After months of planning and preparation the wait is finally over! On arrival you will be met by your guide and driver and transferred to your hotel. After check in we will have a full group trip and safety briefing before heading out for our first taste of Cambodian cuisine at a local restaurant.

Meals:  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 Banana Tree Restaurant.

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

This morning we leave Phnom Penh for Siem Reap. 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. We continue to Siem Reap. On arrival we will have some time to relax at the hotel before heading out to dinner at a local restaurant. After dinner we head to the famous Phare Cambodian circus. Despite being known around town as the Cambodian circus, it is anything but a traditional big top. A non-profit school for the arts, Phare is a demonstration of the graduate students’ acrobatic abilities. Exceptionally talented players act out everything from Cambodian folklore to the very real history of the Khmer Rouge; a must see for anyone visiting Siem Reap. After the performance we will get the opportunity to meet the performers.

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 (3000 ft x 2400 ft) in length and the moat, said to represent the oceans of the world is 200 meters (600 ft) 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 at Pizza Company and explore the night markets. Cycling distance: 30 km (19 mi) **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

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 Mechrey Floating Village. We enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Siem Reap. We can relax at the hotel and freshen up before we head to the 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. Afterwards you get to dine on the results!

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 Organization of the United Nations. All equipment is provided and we will learn about sustainable forest 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

After breakfast, we and head out to the “gem” of the Angkor area: the pretty temple of Banteay Srei. The “Citadel of Women” remains the best-preserved temple in Cambodia. It displays some of the finest examples of classical Khmer art and is noted for its truly remarkably fine bas-reliefs. Banteay Srei is unique in that it is constructed of pink sandstone, which is seen nowhere else in Angkor. We then transfer back along country roads through rice paddies and palm trees towards Siem Reap. En-route we stop at Pradak Village, renowned for all types of traditional Khmer noodles. We will learn about their production and have lunch at a local restaurant where we can see the noodles cooked freshly. We return to Siem Reap and spend the afternoon relaxing at the hotel. Later we head out to dinner at a local restaurant.

Meals:  B,L,D

This morning we will have our last breakfast in Cambodia before we can pack our bags and debrief. Depending on time we may stop at the Old Market for some last minute shopping before lunch.

Meals:  B,L