Meal: not any | Accommodation: not included

5:30 AM – Rising early, we travel to the royal crematorium temple of Pre Rup to see sunrise over the rice fields around Angkor, offering a classic view of the Cambodian countryside. After sunrise, we continue to Ta Prohm, abandoned to the elements, and a reminder that while empires rise and fall, the riotous power of nature marches on, oblivious to the dramas of human history.

In the afternoon, we travel through the traditional village of Preah Dak to the 12th century temple of Banteay Samre. Built by King Suryavarman II, the genius behind Angkor Wat, this temple has been extensively restored. The temple is unique in that over-quarrying of sandstone led to the use of laterite for the roofed corridors. The pediments above the inner doors here include some of the most accomplished carving from the Angkor period. We ends the day with Banteay Srei, Angkor’s ultimate art gallery. This petite pink temple is the jewel in the crown of Angkor-era sculpture. The elaborate carvings here are the finest found in Cambodia and the name translates as ‘Fortress of the Women’, thanks to the intricate detail here, considered too fine for the hands of a man.

If you don’t like early wake up, we can skip the sunrise at Pre Rup and start the tour around 7:30 AM with Ta Prohm. Please ask your hotel to prepare a breakfast box for your early departure.

Meal: not any | Accommodation: not included

7:30 AM – Pick up from your hotel, we journey out to the Mother of all temples, Angkor Wat. Believed to be the world's largest religious building, this temple is the perfect fusion of symbolism and symmetry and a source of pride and strength to all Khmers. We stay at Angkor Wat to enjoy a picnic breakfast and then begin by unravelling the mysteries of the bas-reliefs that tell of tales from Hindu mythology and of the glories of the Khmer empire. Stretching for almost one kilometre, these intricate carvings are a candidate for the world’s longest unbroken piece of art.

In the afternoon, we visit the immense walled city Angkor Thom that was the masterpiece of King Jayavarman VII. Following the occupation of Angkor by the Chams from 1177 to 1181, the new king decided to build an impregnable fortress at the heart of his empire. The scale is simply staggering and we are immediately overwhelmed by the audacity of Jayavarman on arrival at the city’s gates. We begin our visit at the Terrace of the Leper King, continue along the Terrace of Elephants to the southern end with the Baphuon, once of the most beautiful temples at Angkor, dating from the reign of Uditayavarman 1^st in the 11th century.

Our climax is the enigmatic and enchanting temple of the Bayon. At the exact centre of Angkor Thom, this is an eccentric expression of the creative genius and inflated ego of Cambodia’s most celebrated king. Its 54 towers are each topped off with the four faces of Avalokiteshvara (Buddha of Compassion), which bear more than a passing resemblance to the king himself.