Food Adventure Cambodia

Welcome to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia Kingdom. Phnom Penh locates at the confluence of three rivers, the mighty Mekong river, Bassac river and Tonle Sap river. It was once considered as the “Gem” of Indochina with a nice riverside promenade and numerous beautiful Cambodian Buddhist wats, palaces and many colonial-era buildings where Asian and Western architecture meet in a fascinating way. The bustling city of Phnom Penh is the international and domestic transport hub for whole Cambodia and region.

Upon arrival in Phnom Penh International Airport, you will be welcomed by our Cambodia travel guide, then be transferred to your hotel for check in and refreshment.

After a short rest, we will take a sunset river cruise along the Mekong river, observe daily life of local, enjoy the sunset view on the river while tasting a delicious fruit juice or soft drink.

In the evening, have your welcome dinner at Romdeng Restaurant which is recommended on Lonely Planet as the top choice for Cambodian cuisine in Phnom Penh. In this restaurant, you would sample some typical, tasty modern Cambodian dishes. The restaurant is located in a gorgeous colonial villa with a small pool with a beautiful garden.

Overnight in Phnom Penh.

Head to a local market to meet our chef who will host the cooking class. Here, the chef will help you to buy ingredients, plumpest chicken, freshest fish, herbs and vegetables which you will be using in your cooking class.

Then we come back to the restaurant and prepare ingredients for cooking. Our chef will show you the different varieties of herbs and vegetables which are used in Cambodian cuisine, teach you traditional cooking techniques to make Cambodian traditional dishes such as Somlor Machu Youn (Cambodian sweet & sour soup with catfish and shrimp), Pleah Sach Ko (Cambodian Beef Ceviche/Beef Salad). Then sit down and enjoy your lunch which is cooked by yourself.

In this afternoon, we will drive south towards the colonial town of Kampot which is well known for its pepper plantations and salt fields.

Before we depart, we take a visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which is a former high school, used as the torture, interrogation and execution center named “S-21” by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to its fall in 1979. We will also stop past the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek where thousands of Cambodian were killed and buried in mass graves. A grim, but important visit that will allow you to dig below the surface and understand Cambodia better.

Afterwards, we drive along National Road 2 through the town of Takeo towards Kampot. Upon arrival, check into your hotel. The rest of day is free at leisure. You could stroll around town, explore its beautiful colonial architectures, enjoy a coffee on the veranda of a riverside restaurant.

Overnight in Kampot hotel.

Today, we will take a tour to the countryside Kampot. We will pass through peaceful, small villages, traditional wooden house, delightful scenery of rice paddies, pepper plantations and karst limestone outcrops. En route, we will visit the beautiful cave of Phnom Chhnork, was built in the 7th century from Funan brick and is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva.

Afterwards, we drive to a coastline village, go to the salt fields, witness salt workers work hard on the salt fields. Our guide will explain you the process of making salt from seawater. We also stop at a family-run pepper plantation to observe the work of local community living there and learn about the differences between white, black, green and red peppers. Nowadays, Kampot pepper is well known over the world for its high quality and aromatic.

After that, continue driving to Kep which is one of most popular destinations for the domestic and international tourists who choose Kep as their vacation destination in Cambodia. Upon arrival town, check in the hotel for refreshment.

In the afternoon, you could spend your time on the prestigious beach, relax in a hammock or swim in the warm South China Sea.

Overnight in Kep.

This morning, we will take a soft trek to the famous Kep crab market. You could buy crab, grilled fish, squid and prawns directly in the market. Then bring them to a nearby restaurant and ask them prepare for you. After that, we will drive back to Phnom Penh which takes approximately 3 hours.

In the afternoon, we will explore the most remarkable sights of the beautiful city of Phnom Penh by cyclo, an iconic part of the Phnom Penh street scene. Begin our Phnom Penh sightseeing tour with a visit to Wat Phnom (a Buddhist temple) which is the oldest religious structure in Phnom Penh. According to legend, the first pagoda was built in 1373 to house four Buddha statues which are discovered by a wealthy widow called Penh, inside a large koki tree floating down on Mekong river.

After that, we visit Royal Palace which is a popular tourist destination in Phnom Penh. It was built by King Norodom I (ruled 1860-1904) in 1886. Then we move to Silver Pagoda (also known as Wat Preah Keo or Temple of the Emerald Buddha) which is located on the south side of the Royal Palace complex. Inside pagoda, we will watch the collection of Buddhas in gold, silver, crystal, and bronze.

Continue with the National Museum of Cambodia which is house of the world’s finest collection of Khmer sculpture. Here, you will have a glimpse into Cambodian history dating back from the 4th century to modern time.

In the evening, enjoy a coffee or cocktail at one of the many cafes while observing the busy traffic of Phnom Penh.

Overnight at hotel in Phnom Penh.

Depart Phnom Penh for Battambang which takes approximately six and half hours. Battambang is second most populous city and one of most popular tourist destination in Cambodia. It has recently re-opened to the outside world and the facilities have been improved to make Battambang become a great base for visitors. It is popular with tourists because of its ancient temples, colonial French buildings, Buddhist shrines and the infamous bamboo railway. Here, you will meet extremely friendly and helpful local people. They have not been exposed to many foreign visitors and they will be as interested in you as you are in them!

On the way, we will cross a new bridge to an island in the Tonlé Sap River. Visit Koh Chen, a riverside village which is famous for its silver products. Here, you will witness the silver making process and observe daily life of the inhabitants in this village.

Then, we continue to drive to Oudong Meanchey, which was royal residence and Cambodia's capital for more than 250 years until 19th century before King Norodom to move the royal court to Phnom Penh. From afar, you would see temple and its dozens of stupas which is located at the top of mountain. Upon arrival mountain foot, we will climb the steps to the top of Oudong Mountain and enjoy the panoramic views of the plains below. Our guide will give you the information of this ancient capital and its temples as well as Cambodian religious culture while strolling around this site.

