CAMBODIA 4 DAYS EXPERIENCE

Angkor Wat. This famous Hindu temple sight, constructed by Khmer rulers between the 8th and 12th centuries then vanquished and forgotten about in dense jungle for 600 years, has captured the imagination of the world. As an engineering feat, it was massive for its time. Artistically, its sophistication and daring are compelling. The power of the Khmer empire that built it must have been fearful and its sudden disappearance is mystifying. The huge city that was Angkor is marked out again but it is still surrounded by jungle and some of the exotic structures are as the jungle has left them and they even have it wrapped still around their stones. Visitors, standing in a temple's shadows cast by the early morning sun, can still get the feeling of re discovering the city.

Guests arrive at Siem Reap airport in the early afternoon to be welcomed by Apsara Ladies and transferred by luxury air conditioned coach to the hotel in the town of Siem Reap. This is an old provincial centre with a Royal Villa, busy market, shopping and nightlife and a growing number of hotels and restaurants. In the 9th century, Khmer king Yasovaraman I moved his capital of Angkor to the immediate vicinity of what is now Siem Reap.

The first visit this afternoon will be to the supreme masterpiece, Angkor Wat itself, the huge temple built between 1113 and 1150. Its moat is 570ft wide and its 200 acre site is bounded by a wall four miles round. It was the home the Hindu gods and the centre of a system in which the king was sacred. It has four massive towers and 72 major monuments. It was still the mausoleum of the Khmer kings till 1431 Its mass of bas-relief carving is the most beautifully executed in Angkor. The Indian origins of Angkor Wat set in a Cambodian context were the foundation of Khmer arts and architecture. In the late afternoon guests proceed to the small hill, Phnom Bakheng, which will afford a spectacular view of Angkor Wat about a mile away, at sunset when cocktails will be served.

In the evening, guests return to the hotel where there will be a Welcome Dinner.

Day 2. Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, Preah Neak Pean, Preah Khan Breakfast will be taken at the hotel.

	Guests will look around the great fortified city of Angkor Thom, next to Angkor Wat, surrounded by a 12 kilometre wall. The city was a magnificent urbanized centre spreading over 4 sq miles built in the 12th century, with massive stone carved gates built for elephant access and all manner of amenities for its people and its king,
	Jayarmavan VII, whose greatest achievement was this city. Most spectacularly prominent here is The Bayon, a massive temple complex featuring 4000sq ft of superb bas - relief carving' and the massive, mysterious smiling faces carved on the towers, thought to be of Jayavarman VII portrayed as the Buddha Avolokitesvara. Guest will also see the area of the royal palace which had been built in wood, the Elephant Terrace from where the kings reviewed processions and the Terrace of the Leper King dedicated to the legend that Angkor's founder had leprosy.
Lunch will be served at the FCC next to the King of Cambodia's Villa. Facing the river in the converted home of the French colonial resident, they have created a huge bright bar and terraced restaurant attached to a 28 room hotel. The restaurant is bright and light marble with a breeze moving through the open sides. The food is International and Asian.

This is a time for one of the most exciting of all the temples, Ta Prohm. Built in the late 12th century, it is a large complex surrounded by a moat but it has not been renovated. It has been left to the jungle. It is a semi ruin in a light dappled darkness with crumbling walls gripped by the tentacular roots of huge trees; a primeaval and aggressive beauty.

The party will go on to see the Buddhist temple of Neak Pean with a pool for ritual purifications and the 12th century temple of Preah Khan, one of the largest of the temples with many excellent carvings and known for its maze of small courtyards and narrow corridors.

The return to the hotel will be in the late afternoon. Dinner will be at the Viroth Restaurant which serves high quality Khmer cuisine a rarity - in a contemporary and stylish open sided space with a terraced garden alongside. Their specialties include amok and chicken satay, green bean salad, yahorn, and roast chicken.

Day 3. Banteay Srei, Pre Rup, Tonle Sap Lake

Breakfast will be taken at the hotel.

The morning will begin with a visit to the Bantay Srei temple, 15 miles outside Siem Reap, a small delicate temple built by Jayavarman V in 968AD. It is a combination of several buildings with fine carvings in pink sandstone. The party will move on to Pre Up temple which is interesting for its sanctuary built of brick and originally decorated with a plaster covering fragments of which can still be seen. Lunch will be taken at Madam Butterfly Restaurant, a well loved dining spot set in a traditional Khmer wooden house with a beautiful terrace. It serves a fine range of South East Asian cuisine in a very relaxing atmosphere

The Tonle Sap. The group will take a sail on the Tonle Sap Lake, the largest fresh water collection in SE Asia which is a beating heart for Cambodia. In a remarkable natural event, once a year, the monsoonal high water level of the Mekong River reverses the flow of the Tonle Sap River where the rivers meet at the capital, Phnom Penh. The Tonle Sap's waters rush back up, quadruple the size of the lake, fill it with an abundance of fish and leave a wide area of irrigated land when they recede. The group will visit an attractive Vietnamese floating fishing village (Vietnamese living in Cambodia are often fishermen) and take a walk around it.

Preah Khan Tour, Classical dance and Candlelit Dinner.

For the Farewell Dinner, Guests will be driven to the 12th century Preah Kahn Temple where they will be given an introductory talk by the World Monument's Fund Field Director on the conservation work his team has undertaken on Preah Khan. Guest will walk along the candle lit jungle pathway to the temple causeway where a classical dance will be performed as dusk settles. Pre dinner cocktails will be held on the East Jetty and then a candle-lit banquet, catered for by Hotel, will be served. Guest will be returned to the hotel.

Day 4. Artisans d'Angkor, Transfer, Departure

Breakfast is taken at the hotel.

Today is one of leisure, optional sightseeing and shopping as guests wish. One suggested place to shop is Artisan d'Angkor. This is a Franco-Cambodian development, begun in 1992, to help young people to work in their home villages and on-site as artisans where they can learn and practice their crafts and find a vocation. Their works are fine remakes of Khmer art including some of the statues found in Angkor.

Recommended for general shopping with a local flair is the 'Phsa Chas' - the Old Market in the centre of Siem Reap. There is a whole medley of items, including carvings and objets as well as a splendid display of fruit, vegetable and flower stalls.

Transfer to Siem Reap airport and departure.