After all the planning and preparation the wait is finally over. On arrival in Siem Reap we will be met by our experienced World Expeditions guide and taken by coach to our hotel where we have a full trip and safety briefing on our journey ahead. Your guide will run through an overview of the local Cambodian language and important phrases that you can learn and practice through your journey. A little language goes a long way with the local peoples! Following your briefing we will have an orientation of Siem Reap traveling the way the locals do, by tuk tuk! We return to the hotel to freshen up before heading out to a local restaurant that trains disadvantaged youth in hospitality and the service industry for a welcome dinner. Overnight Siem Reap hotel

Meals:  L,D

Today we will get up early for breakfast before heading to our project site at the Treak Community Centre. You will be divided into sub groups to work on different components of the project. We will take the time to take a walk through the surrounding community whilst gaining a better understanding of the people and their way of life. You should wear clothing you don't mind getting dirty or paint on. The people from the local village and school will be very receptive to your visit and the improvements that you are making which will bring long term benefits to the entire village. The difference this work will make for the community can not be underestimated. In addition to the friendships formed, it will foster closer relationships between the two countries and schools. At the end of our third day, we say farewell to the centre and our new found friends. The project is set up alongside our regenerative Travel, Give, Grow concept, offering unique experiences to help foster respect for the natural world as well as the diverse peoples and cultures that live in it. This regenerative style of travel helps develop confidence, resilience, tolerance, problem solving abilities, team work, fitness and key life skills. We will return to our hotel late in the afternoon to refresh before heading out to dinner at a local restaurant. On the first night we will visit the famous PHARE circus. The circus is an International quality program designed to take in street kids and train them to be performers. The circus travels around the world and appears on some of the biggest stages. It is a fantastic experience we know you will love! On the second night we have the opportunity to head to the night markets where you can purchase gifts and souvenirs. Overnight in Siem Reap

Meals:  B,L,D

Today we make our way out to the magnificent temples of Angkor where we will explore the surroundings from handle bar level! We will have a full safety briefing with our guide as well as being sized up for our bike. Cycling is a wonderful way to explore the temple complex as it is relatively flat and we can travel along small shaded streets and avoid the queues as we enter the temples. Our cycling is fully supported, anyone needing a rest or not comfortable can ride in the support vehicle. The largest and most impressive of all the temples in Angkor is Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was built between 1112 and 1152 by King Suryavarman II and dedicated to Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation. It is the best preserved of all the temples. Its layout and its scale are simply breathtaking: the wall surrounding the enclosure measures 1,000 by 800 meters in length and the moat, said to represent the oceans of the world is 200 meters wide. We explore Ta Prohm, known as the temple filmed for the movie Tomb Raider which is still overgrown by jungle, trees and vines. We will have lunch near the complex and continue our exploration until we return to our hotel later that afternoon. Tonight we will enjoy dinner with a local Aspara Cultural show Fully supported cycling **Appropriate attire must be work when visiting the temples of Angkor. Long pants (covering the knee) and shirts that cover the shoulders must be worn. Skirts, shorts above the knee, tank tops or other revealing clothing are not allowed to be worn within the temple grounds. Visitors are frequently turned away from the temples when wearing revealing clothing

Meals:  B,L,D

Today we have a big day planned. First we will visit Tapang Village where we join with the local people in a regenerative tree planting conservation program. Here we will plant trees and work with seedling propagation to help offset the carbon on our journey along with helping the local community create an income. This is a fantastic social enterprise set up by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. All equipment is provided and we will learn about sustainable Forrest management and rehabilitation. We then travel to the road head to begin our trek. We hike through rice fields and spectacular rural scenery. This is a great opportunity to see how people in the rural areas of Cambodia go about their lives on a daily basis. Rising up from the flat countryside is the enormous Kulen Mountain, and it slowly begins to dominate the view as the trail approaches. Kulen Mountain (Phnom Kulen) is an impressive sandstone plateau in this otherwise flat area. The mountain is considered the birthplace of the Khmer empire and a sacred place for the Khmer. After arriving and walking through the village, the trail heads into the forest with the canopy high above providing shade even in Cambodia’s hottest months. We meet our vehicle near the stunning Kulen falls and transfer to the nearby Bong Thom village stay. Our accommodation is in a traditional Khmer village where our group will sleep in a large open air dormitory. The home stay is surrounded by orchards of exotic fruit trees that we can try. The home stay also offers free English lessons to children from the surrounding villages, each day and we will be able to join in and help with the lessons. Tonight, enjoy dinner with traditional music and the opportunity to learn traditional dance. Today is a real highlight of our experience in Cambodia. Overnight in Bong Thom traditional hall