After that, we proceed to Kampong Chhnang which is well known for its traditional pottery with many famous pottery villages. The name Kampong Chhnang means “Port of Pottery” in Khmer. During our journey, we will stop at a village near the city town, see the making process of ceramic products and experience local rice wine which make by local villagers.

We will arrive in Battambang in the late afternoon. Check in your hotel for refreshment.

Overnight in Battambang.

After breakfast, we will head towards Phnom Sampeau Hill which lies 11 km southwest of Battambang town. Upon arrival, we will take a soft trek of hiking to the top of hill. Half way up, we will visit a nice modern temple with nice graphic modern depictions of Buddhist punishment for sins and a large reclining Buddha.

We also visit the notorious killing caves which are cruel reminders of Cambodia’s troubled past. It would remind us about the reality of what happened. Continue our trek to the top to visit a small temple. Here, you will have a fantastic view over the typical landscape of paddy fields and sugar palm trees.

One of today’s highlights is Bamboo Train Riding through paddy fields, villages in countryside of Battambang. This 7 km in length line belong the train line stretches all the way down to the capital of Phnom Penh. But the track is incomplete in near future.

Note: In long term future, the bamboo train ride could be stop. In that case, we will arrange alternative sightseeing.

From the Bamboo Train, our guide will take to Wat Banan, an 11th century temple which is constructed on top of a hill overlooking the Sangker river. On the way, we will pass through beautiful lotus ponds and beautiful paddy fields. Climb up 358 steps to the top and enjoy panoramic view of surrounding countryside.

In the afternoon, we will take visit to some cultural villages around Battambang where you will witness the making process of Prahoc (Cambodian fermented fish “paste”), Grolan (sticky rice stuffed in bamboo). We also visit a silk weaving and handicraft centre to observe how silk scarves are produced.

Overnight at hotel in Battambang.

This morning, we will take a transfer to Banteay Chhmar (165 km) which takes approximately four and half hours. En route, we will stop at some markets and villages to observe daily activities and interact with locals. Arrive at Banteay Chhmar at noon, have you lunch at the community center.

Banteay Chhmar is one of the largest Khmer complexes built outside of Angkor. It was constructed by the famous Khmer warrior king Jayavarman VII in honor of five heroes, including his son, who died defending the Khmer empire against the Champa kingdom. The site is renowned for its Bayon style towers, beautiful carvings which depict the war between the Khmer and Champa kingdoms.

Today, Banteay Chhmar is a community based tourism (CBT) in the same name archaeological park. After the visit to temples of Banteay Chhmar archaeological site, we will take an ox-cart ride or kuyon (hand operated tractor) to the Banteay Temple before climb up top to see the sunset. A fun way to travel Khmer style amongst some lovely scenery!

In the evening, enjoy a simple but delicious dinner with your host family.

Overnight in Banteay Chhmar.

After breakfast at your homestay, we will visit the local morning market in Banteay Chhmar to get a great insight into daily life of local. Then we take an ox-cart tour to discover the Banteay Chhmar and learn about the way of life in rural Cambodia. You also have the chance to meet and chat with the wonderful and friendly people, visit the silk center, rice fields, and stop at farms along the way. Your guide is very pleased to explain about some of the traditional life that takes place, including fishing, beekeeping, weaving and rice farming.

Enjoy your picnic lunch before heading back to Siem Reap. Upon arrival Siem Reap, check in hotel then free at leisure.

Optional: In the evening, you will have an option to enjoy the remarkable Phare, the Cambodian circus show. It is a NGO project which teaches disadvantaged children and teenagers living on the streets how to become circus artists. Enjoy music, acting, acrobatics and high-energy music in this show.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

We begin our sightseeing tour by visiting the Angkor National Museum for an introduction of Khmer civilization’s art and culture. This archaeological museum is housing unique collections which are mainly dated from Khmer Empire's Angkor period from the 9th - 14th centuries.

Next we visit the mother of all temples – iconic Angkor Wat which was built in the early 12th century by the Khmer King Suryavarman II and was originally constructed as a Hindu temple to dedicate to god Vishnu. It was constructed following the model of the temple mountain symbolizing the Mount Meru, home of the gods. At the end of the 12th century, it was transformed into a Buddhist temple. Inside the temple, we will see the walls are covered with stone carvings and bas-reliefs depicting Hindu mythology, the wars Suryavarman II fought during his reign and more than 2000 images of Apsaras and Devatas decorating the temple. After the visit, we drive back your hotel for a noon break to avoid the heat.

In the afternoon, we drive back to the Angkor Complex to explore the ancient city of Angkor Thom, was the last capital and most enduring of the Great Khmer Empire under the reign of Jayavarman VII.

From the South Gate, an impressive stone gate carved with elephants and four giant faces, we head to the inspirational Bayon Temple which locates at the heart of Angkor Thom. This 12th century is well known for its impressive giant faces carvings and wonderful wall carvings telling the story of historical battles.

After that, we take visit to the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. It would be great experience to keep walking through the maze and observing their wonderful, fabulous, intricate sculptures.

Then, we continue on to Ta Prohm Temple, built about late 12th century to early 13th century by the King Jayavarman VII. After that, we head to the pyramidal temple of Pre Rup, enjoy the magnificent sunset view.

In the evening, enjoy your delicious “farewell” dinner while watching the delightful traditional Khmer dance show at Angkor Village Apsara Theater.

Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap.

Free at leisure to relax at the hotel or to discover Siem Reap town on your own until your driver come to pick you up then transfer you to Siem Reap Airport for your onward flight.