3 Days Private Guide Tours: From Phnom Penh to Battambang & Siem Reap, Exploring Local Lifestyle

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Travel overland to the provincial town of Battambang to see local lifestyles and explore the surrounding countryside. Continue your journey overland to the lively city of Siem Reap, the gateway to Angkor. All our tours are exclusive private tours, so you will not be put together with other guests

Duration: 3 days

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Day 1: Phnom Penh – Battambang

Kampong Chhnang - Road journey from Phnom Penh to Battambang with sightseeing en route: Today, meet your personal guide and driver and depart Phnom Penh for Battambang by overland transfer (290km. 4-5 hours’ drive). Journey to the busy riverside town of Kompong Chhnang where you stop to see the silversmith village and the pottery village. Continue drive to the small town of Krakor and turn off the main road to visit the incredible floating town of Kompong Luong. The largest floating community on the Tonle Sap Lake, there are almost 10,000 inhabitants living here. Everything floats on water, including the schools, the clinic, the shops and the petrol station. You will explore by boat and experience life in a real floating community untouched by mass tourism.

Pursat - After lunch, drive to Pursat and visit the stone carving in Pursat.

Battambang - Later continue to Battambang, the second largest city in Cambodia. It is located on a rich and fertile plain, which provides much of the rice and other important crops for the country. Check into your lovely hotel and leave the rest of the afternoon free to soak up the atmosphere of this quixotic riverside town or walk through the town to discover its beautiful colonial architecture.

Day 2: Battambang

Wat Ek Phnom - Full day tour of Battambang: After breakfast drive along the picturesque Sangker River to Wat Slaket pagoda, the residence of the provincial Buddhist patriarch. Visit a Khmer Ancient House and make a stop to see the production of rice paper used for making spring rolls. Continue to visit Wat Ek Phnom. Visit the Provincial Museum and the local market. Next, transfer to a local village for a ride on the Bamboo Train. The train comprises of a simple bamboo platform on 4 wheels with a small motor, and was created by local villagers to facilitate the transportation of goods. Travel 8km on the train to the next village through beautiful landscape and rice paddies. On arrival at the village visit a workshop specialising in wooden sculpture.

Phnom Sampeau - Then continue to visit Phnom Sampeau is the name given to a small mountain 8km outside of Battambang. It’s elongated form means it runs parallel to the road which leads you there, it’s dramatic limestone cliffs protruding from its otherwise forest cover. A charming village road leads you to the base of the mountain past a grand pagoda, a cave gaping from the rock face, and a carved Buddha’s head built into the same rock face. Once on the winding road to the top, halfway up is a cave which was used by the Khmer Rouge to deposit bodies of its victims. Bones of these victims remain today, and the sight is a harsh reminder of Cambodia’s recent history. Continue further to the top where there is a selection of modern pagodas and stunning views across some of Cambodia’s most sublime landscapes. Enjoy a magnificent view of the surrounding plains until sunset.

Day 3: Battambang – Siem Reap

Ang Trapeng Thmor Reserve - Road journey to Siem Reap: This morning, we drive to Phnom Srok Village adjacent to the Baray is an agricultural Cambodian community, where silk yarn is pulled from boiled grubs and traditionally woven in looms under village house. Next, continue to Ang Trapaeng Thmor is a large Angkorian reservoir or Baray rebuilt by the Khmer Rouge and is still used today to irrigate the rice paddies to the south of the reservoir. In 2002 it was declared a Sarus Crane Reserve providing a crucial feeding ground for these near threatened and extremely elegant birds. It is now a haven for wildlife including the critically endangered Elds Deer, which emerges from the forest to drink as the waters recede during the dry season. Flocks of duck can be seen wheeling over the water while semi-submerged trees are laden with storks and pelicans and there are a couple of fruit bat colonies.

Puok - Continue drive to the district of Puok to the Silk Farm. Learn the different stages of the complex process of producing handmade silk, including the growing of the mulberry trees, silk worm breeding, and training in the ancient craft of silk dyeing and weaving. From here you will be transferred to check into your hotel and enjoy the afternoon and evening at your leisure. Siem Reap by road. Siem Reap is the base for exploring the fabled temples of Angkor, the ancient capital of the Khmer empire.

What's Included