ANGKOR ADVENTURE: CAMBODIA

Your tour starts with a short internal flight from Bangkok to Trat on the eastern borders of Thailand. Here you will collect your tour bike and after the welcome briefing enjoy our first dinner together. The following morning we are off bright and early as we have a few miles to do before we arrive at the Cambodian Border, where processing can take up to two hours. From the border we are skirting the beautiful Sihanoukville Peninsula heading for a night on the shores of the Gulf of Thailand, squeezed between the Bokor National Park and the coast.

After a relaxing night our route takes us into the Bokor Park. Super mountain roads lead us to waterfalls, a giant Buddha and bizarrely two casinos! From here we are heading for the hustle of the capital Phnom Penh. Once home to the Khmer Empire, French Colonialists and the Infamous Khmer Rouge it is now back as the capital and home to the King of Cambodia. We have a day off here to explore. Included is a city tour that covers many of the must see sites including the Royal Palace, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Choeung Ek. The latter two are built upon infamous locations used by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. Choeung Ek is a former orchard and better known as The Killing Fields. Audio tours at both Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek are a must as we bear witness to the history of Cambodia. We will also visit The Silver Pagoda. It was formerly known as the Temple of the Crystal Buddha and the Vihara now houses many Cambodian treasures including a small Emerald Buddha and a life-sized gold Maitreya Buddha decorated with 9,584 diamonds.

Leaving Phnom Penh we are heading north tracking the mighty Mekong River. Temples line the shore in small villages until we cross an invisible line and the temples become mosques. Our home for the night is in the rain forest at an Eco Lodge – no air con but a lovely big pool to cool down in. The following day we have the longest days ride of the trip as we continue to track the Mekong in the morning before heading to the northern border. Here we are staying close to the Preah Vihear Temple. This UNESCO listed Khmer Empire site contains an ancient staircase to the heavens. Less well known and quieter than Angkor it is an incredible site, but don’t wander too far off the path. The whole region is disputed between Thailand and Cambodia and there is still a real risk from land mines if you stray too far from the official site!

From the northern border we are riding south through Phnom Kulen National Park and heading for Siam Reap and for the highlight of the tour – The City of Temples, Angkor. The largest Religious Monument in the world dates back to the 12C and is largely built from sandstone carried from over 50km away. Initially a Hindu temple, a statue of Vishnu still at its heart, it is now a Buddhist site. The site stretches across 162 Hectares and so we will not have time to see it all! We have a full days tour booked and then a second day at your leisure. Return and see more of the ancient temples slowly being over grown by the jungle, wander the markets, visit the war museum, go to a cultural show or just relax at our hotel by the pool, it is up to you.

From Siam Reap we are heading back to the border, via the Tonle Sap Lake. The largest fresh water lake in South East Asia, even during the dry season it is still larger than Luxembourg. After a boat trip out to see the communities living on the water we are crossing back into Thailand at Poi Pet. Our destination is Kabin Buri and a last night on the road. Here we will enjoy our farewell dinner and celebrate our Cambodian Adventure, before transfers to Bangkok Airport the following morning.