After so many months thinking, preparing, and planning for your Cambodian adventure to begin, the day has finally arrived! On arrival in Siem Reap you will be met at the airport by your English speaking guide and transferred to our centrally located hotel. We will have a full trip and safety briefing before jumping in a tuk tuk and having an orientation of this exciting city travelling the way the locals do!

Meals:  D

Welcome to Cambodia! Today we will head straight to the Angkor Museum, a profound cultural landmark in Siem Reap. This world class interactive museum will give the students an ideal background on the golden era of the Khmer Kingdom before visiting the temples. We then head out to the Tonle Sap Lake, the largest permanent fresh-water lake in Southeast Asia. During the rainy season (from May to October), the lake swells to six or seven times its normal size of approximately 2,600 square kilometres (1625 square miles). Locals have learnt to adapt to the unique ebb and flow of the Tonle Sap Lake through the seasons by creating floating villages. We will explore one of the villages. Later this afternoon we return to Siem Reap to have dinner at Haven, a social enterprise and a training restaurant for vulnerable young adults from shelters, as well as underprivileged young adults from very poor rural areas.

Meals:  B,L,D

Today we will get up early for breakfast before heading to our project service site. On arrival you will divide into sub groups to work on different components of the project. We will take a walk through the surrounding community whilst gaining a better understanding of the local way of life. The people from the local village and school will work alongside you. This 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.

Meals:  B,L,D

Today is a special day as we cycle around the magnificent temples of Angkor, full of magical highlights! There is no better way to explore this area than cycling! Our cycling is fully supported and we will cycle through little tracks and backroads to explore the temples. We will start by exploring the ancient city of Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Great Khmer Empire under the reign of Jayavarman VII, surrounded by an 8 meter (24 ft) high wall. We then continue to Bayon Temple, a 12th century masterpiece in the exact centre of the city. Possibly one of the most enjoyable is Ta Prohm temple, where the Tomb Raider movies were set and filmed. Ta Prohm is unique in that it has been left largely as it was found: overgrown by jungle. This makes Ta Prohm one of the most memorable of the Angkor temples. Photo opportunities await around every corner. We will then experience the largest and most impressive of all the temples in Angkor: 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 have the opportunity to visit a local pagoda within the temple where we will be welcomed by Buddhist Monks and hear about their life and understand more about Buddhism in the region. Tonight we will enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

Meals:  B,L,D

This morning after breakfast we will visit Banteay Srey temple, which is considered by many to be the most magnificent of all the temples in the Khmer crown. The temple is located around 35 km (22 mi) away from Siem Reap, passing through several small Cambodian villages along the way. This is a great opportunity to see local life and stop and meet the local people. We will have lunch in a local restaurant after our exploration before continuing our drive to Phnom Penh. We will have a short time to rest before we head our to a local restaurant for dinner.

Meals:  B,L,D

After breakfast at our hotel we will head out for a very special day. We will 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 as they join the Free the Bears education program. Late this afternoon we will return to Phnom Penh and enjoy a farewell dinner.

Meals:  B,L,D

This morning is an important, and also confronting, part of our journey through Cambodia, as we take a sobering deep dive into Cambodia's more recent past to learn more about the Khmer Rouge. The first stop is Tuol Sleng Museum, originally a high school until it became the Khmer Rouge’s main interrogation centre, known as ‘S-21’. We then make our way to the Killing Fields, a stretch of countryside where over 10,000 people were executed. After learning about the atrocities inflicted by the Khmer Rouge, we come to understand the strength and resilience of Khmers looking positively toward the future. After our visit here we will have lunch and time for reflection and a debrief before traveling back to Phnom Penh. We have some down time to explore Phnom Penh as a group, or relax at the hotel before heading out to dinner along the riverside.

Meals:  B,L,D

Today depending on your flight departure time, we can rest and relax, continue to explore Phnom Penh or pack and transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Meals:  B