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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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