Passage through Cambodia Angkor Wat and Killing Fields

In Cambodia you'll find a very genuine and untainted Asia; endless green (rice) paddy-fields, an open, honest and curious population, Cambodian temples and the mystical cultural heritage of the Khmers. The temples, palaces and tombs of these Khmers are a few of the world's most miraculous structures and they are sure to leave a lasting impression on you. Siem Reap and Phnom Penh are typical Asian cities with an abundance of Eastern allure and a tumultuous past.

This module helps you to travel from Thailand straight through Cambodia and on to Phnom Penh in six or seven days. You'll experience a country that has risen like a phoenix from the flames of a turbulent past and which has only recently been opened to the foreign visitors. You'll travel Cambodia by bus and speedboat and you'll spend the nights in enjoyable, cosy hotels. If you would like to continue travelling through this region, have a look at the travel options presented by Thailand Travel Plan, another exciting Rickshaw travel site. It is also possible to end this programme early and return to the UK from Siem Reap.

Duration	Option 1: 6 days / 5 nights Departs Tuesdays & Fridays. Option 2: 7 days / 6 nights Departs daily	Accommodation	Basic accommodation in small towns and standard hotels in larger cities (see accommodation)
Price	Option 1: £353 per person - based on 2 people Option 2: £449 per person - based on 2 people	Includes	All transport mentioned in the daily itinerary, accommodation with breakfast, guides
Transport	Minibus, air-conditioned car and hydrofoil	Excludes	Other meals and drinks, entrance fees to Angkor Temples

Day 1: Phnom Penh - No Activities Planned

If you're flying into Cambodia, one of our representatives will be waiting to pick you up at Phnom Penh airport. Alternatively, if you have just finished our Cambodia boat trip module, you'll arrive in Phnom Penh by boat. At the jetty, you'll find scores of rickshaw drivers waiting to take you to your hotel for just $1, so it's far better to arrange this on the spot. The rest of the day is free for you to spend as you wish - relaxing, freshening up, wandering around or chilling out with an Angkor Beer.

Phnom Penh is a very interesting city with lots of historic colonial buildings and a great atmosphere. Compared to other Cambodian cities it’s quite modern with paved roads, modern shops, a beautiful boulevard and many cash machines. You can visit the Cambodia National Museum, which was built in 1917 and houses an impressive collection of Khmer artefacts.

Phnom Penh actually means the hill (Phnom) of Penh. Legend has it that a woman named Penh found four Buddha statues that had been washed up by the Mekong river, and placed these statues in a small shrine. This shrine still exists in what is now the Wat Phnom. In the afternoon, climb the hill to the Cambodian temple. Market stalls now line the hill and little monkeys run amok. You’ll be staying in a small, comfortable hotel in Phnom Penh.

Tuol Sleng Museum - Torture room

Killing fields memorial monument

Day 2: Phnom Penh - Tuol Sleng Museum and Killing Fields monument

Today, you'll visit Phnom Penh's major attractions with your guide. You'll visit the Silver Pagoda and the National Palace but you'll also see the haunting remnants of the Pol Pot regime at 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. Currency, education, religion and private property were abolished. 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.

The Tuol Sleng Museum is an incredibly moving museum. It confronts visitors quite directly with Cambodia's brutal past by means of a series of photographs. An old primary school 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.

The Silver Pagoda, or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, is famous for its solid silver floor, made up of 5000 silver tiles weighing over 1kg each. At the Aspara Foundation in Phnom Penh, poor Cambodian children can take singing and entertaining lessons. Opening hours permitting, your guide will take you to see this interesting project. You'll be staying another night in your small, comfortable hotel.

Day 3: Phnom Penh - Siem Reap

On this morning you'll travel by hydrofoil over the Tonle Sap Lake and the river with the same name and on to Siem Reap. A car will take you to the boat pier. The trip should take about 5 hours, which is much shorter than the trip would take by road, 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 greeted by a mass of pushy hotel representatives. Luckily your own guide will be waiting for you, carrying a sign with your name on it, and he will take you to your hotel. The hotel is located in the centre of town, has very spacious air conditioned rooms and has a friendly staff.

