Cambodia Adventure | ailor Made Tour | Direct Contact with Local Travel Agency | Pyala Travel - Travel Program

Day 1 Arrival Siem Reap

Arrival at Siem Reap airport. Transfer from airport to your hotel. At your hotel you will get a introduction from one of our staff members. The rest of the day is free at leisure.

Day 2 Siem Reap / Rice farming experience with local farmer

The best farming experience in Cambodia, we offer you the best the land has to offer and a rare glimpse into the traditional rice farmers in Siem Reap. In this course, you will be able to experience how it is like to plough the land, plant rice, harvest them, thresh and eventually cook up a traditional meal! Set in a beautiful farmland about 40 mins from town, it is peaceful and serene yet bustling with life as all sorts of plants and animals interact in a thriving ecosystem. Besides farming, you will also get to see a host of other traditional crafts such as blacksmithing, bird traps, musical instruments and a whole lot more. Also comprising a zen-like lotus lake, and an organic garden with more than 30 types of vegetables and fruits, it will delight the plant-lover in you, if not inspire the creation of one!  

Note: The experience is the real-life activity, so everything is depending on season. For the dry season (Oct - May) the host can arrange rice farming at Tonle Sap lake.

Day 3 & 4 Siem Reap / Angkor Wat discovery

Angkor Wat commonly refers to the vast and incredible array of temples encompassing the Angkor Archaeological Park. The park itself is almost 400sq. kilometers (250sq. miles), and with more than 45 temples, takes up to 1 week to visit in its entirety! Today you will embark on what is known as the small and grand circuit. Angkor Wat, South Gate, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Elephant Terrace and Ta Phrom and Banteay Srei are some of the temples you will visit.

Day 3: Small circuit by bicycle
Day 4: Grand circuit by tuktuk

Day 5 Siem Reap / Countryside & Mechrey Floating Village

Today we travel by car. First stop it Krabey Reil village where you will visit the house of a local family and learn more about their way of life. Out of the back of the garden they run as rice wine distillery. After you visit the local market of the village. A few kilometers further traditional ox-carts are waiting to take you for a short 20-minute drive through the countryside. From here you travel on to Mechrey, where you will go by boat to see the authentic floating village of Mechrey. There are floating schools, shops and even small floating gardens! You will return in Siem Reap around lunch time.

Day 6 Siem Reap - Bantaey Chhmar

Your private taxi will pick you up from your hotel after breakfast and drive you to Banteay Chhmar. It will take around 3,5 hours. At arrival, you will be welcomed at Banteay Chhmar Community-Based Tourism (CBT) office. A lunch is prepared for you by the local women’s group under a straw hut. After lunch, you will be introduced to your homestay hosts and you have some time to freshen up.   In the afternoon you’ll visit Banteay Chhmar temple complex. The temple is the 4th largest temple dating from the Angkorian period after Preah Khan (in Kampong Svay), Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat being the largest temple. There are nine satellite temples as part of the temple complex. What is known, is that it was commissioned in the late 12th to early 13th centuries by King Jayavarman VII. A shrine in the temple once held an image of a Crown Prince, believed to be Indravarman, and probably a son of Jayavarman VII.   After visiting the Temple, you will drive through the village on a real ox-cart and visit the silk center where you can learn more about the traditional weaving process.  

You will make a short stop at the homestay to get ready for dinner at the Temple. Light will be provided by wooden torches and gives the whole setting a real nice atmosphere. The rest of the night is at leisure at your homestay.

Day 7 Bantaey Chhmar - Battambang

Breakfast will be prepared and delivered to your homestay by the CBT. After breakfast, you visit the local market in the village. Take in all the sounds, smells and colors while you stroll through the market. You will take a ride in the back of a Kuyon. This a tractor like vehicle that is built to be able to drive through deep mud and rice fields. It makes a lot of noise yet drives very slowly. Lunch is enjoyed at the Banteay Torp temple. After lunch it’s time to say goodbye to your hosts and get ready for your transfer to Siem Reap or Battambang by your private taxi. You will arrive at the end of the afternoon.

Day 8 Battambang / cycling tour

Stop 1: Memorial Site First up, we will bike to a local memorial site dedicated to Khmer Rouge victims. We will fill you in about this difficult period of Cambodia’s history, but will also speak about its effect on modern-day Cambodian society.

Stop 2: Bamboo Rice Cakes On our next stop, we will pay a visit to the makers of bamboo rice cakes. Find out more about the processes involved in the making of this special countryside delicacy, and yes—you may sample a taste!

Stop 3: Fish Paste Making We will then make our way towards a local fish paste market. The smell may be slightly overwhelming for some, but we’re sure you’ll find this stop fascinating! As you watch the processes of fish paste making, you’ll learn about the fishing culture of Battambang and the community that depends on the sea for its sustenance.

Stop 4: Khmer Noodles Next up, we will visit a local noodle maker. Here, you’ll learn about another important staple in Cambodian cuisine. Be sure to check out (and try) the manual pounder, a unique devise that is still used in noodle making!

Stop 5: Rice Wine We will then cycle to Donteav Village, located roughly 7 kilometres from the town centre. With the development of Cambodian tourism, this little village has built a reputation for its quaint, handmade and home-grown products. At Donteav, we will check out the processes involved in the making of rice paper, a staple that can be found in many Asian cuisine such as spring rolls.

