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Day
1
: Transfer from Siem Reap Airport
to hotel.
: Visit the South Gate
of Angkor Thom, Bayon, Royal
Enclosure, Phimeanakas,
Elephants Terrace and
Terrace of the Leper King :
Angkor Thom, the
last capital and the opulent
great city of King Jayavarman
VII (who reigned from 1181-1220)
is a truly amazing sight. Its
South gate, which is itself
a masterpiece of stone carving,
causes many visitors to stop
and take a photograph. The signature
faces of the Bayon on the top
of the gate are very well preserved.
Flanked by warriors lifting
two enormous seven-headed Nagas
to guard the gate, this is a
great place to take a picture.
About 1.5 km past the gate sits
the site of one of the most
enigmatic temples of the Angkor
group - the Bayon Temple. Over
200 regal faces, each expressing
a slightly different smile,
are carved on the 54 towers
in the complex. The four faces
on each tower are thought to
symbolize the omnipresence of
King Jayavarman VII, although
some scholars think they represent
the Boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara
(Kuan Im).
: Lunch at restaurant.
: Continue to visit Angkor
Wat and view the sunset from
Phnom Bakheng hill
: Angkor Wat, the
largest temple at the Angkor
complex. Constructed during
the first half of the 12th century,
Angkor Wat is the supreme masterpiece
of Khmer art. It was built by
Suryavaram II (1112-1152) to
honor the Hindu god Vishnu,
with whom the king was identified,
and for eventual use as the
king's burial site. Entire books
have been written about the
temple, but even these valiant
attempts at description fall
far short of communicating the
great size, the perfect proportions,
and the astoundingly beautiful
sculpture that everywhere presents
itself to the viewer. It is
not among the author's most
favorite sacred places in the
sense of its meditative atmosphere
or earth-spirit energy , yet
for an experience of architectural
majesty and artistic refinement
, Angkor Wat certainly ranks
amongst the ten greatest structures
of human civilization. To approach
via the long causeway, to amble
about the sprawling courtyards,
to ascend the towering central
shrine, is to step for a short
while into a realm of such granduer,
such unrestrained power that
one's mind and soul are intoxicated
with inspiration and infinite
possibility.
: Dinner at restaurant.
: After dinner, return to hotel.
: Relax and overnight at hotel.
Day
2
: Breakfast at hotel.
: Visit Kravan Pre Rup,
Pre Rup is a deceptively simple
pyramid surrounded by rings
of perimeter walls. hours
are required to stroll through
it all. Built in the early
Angkor era by King Rajendravarman
II (944-968) it may have been
used for cremations.
: Visit Mebon Oriental
Ta Som, Neak Pean and Preah
Khan Temples, Preah
Khan was built in 1191 during
the reign of King Jayavarman
VII. He was a warrior
king celebrated for reconstructing
the Khmer Empire after a period
of fragmentation. Jayavarman
first made a name for himself
in 1165, when news of a rebellion
reached his ears. Rushing
home from the Cham Kingdom,
where he resided, he arrived
too late to stop the usurper
Tribhuvanadityavarman from crowning
himself King of the Khmers.
Jayavarman was powerless to
interfere, but waited patiently
for an opportunity. Finally
in 1177, the Cham kingdom sent
an invasion force against the
Khmer usurper, joined by native
elements, that toppled him in
a bloody campaign. Fighting
even reached Angkor, laying
waste to the capital.
The victorious Cham occupied
Khmer territory as a foreign
power, but their rule was not
to last long.
: Lunch at restaurant.
: Continue to visit Srah
Srang, Ta Prohm, Takeo, Thommanon
and Chau Say Taveda Temples.
: Dinner at restaurant.
: After dinner, return to hotel.
: Relax and overnight at hotel.
Day
3
: Breakfast at hotel.
: Visit the floating village
and take a Boat trip on the
Tonle Sap. (The Great Lake),
Cambodia's Tonle Sap, or
Great Lake, is one of the
unique geographical wonders
of the world. It offers visitors
insights into the centuries-old
traditions of riparian life
and the natural splendor of
the country. On the banks of
the mighty Great Lake and the
Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers,
Khmers have celebrated for over
two hundred years the changing
of the river's flow. During
the rainy season the Tonle
Sap River reversed direction,
flooding the lake, increasing
its size almost tenfold, making
it the largest freshwater body
in Southeast Asia.
: Lunch at restaurant.
: Continue to visit
"Les Artisans D' Angkor-Chantiers
Ecoles" and a local market.
: Transfer to Siem Reap
Airport for next departure.
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