Cambodia

Arrival in the capital city of Phnom Penh in the morning. You can walk around the city visiting the most emblematic places. First go to the National Museum of Cambodia to learn about its history and culture. Then head to the Independence Monument, to the parks around the area with Cambodian architecture, to the Silver Pagoda and the Royal Palace. Stop for lunch at a local street food market. After lunch, venture inside a Wat (place of Buddhist worship) and the Palace of Justice.

This day, give a hop on hop off tour to the extermination camps of Choeung Ek, one of the many sites where the Genocide of Cambodia took place. Then, head to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S21 Prison) to learn more about the tragic events this country went through. The last two places are emotionally exhausting, but I highly recommend them (rent the self-guide). In the afternoon, make a quick visit to the Wat Phnom Buddhist complex in the city. In the evening, take a night bus to Siem Reap.

You will arrive in Siem Reap early in the morning. Register at your hotel and hire a Tuk-Tuk to take to the Angkor Wat temple complex. You will have to buy the 3 day pass, which is USD 62, but I think two days gives you a good amount of time to visit most of the temples without hurry. You can do the Short Circuit this day and visit Ta Prohm, Ta Keo, the Terrace of the Elephants, Bayon and Angkor Wat (approximately 5 hours). The Tuk-Tuk for 2 days will charge about USD 40.

Having coordinated with your Tuk-Tuk and with the hotel the day before, start the route early (around 4:30 to 5 am) to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Then, you can continue visiting the rest of the temples in the Long Circuit to continue admiring the variety of the rich architecture of the complex. You can visit Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, East Mebon, Pre Rup, Banteay Kdei and Srah Srang (approximately 7 hours). At night head to Pub Street for dinner and a drink.

Take a bus to Battambang in the morning (3.5 hours). In the afternoon, rent a motorbike to go to Pnomh Sampov (30 minutes from Battambang). You can visit the Caves of Extermination (Killing Caves) or simply see the beautiful views while waiting for the “main event”. At dusk, thousands of bats leave a cave for 10-20 minutes without stopping. It’s an amazing show and there are local shops next to it, so you can have some food or drink while you wait for them to come out.

In the morning, with the motorbike, head to the train station of Norry (Bamboo Train), which is on the outskirts of the city. In addition to the experience of driving such a particular vehicle (the bamboo train), the 30-minute trip has beautiful views of the countryside and reaches a small town where you can buy souvenirs to support the locals. Then return to Battambang and walk to explore local commerce and street markets. Finally take a bus back to Siem Reap.