Tonle Sap Lake

Day 4: Angkor - visit with guide

Today you will visit part of the Angkor temple complex with your guide. You'd need a couple of days to cover the whole Angkor complex; the dozens of temples are scattered across an area over 25 square km. You could wander through the temples, statues and ruins forever but make sure to stay on the paths, as there are lots of mines in this area. These Cambodian temples date from different periods as each ruler built his own temple, which gives every temple a unique character. The most famous Cambodian temple, Angkor Wat, has strong Hindu influence, whereas Angkor Thom is more Buddhist. After a day of temples and culture you’ll be spending another night at your hotel in Siem Reap.

Day 5: Angkor - Independent Visit

Today you can spend another day exploring Angkor on your own. Angkor is the name of the ancient capital of the Khmer empire which was founded in the 8th century AD. The empire stretched all the way to southern Vietnam and China. Later it was the Siamese empire of the Thai that ruled the area and brought many Buddhist influences to the region. Siem Reap literally means ‘conquest by Siam’ so it’s rather noble of the Khmer to have kept the name to this day. The temples were once surrounded by a thriving city filled with wooden houses. Sadly they’re long gone but the temples themselves are magnificent enough. For centuries the city was overgrown by jungle until the ruins were discovered by French explorers in 1900. Several of these Cambodian temples have been restored but others are still overgrown. At the Ta Prohm temple for example you can see how the jungle still has a hold on the buildings. Giant trees tower over them and the roots have wrapped themselves around the temple walls. It’s a strange but impressive sight. You’ll be spending another night in Siem Reap.

OPTION 1

Day 6: Siem Reap - Bangkok - End of module

The quickest way to get to Bangkok is by our own Siem Reap – Bangkok express. You’ll be picked up at your hotel in Siem Reap in the morning and transferred to the Cambodian border. After a 5-hour drive you’ll arrive in the little town of Poipet where you can collect the necessary stamps and cross the border on foot. Here you’ll find your new Thai driver waiting to take you to Bangkok by minibus. It’s another 5-hour drive through beautiful green countryside and small rural villages. You’ll arrive in Bangkok late afternoon, marking the end of this module. You can continue your trip with one of our Thailand modules, or take a taxi back to the airport to catch your flight back home.

OPTION 2

Day 6: Siem Reap - Battambang

Sometime during the morning you'll be picked up at your hotel and taken to the pier just outside of Siem Reap. Here you'll board a boat to Battambang, your next destination. Along the way you'll pass floating villages filled with waving children. You'll travel through small waterways and later on you'll travel across the mighty Tonle Sap Lake. At the end of the afternoon you'll arrive in Battambang.

Here you'll be able to go for a ride on a bamboo train. The bamboo train is nothing more than a bamboo raft and a carriage that has been placed on a train track; however it is a traditional means of transportation for this area. The train trip will take you through rice fields and will give you a glimpse of traditional country life and houses on wooden poles. Battambang is a provincial city with a lively market where people come from all around to stock up on ingredients for their meals. You'll spend the night in a hotel across from the local market; the hotel is comfortable yet basic.

Day 7: Battambang - Trat - Bangkok - End of module

You'll head out of Battambang for the Thai border quite early this morning. You'll travel by private car as the roads in this area are quite poor. After a bumpy 3-hour drive you'll reach the border. Once you've collected your exit stamp for your passport, you can take one last look at Cambodia over your shoulder and cross the border by foot. You'll be amazed to see that the border is nothing more than two small offices across from each other and a gate between them. On the Thai side of the border another driver will be waiting to take you to Trat. The difference between Cambodia and Thailand will be noticeable immediately when you set foot on Thai soil. The sandy road you crossed in Cambodia will transform into a paved road, making the trip to Trat much more enjoyable. Your driver will take you to the Trat bus station where you'll catch a bus to Bangkok. It's best to purchase your own bus ticket here; your driver will help you with this. Eventually you'll arrive in Bangkok at the end of the day, and this is where the module ends.

What next...?

Once this module, you can either hop on your international flight back home or extend your trip with a couple of our Thailand Travel modules.

You could also end this module early while in Trat, before taking the bus to Bangkok. Right off the coast lies the tropical island of Ko Chang, an ideal location for a relaxing stay in a hammock at the end of your journey. For more information, have a look at the Ko Chang waterfall island module.