3 Days in Siem Reap - Your Gate to Angkor Ruin

3 DAYS SIEM REAP STOPOVER

Private Tour (ST3DREP): Daily departure from Siem Reap with English or French speaking guide (other languages are on request and may be subject to supplements).

ITINERARY:

Siem Reap – Arrival (-/L/D)   

DAY 1 Arrive at Siem Reap International Airport and transfer to the hotel (rooms may not be ready until the afternoon).

Visit the Roluos Group. The monuments of Roluos, which served as the capital of Indravarman I (reigned 877-89), are among the earliest large, permanent temples built by the Khmers and mark the beginning of Khmer classical art. Preah Ko erected by Indravarman I in the late 9th century dedicated by the King to his ancestors in 880. Bakong the largest and most interesting of the Roluos group temples, with his active Buddhist monastery just to the north of the east entrance. Lolei built on an islet in the center of a large reservoir (now rice fields) by Yasovarman I, the founder to the first city at Angkor.

In the morning, visit the most famous of all the temples on the plain of Angkor: Angkor Wat. The temple complex covers 81 hectares and is comparable in size to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Its distinctive five towers are emblazoned on the Cambodian flag and the 12th century masterpiece is considered by art historians to be the prime example of classical Khmer art and architecture. Angkor Wat’s five towers symbolize Meru’s five peaks - the enclosed wall represents the mountains at the edge of the world and the surrounding moat, the ocean beyond.

Siem Reap         (B/L/D) 30 mar 2009

DAY 2 Breakfast at hotel.

In the morning, continue the temple tour to Takeo, Thommanon, Chau Say Tevoda and Ta Prohm, one of the area’s most beautiful temples.  Ta Prohm has been left relatively untouched since it was discovered and retains much of its mystery. Its appeal lies in the fact that, unlike the other monuments of Angkor, it was abandoned and swallowed by the jungle, looking very much the ways most of the Angkor temples appeared when European explorers first stumbled upon them.

Visit the ancient capital of Angkor Thom (12th century). See the South Gate with its huge statues depicting the churning of the ocean of milk, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephants Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King and Bayon Temple (unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara), until sunset.

Siem Reap – Departure (B/L/-)

DAY 3 Breakfast at hotel

Proceed to the Banteay Srei temple (10th century) regarded as the jewel in the crown of classical Khmer art. Then visit Banteay Samre, one of the most complete complexes at Angkor due to restoration using the method of “anastylosis”. The name Samre refers to an ethnic group of mountain people, who inhabited the region at the base of Phnom Kulen and were probably related to the Khmers. No inscriptions have been found for this temple, but the style of most of the architecture is of the classic art of the middle period similar to Angkor Wat.  The proportions of Banteay Samre are splendid. A unique feature is an interior moat with laterite paving, which when filled with water must have given an ethereal atmosphere to the temple.

Drive back to Siem Reap.

Our tour prices are inclusive of transfers and tours with local English or French speaking guides (guides in other languages are on request and may be subject to supplements), accommodation in shared twin rooms at selected hotel, meals as specified in the program (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner), entrance fees, service charges, room tax and baggage handling.

C = First Class Hotel (****)