Meals: Lunch | Accommodation: not included

8:00 AM – Pick up from your hotel, we leave Phnom Penh and travel west towards Battambang province, the rice bowl of Cambodia. There’re oportunity to visit a local pottery village in Kompong Chhnang which is famous for producing undecorated items for the Cambodian home.

We come to the small town of Krakor and turn off the main road to visit the incredible floating town of Kompong Luong. The largest floating community on the Tonle Sap Lake, there are almost 10,000 inhabitants living here. Everything floats on water, including the schools, the clinic, the shops and the petrol station. We explore by boat and experience life in a real floating community untouched by mass tourism.

Lunch will be served a local restaurant in Pursat, a pleasant riverside town in central Cambodia. In the afternoon we continue northwest, passing through typical Cambodian landscapes of endless rice fields dotted with sugar palms. We arrive in Battambang late afternoon and check into our hotel. We leave the rest of the day free to soak up the charm of this historic riverside city.

Meals: not any | Accommodation: not included

After breakfast, we travel to Wat Koh district to visit a local village and learn about rural life in Cambodia. We learn about the rice harvest, fruit farming and how the sugar palm is used. After our village visit, we board the bamboo train to travel back towards Battambang. These 'local trains' are bamboo platforms with wheels and they fly along the rail tracks offering great views of the surrounding countryside.

After lunch in town, we travel to the hilltop temple of Wat Banan. The winding road follows the Sangker River and passes by many traditional wooden homes, offering an authentic glimpse of rural Cambodia. Arriving at the temple, we ascend to the summit and are rewarded with striking views of the surrounding plains.

We continue to Phnom Sampeau, a sacred mountain dotted with interesting pagodas and stupas. There is also a moving memorial to Khmer Rouge victims who were thrown into one of the many caves that pepper this holy mountain. We then return to Battambang town for the night.

Option 1: Battambang – Siem Reap (directly, no visit)

Meal: not any | Accommodation: not included

We leave Battambang and travel north towards the trading town of Svay Sisophon. We travel south through Sisophon before veering east to Siem Reap, the atmospheric gateway to the majestic temples of Angkor.

Option 2: Battambang - Banteay Chhmar - Siem Reap

Meal: not any | Accommodation: not included

We leave Battambang after breakfast and travel north towards the trading town of Svay Sisophon and then head deeper into Banteay Meanchey province to the incredible jungle temple of Banteay Chhmar where we see the magnificent carvings of Lokesvara with 32 arms, nicknamed lok sam-pee (Mr 32) by Khmers, as well as the beautiful Hall of Dancers, similar to the famous Preah Khan.

After clambering about among this sleeping giant, we continue to explore the outer complex, including the outer gate of Ta Prohm, like a smaller cousin of the impressive Angkor Thom gates and protected by a moat, and the jungle-clad face-towers of Yeay Chy and Samnang Tasok. After a picnic lunch around Banteay Chhmar, we travel south through Sisophon once more before veering east to Siem Reap, the atmospheric gateway to the majestic temples of Angkor

Option 3: Battambang to Siem Reap by shared boat (available from Aug to Feb only)

Meal: lunch | Accommodation: not included

We leave Battambang after breakfast and board a local fast boat for our journey to Siem Reap. It is a beautiful ride along the narrow Sangker River, offering some intimate glimpses of rural life in Battambang province. We travel through some incredible networks of bamboo fish traps and may have to slow down many times to avoid snagging lines. We also travel through some areas of water hyacinth where the boat must travel very slowly. We pass close by the Prek Toal Biosphere and may be lucky enough to see some rare large water birds. We eventually emerge on the Tonle Sap Lake, which feels like a vast inland sea. We travel to the floating village of Chong Kneas where we transfer to Siem Reap town.

The boat trip is available from Aug to Feb only (rainy season) and it takes around 5 hours. The boats have cover from the sun but are pretty basic wooden variety with a toilet and wooden bench seats. It’s a very picturesque journey as it gives an insight into life on and along the river and lake but it doesn’t suit everyone.  For ease of comfort then the 1st choice should be by road but if guests love boat/water travel, then this is something for them to consider, but we have to be clear, it’s not luxury travelling.