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Day
1
: Transfer from Siem Reap Airport to hotel.
: Visit the South Gate of Angkor Thom, Bayon,
Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas,
Elephants Terrace and Terrace of the Leper King
: Angkor Thom, the last capital and
the opulent great city of King Jayavarman VII (who
reigned from 1181-1220) is a truly amazing sight.
Its South gate, which is itself a masterpiece of stone
carving, causes many visitors to stop and take a photograph.
The signature faces of the Bayon on the top of the
gate are very well preserved. Flanked by warriors
lifting two enormous seven-headed Nagas to guard the
gate, this is a great place to take a picture.
About 1.5 km past the gate sits the site of one of
the most enigmatic temples of the Angkor group - the
Bayon Temple. Over 200 regal faces, each expressing
a slightly different smile, are carved on the 54 towers
in the complex. The four faces on each tower are thought
to symbolize the omnipresence of King Jayavarman VII,
although some scholars think they represent the Boddhisattva
Avalokiteshvara (Kuan Im).
: Lunch at restaurant.
: Continue to visit Angkor Wat and view the
sunset from Phnom Bakheng hill : Angkor
Wat, the largest temple at the Angkor complex.
Constructed during the first half of the 12th century,
Angkor Wat is the supreme masterpiece of Khmer art.
It was built by Suryavaram II (1112-1152) to honor
the Hindu god Vishnu, with whom the king was identified,
and for eventual use as the king's burial site. Entire
books have been written about the temple, but even
these valiant attempts at description fall far short
of communicating the great size, the perfect proportions,
and the astoundingly beautiful sculpture that everywhere
presents itself to the viewer. It is not among the
author's most favorite sacred places in the sense
of its meditative atmosphere or earth-spirit energy
, yet for an experience of architectural majesty and
artistic refinement , Angkor Wat certainly ranks amongst
the ten greatest structures of human civilization.
To approach via the long causeway, to amble about
the sprawling courtyards, to ascend the towering central
shrine, is to step for a short while into a realm
of such granduer, such unrestrained power that one's
mind and soul are intoxicated with inspiration and
infinite possibility.
: Dinner at restaurant.
: After dinner, return to hotel.
: Relax and overnight at hotel.
Day 2
: Breakfast at hotel.
: Visit Kravan Pre Rup, Pre Rup is a
deceptively simple pyramid surrounded by rings of
perimeter walls. hours are required to stroll
through it all. Built in the early Angkor era
by King Rajendravarman II (944-968) it may have been
used for cremations.
: Visit Mebon Oriental Ta Som, Neak Pean and
Preah Khan Temples, Preah Khan was built
in 1191 during the reign of King Jayavarman VII.
He was a warrior king celebrated for reconstructing
the Khmer Empire after a period of fragmentation.
Jayavarman first made a name for himself in 1165,
when news of a rebellion reached his ears. Rushing
home from the Cham Kingdom, where he resided, he arrived
too late to stop the usurper Tribhuvanadityavarman
from crowning himself King of the Khmers. Jayavarman
was powerless to interfere, but waited patiently for
an opportunity. Finally in 1177, the Cham kingdom
sent an invasion force against the Khmer usurper,
joined by native elements, that toppled him in a bloody
campaign. Fighting even reached Angkor, laying
waste to the capital. The victorious Cham occupied
Khmer territory as a foreign power, but their rule
was not to last long.
: Lunch at restaurant.
: Continue to visit Srah Srang, Ta Prohm, Takeo,
Thommanon and Chau Say Taveda Temples.
: Dinner at restaurant.
: After dinner, return to hotel.
: Relax and overnight at hotel.
Day 3
: Breakfast at hotel.
: Visit the floating village and take a Boat
trip on the Tonle Sap. (The Great Lake), Cambodia's
Tonle Sap, or Great Lake, is one of the unique
geographical wonders of the world. It offers visitors
insights into the centuries-old traditions of riparian
life and the natural splendor of the country. On the
banks of the mighty Great Lake and the Tonle Sap and
Mekong Rivers, Khmers have celebrated for over two
hundred years the changing of the river's flow. During
the rainy season the Tonle Sap River reversed
direction, flooding the lake, increasing its size
almost tenfold, making it the largest freshwater body
in Southeast Asia.
: Lunch at restaurant.
: Continue to visit "Les Artisans D' Angkor-Chantiers
Ecoles" and a local market.
: Transfer to Siem Reap Airport for next departure.
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