Cambodia Temples & Religion
The annual Angkor 10's Rugby tournament takes place in Phnom Penh in November. Up to around 16 teams take part, some flying in from as far away as Australia, Hong Kong, Dubai and even Europe. This tour is designed for participants and accompanying supporters to get a feel of Cambodia either before or after the event. Of course it can also be a template for anyone else visiting the country.
Sample Itinerary
Please note that the below itinerary is just a sample suggestion for those participating the Angkor 10s Rugby Tournament and can be adjusted to suit your groups' personal interests.
04 Nov: Arrive Phnom Penh. A driver will meet and take you to the hotel for check-in. Overnight in PP.
05 - 07 Nov: Tournament day: transfer by bus to/from hotel/stadium. Overnight in PP.
08 Nov: City tour: visit the main attractions such as the Royal Palace, National Museum, Toul Sleng Genocide, Killing Fields (Choeng Ek). Overnight in PP.
The Royal Palace
This graceful structure is very much a focus of the city. Standing on the site of the former citadel, it was built for King Norodom in front of the Mekong. Inside its walls are the Throne Hall, the Chan Chaya Pavillion, the Napoleon III Pavillion, and the King's and Queen's residential quarters. Today, only the Silver Pagoda is open. The Silver Pagoda is a gilltering chamber of royal treasures, also known as the Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha, Inside, its floor is made up of 5,000 silver blocks. In the centre of the pagoda, there is a magnificent 17th century emerald Buddha statue made of baccarat crystal. The walls enclosing the pagoda are covered with ancient frescoes depicting episodes from the Ramayana.
National Museum
Another elegant city landmark, the museum is housed in a terracotta-roofed structure of traditional Cambodian design, which was built in between 1917 and 1920. It offers a charming setting for a stunning collection of Khmer art. The intricate sculptures date from both the Angkorian and pre-Angkorian eras, complimented by recent examples of Cambodian art and a wooden Buddha collection.
Wat Ounalom
Facing the Tonle Sap near the Royal Palace, this pagoda serves as the headquarters for one of Cambodia's Buddhist Patriarchs.
Wat Phnom
Standing atop a small hill is the 15th century stupa containing the ashes of an early monarch. Wat Phnom is a city landmark and a place for worship.
Tuol Sleng and Choeng Ek
When the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975 they converted a former high school in the suburbs of Phnom Penh into a detention and torture centre known as Tuol Sleng, or S-21. A genocide museum was established at Tuol Sleng after 1979 and today it remains as it looked when abandoned by the Khmer Rouge. Hundreds of faces of those tortured line the walls inside the old school. Most of the 17,000 people detained at Tuol Sleng were eventually transported to Choeung Ek, a mass grave site located 15km outside Phnom Penh. Known to locals as the Killing Fields, Choeung Ek serves as a memorial to those killed under the Khmer Rouge rule. These sites can be extremely distressing, but are an essential part of understanding Cambodia’s tragic past.
09 Nov: Biking the Islands of Mekong: transfer from hotel to the Riverside hotel down the riverfront. There, you will take a boat across the Tonle Sap River and cycle north along the far bank of the river. This area is populated mainly by Cham communities. You will pass Coriander gardens and small wooden houses before crossing the peninsula to the ferry point. While waiting for the ferry, there will be a chance to visit a Chinese style Pagoda.
Continue the ride by taking a ferry to cross to Koh Otnyahdei, where you will enjoy a gentle ride around this small Mekong Island with its fertile farmland and small village communities. Enroute, stopping at a school to learn a little about Cambodia’s school system, a typical modern Khmer Wat, and a silk weaving house to see how those lovely silk scarves are produced.
From there, you will then follow along small trails to the abandoned Zoo and relax in an overgrown, partly finished resort project before getting back (by a different route) to the boat where you will then enjoy another 2hrs sunset cruise.
After the cruise, the driver will be waiting for you on the mainland side to escort you back to the hotel. Overnight in Phnom Penh.
10 Nov: Leave PP by minibus to Siem Reap, enroute make a quick stop at Skuon, affectionately known as Spiderville, famous for its deep-friend tarantulas, a local delicacy. Stop to visit some smaller temples along the way, including the elegant Prasat Guha Nokor, an 11th century sandstone and laterite temple set within the grounds of a modern wat. Then, onward to Sambor Prei Kuk, the first major temple city in South-East Asia, the brick temples of Sambor Prei Kuk are a peaceful contrast to their more illustrious relatives at Angkor. Explore the main temples here, including Prasat Tao with its elaborately coiffured lions and Prasat Sambor, with its crumbling sanctuaries. Arrive Siem Reap late afternoon. Overnight in Siem Reap.
