Passage through Cambodia

Today, you'll have a chance to visit the more remote parts of Phnom Penh with your guide, such as the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields. In 1975, the Red Khmer invaded the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Pol Pot became premier of Cambodia and made a very bloody attempt to turn Cambodia into a communist agricultural state. Currency, education, religion and private property were abolished. Marriages were arranged and children were separated from their parents. Anyone who did not co-operate was executed. Intellectuals and college-graduates were also executed - even wearing glasses or speaking a second language was enough to make someone a suspect. 

The Tuol Sleng Museum confronts visitors quite directly with Cambodia's brutal past. The museum itself is an old elementary school that was used as a prison for torturing political enemies during the rule of the Red Khmer. For many, this was their last stop before they were taken to the mass graves of the Killing Fields, located just outside Phnom Penh in an orchard. Over 17,000 people were killed. At the end of the afternoon you'll visit the Apsara Foundation which teaches Cambodian children in low-income families how to dance and entertain. You'll spend the night in the same hotel and your Phnom Penh to Bangkok overland tour will begin in earnest tomorrow.

This morning, you'll leave Phnom Penh and begin the first leg of your overland journey to Bangkok, travelling by hydrofoil over the Tonle Sap Lake and river and on to Siem Reap. A car will take you from your Phnom Penh hotel to the boat pier. The trip should take about 5 hours, which is much shorter than the trip would take by road. During the trip, you can sit on the roof of the boat and enjoy the view of life on Cambodia's largest lake, which eventually pours into a river. In some areas the lake is kilometres wide, in other areas only dozens of metres. Villages on stilts, floating islands, boats, rafts, cormorants, and children playing on the banks of the river will pass you by. On arrival in Siem Reap, your guide will be waiting to take you to your hotel. The hotel is located in the centre of town, has very spacious air conditioned rooms and friendly staff. 

Today you'll visit a part of the Angkor temple complex with your guide - a real highlight of you Phnom Penh to Bangkok overland tour. In order to see the entire complex, you would need to spend several days here since the dozens of temples are spread out over an area of about 25 kilometres. Be sure to stay on the defined and marked paths, as there are still mines in some of the unchartered areas!

The temples were built in various time periods and each ruler built their own temple, which means that each temple to have its own distinctive character. The most famous temple, Angkor Wat, features Hindu influences. After a day of cultural exploration, you'll spend another night in your hotel in Siem Reap.

Today you can visit more of the Angkor temples independently, and wander through the ruins at your own pace. Angkor is the name of the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire that was established during the 8th century AD. The empire was enormous and included territories all the way down to Southern Vietnam and up to China. Later on, the Thai ruled this territory during the Siamese empire and introduced many Buddhist influences. "Siem Reap" literally means "victory by Siam".

The temples were once surrounded by a lively city full of wooden houses, which sadly didn't last the test of time. For centuries, this city was covered by jungle until a French expedition discovered the ruins early in the 1900s. Several of the temples have since been restored and others are crumbling hidden jungle ruins. Ta Prohm temple (famously the setting for Tomb Raider) has not yet been completely restored, with huge tree roots bursting through the brickwork and wrapping themselves around the walls of the temple. You'll spend another night in Siem Reap, and continue your trip from Phnom Penh to Bangkok overland tomorrow.