Stop 6: Bananas for Bananas! Next, we will cycle to a local rice wine distillery where you will get to observe the processes involved in the production of this local favourite, which is used for medicinal and recreational purposes. And yes, if you are wondering, you will get to sample a taste!

Stop 7: Rice Paper Making On our next stop, we will find out more about the humble banana—a fruit native to Battambang. We will meet a local villager who has been involved in the dried banana trade for more than 20 years and discover how this simple trade has sustained the lives of many families at the village.

Stop 8: Local Lunch Hungry yet? We bet you will be! At this point, we will take a break at the Rice Paper Stop, where we will enjoy a delicious local lunch served with refreshing coconut water. There are hammocks here too, so you are more than welcome to relax and have a short snooze; or you may opt to chat to your friendly guides, who will be more than happy to answer any questions you have. 

Stop 9: Wat Ekphnom One of the 11th century temple was built on the soil of Battambang which the province has widely known through out the country as the province of rice production. Yet, there is much more to discover on this beautiful hinterland—getting to the place where locals people visiting on their free times, Ek Phnom is an interesting stop to learn about Cambodian ancient time.

Stop 10: Rice Paddies Paddy fields widely spread almost everywhere in Cambodia. As our local guides were born in the countryside, they will help explain you clearly about rice agriculture. Taking fresh airs at the field and enjoy taking photos of the stunning view of rice field.

Stop 11: Traditional Handmade Mat Such a creative and complex handmade product! You might never seen how local made their sleeping mat from tittle water plan nearby Tonle Sap lake. As Battambang is one of the five provinces neighboring to basin of Mekong river (the low Mekong—Tonle Sap), with your local guides, they will help you find out more about their livelihoods and how these products are being made.

Day 9 Battambang - Kampong Chhnang

After breakfast your driver will pick you up and transfer you to Kampong Chhnang

Day 10 Kampong Chhnang - Chi Phat

Sovann Phum hotel does not have breakfast included. There are several restaurants in town where you can have breakfast. In the morning your taxi will pick you up and transfer you to Andoung Teuk bridge in Koh Kong. From there you will take the boat to Chi Phat. In Chi Phat village, you register at the community center. At dusk you cruise down the river on a motor-raft, as the sun sets and egrets fly along the river to roost. Ever wanted to know the names of the prominent stars? The stars in Chi Phat village are brilliant at night, unobscured by pollution and stray street light. Further down the river, they are clearer still. Use our star map to discover Sirius, Vega, Betelgeuse... We put mats and a low Khmer-style table on a flat-bed raft. Food and drinks are included.

Day 11 Chi Pat / Batcave with waterfalls tour by mountainbike

Today you go on a fairly easy one-day bicycle ride through the countryside. Visit Dragon Fish River waterfall, bat cave and Holy River waterfall. You will have time to go swimming. On the way back, waterfall fans can visit High Waterfall or Bodhi Tree rapids.

Day 12 Chi Pat - Kampot

After breakfast your boat will bring you back to Andoung Teak bridge where your taxi is waiting for your transfer to Kampot.

Day 13 Kampot / countryside tour

With a private tuktuk with English speaking driver you will venture into the countryside around Kampot and Kep to see the salt ?elds, a cave temple, ?shing village, and pepper plantations. You will stop at the local crab market in Kep for lunch (not included).

Day 14 Kampot river boat tour and transfer to Phnom Penh

German Bjorn takes you along to his favorite place on earth, and shows you beautiful nature and when possible birdlife along the Kampot river. See the ?shing boats depart, go for a swim or just relax. In the afternoon your taxi will bring you to Phnom Penh.

Day 15 Phnom Penh city tour

Today you embark on a city tour in Phnom Penh. First stop is the
Royal Palace at the riverside. Within the Palace grounds street sounds are silenced and Royal buildings sit like ornate islands rising from the manicured gardens. The Palace serves as the King’s residence, a venue for court ceremony and as a symbol of the Kingdom. It was established at this location when the capital was moved to Phnom Penh in 1866. Khmer and European elements as well as echoes of the palace in Bangkok are present in the design of the buildings. Attached to the Palace compound, Wat Preah Keo Morokat (the 'Silver Pagoda') is unique amongst pagodas. So, named for its silver tiled floor, it is where the King meets with monks, Royal ceremonies are performed, and it houses a collection of priceless Buddhist and historical objects including the 'Emerald Buddha.' The temple building, library and galleries were first constructed between 1892 and 1902. After the Palace we drive to the Killing Fields by tuktuk. Between 1975 and 1978 about 17,000 men, women, children and infants who had been detained and tortured at S-21 were transported to the extermination camp of Choeung Ek. It is a peaceful place today, where visitors can learn of the horrors that unfolded here decades ago. Last visit of today is the former S21 prison, nowadays know as Toul Sleng. It used to be a high school, which was turned into the S-21 prison camp. It was here, at this unassuming high school in the heart of the city, that the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime unfolded. It was a detention center for prisoners of the regime, where detainees were tortured and executed on a regular basis.

Day 16 Phnom Penh - departure

Today check out and transfer to airport for your flight out.