The greatest temples on earth, a sleepy colonial river town most people skip, and a capital that wears its history without flinching.
Land at the gateway to Angkor. After the flight we keep it easy, a first amok curry, a wander down Kandal village's lanes, an early night. The temples want you rested and out before dawn.
Up in the dark for sunrise over Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument on earth, reflected in its moat. Then the walled city of Angkor Thom and the 216 stone faces of the Bayon, and Ta Prohm, the temple the jungle is slowly swallowing.
A gentler temple day, away from the crowds, Banteay Srei, the miniature 10th century shrine carved in rose pink sandstone, the rambling Preah Khan, and the water temple of Neak Pean. An afternoon to slow down by the pool.
A boat into the stilt house villages of the Tonlé Sap, the great lake that breathes with the seasons, Kampong Phluk and its flooded forest. Back for the Old Market, an Apsara dance dinner, or the soaring Cambodian circus of Phare.
A three hour drive to Battambang, the country's most charming town, faded French shophouses on a sleepy river. The afternoon's quirk is the bamboo train, then sunset at Phnom Sampeau as a million bats pour from the cave in a single ribbon.
The Cambodia behind the temples, a tuk tuk through rice fields to the makers of rice paper, dried fish and bamboo sticky rice; the hilltop temple of Wat Banan; and the town's quietly brilliant arts scene, home to the Phare circus.
A drive (about five hours) to the riverfront capital where the Mekong and the Tonlé Sap meet. An evening on the Sisowath Quay as the city comes out to stroll, and a sundowner over the water.
The gilded Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda in the morning; then the sobering but essential Tuol Sleng (S 21) and the Killing Fields, which the country faces honestly. The Russian Market for a last bargain, and a final Khmer feast.
A last riverside breakfast before your transfer to the airport. Cambodia leaves you with more than temples, it leaves you with a measure of the people who rebuilt all this.
Three ways to do the same route: Comfort, Premium or Luxe. Breakfasts in. Mix tiers city by city if you like, it is your trip.
Priced to your dates, your hotel tier and how the two of you like to travel. Ask, the first answer usually lands within minutes.
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