lake which eventually pours into a river. In some areas the lake is kilometres wide, in other areas only dozens of metres. This is why at times you'll enjoy a view of the wide open water and other times you'll see houses and the people that live on the water. Villages on poles, floating islands, boats, rafts, cormorants, playing children on the banks of the lake and river and pigs in floating cages will pass you by. On arrival in Siem Reap you'll be met up by a crowd of pushy hotel representatives; luckily though our local guide will be waiting for you holding a sign with your name on it. He will take you to your hotel in the centre of town where spacious air conditioned rooms and friendly staff will be waiting for you.

Today you'll visit a part of the Angkor temple complex with your guide. In order to see the entire complex, you would need to spend several days here since the dozens of temples are spread out over an area of about 25 kilometres. Wander endlessly through the statues, temples and historic reliefs. Be sure to stay on the defined and marked paths, there are still mines in some of the unchartered areas. The temples were built in various time periods; each ruler built his own temple. This has caused each temple to have its own character. The most famous temple, Angkor Wat, features Hindu influences while the Angkor Thom temple features Buddhist influences. After a day of cultural exploration, you'll spend another night in your hotel in Siem Reap.

Today you'll visit Angkor independently. Angkor is the name of the ancient capital of the Khmer-empire that was established during the 8th century after Christ. The empire was enormous and included territory all the way down to Southern Vietnam and China. Later on the Thai ruled this territory during the Siamese empire and introduced many Buddhist influences. "Siem Reap" literally means "victory by Siam". It was very generous of the Khmer to allow the city to keep its name. The temples were once surrounded by a lively city full of wooden houses. Unfortunately the houses did not last the test of time, however the temples alone more than warrant a visit to this area. For centuries this city was covered by jungle until a French expedition discovered the ruins early in the 1900's. Several of the temples have since been restored. Several others still show how the jungle swallowed the temples from sight. The Ta Prohm temple has not yet been completely restored. It's quite interesting to see how towering trees have taken the temple prisoner. The tops of the trees shoot up into the sky, far beyond the temple roof and the roots of the trees have wrapped themselves around the walls of the temple..... truly an impressive sight. You'll spend another night in Siem Reap.