Meals:  B,L,D

Today we rise in our beautiful setting as we see the sun rise over the fruit orchards. We can witness village life starting up as we pack down our beds and prepare breakfast. After a hearty breakfast with our hosts, we will visit Banteay Srei temple, considered by many as one of the most stunning temples in Cambodia and easily recognisable as it is made of pink sandstone. The temple is known as the "Citadel of Women" and reputed as one of the best preserved of all Angkor temples. After exploring the temple we visit a local village that is famous for making sugar palm products. We will join the families making products for the local markets before we head back to Siem Reap and check into our hotel. This afternoon is to rest and refresh before we head out to dinner and try our new language skills and bartering techniques at the night markets.

Meals:  B,L,D

After breakfast in our hotel we head to the famous Tonle Sap Lake, South East Asia's largest fresh water lake. The lake swells to around 4 times its normal size during the wet season. We get to explore the lake and stilt villages at sea level by kayak. Our two seat inflatable kayaks are a great way to explore the lake as they can go where the noisy long tail motorboats can not. We paddle through sunken fields and floating forests to the stilt village of Kompong Klaeng. We enjoy lunch at this village town before leaving our kayaks and heading back to Siem Reap. We can relax at the hotel and freshen up before we head to the Champey Cooking Class we were will visit an authentic Khmer market to purchase local ingredients before we unlock the secrets of Cambodian cuisine at a private cooking class. Afterwords you get to dine on the results! Overnight in Siem Reap

Meals:  B,L,D

Today we embark on the drive to Phnom Penh. Depending on rod conditions at the time the ride should take us around 5 - 6 hours. We will be able to stop frequently during the journey to visit landmarks and have snack and toilet breaks. A short distance outside of Phnom Penh we will stop in the town of Skuon to see their most famous speciality: deep-fried tarantula! A stop off on the Hamish and Andy gap year Asia program, this town is home to the favourite snack of many Cambodians. Many local buses stop here at the market to buy a bag of the “ch’ngain” (tasty) eight-legged creatures. The spiders are caught in the soft ground of the surrounding countryside. On arrival in Phnom Penh mid afternoon we will check into our hotel and have the afternoon to relax before dinner.

Meals:  B,L,D

Our next stop is a very sobering one as we visit Cambodia's bloody past. Whilst this is a very confronting visit, it is important if we are to understand the country's recent history and how the people are looking positively towards the future. First stop is Tuol Sleng Museum. Originally, this building was a high school until it became the Khmer Rouge’s main interrogation centre. During this period it was known as ‘S-21’. We then stop for de-briefing and lunch at a local restaurant before proceeding to the Killing Fields, a stretch of countryside where over 10,000 people were executed. The remains of some of the people are stored in a memorial to remind people of the atrocities the Khmer Rouge inflicted on other Khmers. We will then head back into town and visit the National Museum, housing the world's foremost collection of ancient Khmer artefacts. Late this evening we have time to reflect on the day and debrief. Tonight we have dinner at a NGO restaurant that provides education and job training to street children. The visit helps support the training of these kids by being their guest. Depending on availability we hope to have the manager of the restaurant and some of the workers speak with our group about their experience. Overnight 3* hotel Phnom Penh

Meals:  B,L,D

This morning we rise early for breakfast at our hotel as we will head out at 7:30am for a very special day. We drive to Phnom Tamao to the Free the Bears wildlife sanctuary to join their "Keeper for a Day" program. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to get behind the scenes at one of the best wildlife centres in South East Asia. The facility, set up by Perth lady Mary Hutton, now houses over 100 sun bears and over a 7 hectare area. We will help with the bear enrichment program. Late this afternoon we will return to Phnom Penh and enjoy a low key dinner.

Meals:  B,L,D

Today we escape the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh city and embark on a fully supported cycle of the countryside. We leave the busy city roads behind and cycle to Mekong Island along quiet backroads, through farming villages and orchards, and market gardens. This is a wonderful way to meet the local peoples as well as explore the stunning scenery at a much slower pace than driving by in a vehicle. This afternoon we return to Phnom Penh to continue our exploration of this impressive city. Tonight we will enjoy dinner and the local night markets for some last minute shopping.

Meals:  B,L,D

This morning we will have our last breakfast in Cambodia before, depending on our departure time, we can do some final exploring and shopping in Phnom Penh. We return to the hotel before packing our bags and heading to the airport for check in for our flight back to Melbourne

Meals:  B

Meals:  Nil