Meals: not included | Accommodation: Deluxe ​room, Rajabori Villas (or similar), Kratie

We will leave Phnom Penh and travel northeast to the bustling provincial city of Kompong Cham. En route, we can have a break at Skuon, affectionately known as 'Spiderville', where if you wish, it is possible to sample the local delicacy of the deep-fried tarantula. We then continue northeast till Chhlong, a little riverside town that serves as a regional center for the surrounding villages.

Afterward, we will arrive in Kratie, a sleepy Mekong port and gateway to an encounter with the rare freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins that inhabit the upper reaches of the Mekong in Cambodia. We will check in at our hotel.

In the afternoon, we will travel to Kampi, one of the many deep pools where the rare river dolphins gather. We will board a local boat and cruise out into the mighty Mekong for a chance to responsibly encounter these gentle creatures. Seeing them is commonplace, although it is easier with the shallower waters of the dry season than in the swollen river of the wet season.

Meals: breakfast | Accommodation: Deluxe room, Sambor Village (or similar), Kompong Thom

We will head south to the bustling provincial city of Kompong Cham, nestled on the banks of the Mekong, passing through vast plantations of rubber that were originally established by the French and are once again being redeveloped. There may be the opportunity to stop along the way and learn about how the rubber is tapped. 

In Kompong Cham, we will see how the 11th-century sandstone temple of Wat Nokor is blended with a colorful modern wat set in its central courtyard. There are some intricate carvings at this temple and the kitsch contrast between the Hindu past and the Buddhist present is almost unheard of elsewhere in Cambodia.

We will continue to the sacred hills of Phnom Pros and Phnom Srei (man and woman hills), offering great views across the countryside. Later we will journey west to the provincial capital of Kompong Thom, our base for the night.

Meals: breakfast | Accommodation: not included

Today we will explore the impressive pre-Angkorian capital of Isanapura, known today as Sambor Prei Kuk. The first major temple city in South-East Asia, the brick temples of Sambor Prei Kuk are a peaceful contrast to their more illustrious relatives at Angkor. Visiting these ancient structures before our pilgrimage to Angkor will provide us with a fascinating chronological insight into the development of temple architecture during the Khmer Empire. We will explore the main temples here, including Prasat Tao with its elaborately coiffured lions, and Prasat Sambor, with its crumbling sanctuaries.

We will continue northwest on National Highway 6, an old Angkor road, and stop in Kompong Kdei to see one of the ancient Angkor bridges that were built to span the river. Spean Praptos or the Praptos Bridge has more than 20 arches and is a spectacular sight, reinforcing the impression that the Khmers were the Romans of Southeast Asia. We will arrive in Siem Reap in the afternoon.