11 Nov: Visit the main temples by minibus: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Elephant Terraces & Lepper King. Biking to visit the temples is recommended. Overnight in Siem Reap.
Angkor Thom - This Royal city was first built under the reign of Udayadityavarman II in the 11th Century. It was destroyed when the Chams from Vietnam rose up against the Khmers and invaded, sacking the city, and was subsequently renovated by King Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th Century. Its vast walls, some 6m wide, 8m high and 13km in length contain many monuments. Drive through the South Gate and visit;
Bayon Temple - this temple mountain, built by Jayavarman VII, is situated in the centre of the city of Angkor Thom. It is a three-tiered pyramid with its entrance facing east. The central shrine is surrounded by 54 towers all crowned by gigantic faces, representing Avalokite-shvara but with the features of Jayavarman VII. They gaze out to the North, South, East and West, and wherever you are in the temple, you are surrounded by these enigmatic faces, with their unnerving smiles. Unlike his preDayessors who had worshipped the Hindu deities of Shiva and Vishnu, Jayavarman VII adopted Mahayana Buddhism as the fount of royal divinity. This sets The Bayon apart from many other Angkorean monuments.
Elephant terrace & Terrace of the Leper King, at the North of the Baphuon lies the Royal city, of which very little remains. The first owes its name to the outstanding depiction of elephants, while the second gets its name from the magnificent sculpture of King Yasovarman, popularly known as the Leper King. The original of this statue is now in the National Museum in Phnom Penh.
Late afternoon you could return to Angkor Wat for sunset photographs or, if you managed to get good ones on the first day, find an alternative perspective to catch the good light.
12 Nov: Visit outer temples: Early Breakfast, journey north to the Kbal Spean. The original ‘River of a Thousand Lingas’, Kbal Spean is an intricately carved riverbed deep in the foothills of the Cambodian jungle. The river flows down to the Tonlé Sap lake, and in ancient times its holy waters breathed life into the rice fields of the empire via the most complex irrigation system the world had ever seen. The Khmers venerated its limestone bed with a riot of carvings, including the delicate deities Vishnu and Shiva with their consorts. Lingams are phallic representations sacred to Hindus as fertility symbols and hundreds, perhaps thousands, are carved into the bedrock here. The carvings were only rediscovered in 1969 when French researcher Jean Boulbet was shown the river by a local hermit.
A trip to Kbal Spean is one of the easiest ways to experience a short jungle trek in the Angkor area, as it is a steady but scenic climb to reach the river carvings. The path winds its way through knotted vines and big boulder formations and occasionally offers big views over the surrounding jungle. And there is a small waterfall below the carved riverbed, perfect for cooling off after the hot climb.
Continue, heading south to Banteay Srei, Angkor’s ultimate art gallery. This petite pink temple is the jewel in the crown of Angkor-era sculpture. The elaborate carvings here are the finest found in Cambodia and the name translates as ‘Fortress of the Women’, thanks to the intricate detail here, considered too fine for the hands of a man.
Originally believed to date from the latter part of the Angkor period, inscriptions at the site suggest it was built by a Brahman in 967. However, some architectural historians have suggested that the inscriptions may date from an earlier structure on this site and the temple is in fact later, marking a high-water mark in Khmer sculpture.
In the afternoon, travel to the lost temple of Beng Mealea, the titanic of temples, a slumbering giant lost for centuries in the forests of Cambodia. It is the most accessible of Angkor’s lost temples, a mirror image of Angkor Wat, but utterly consumed by the voracious appetite of nature. Constructed by Suryavarman II (1113-1150), the builder of Angkor Wat, the forest has run riot here and it is hard to get a sense of the monument’s shape amid the daunting ruins. Here it is possible to enjoy an Indiana Jones experience clambering about the vast ruin. For those who want a more gentle adventure, there is also a sturdy wooden walkway running right into the heart of the temple. It is also possible to visit a nearby Angkor-era quarry from where stone was cut to build these massive monuments.
Late afternoon return to Siem Reap for the night. Overnight in Siem Reap.
13 Nov: Today, travel to the pristine biosphere of Prek Toal, home to some of the most endangered birdlife on the planet. The immense Tonle Sap Lake is one of the most productive bodies of water in the world and millions of fish spawn here in the flooded forest. Prek Toal lies on the northeastern shore of the Tonle Sap, about one hour by boat from the port at Phnom Krom.
Prek Toal is a vast area of natural flooded forest that draws thousands of birds annually to breed during the dry season. This is one of the premier places in Southeast Asia to see rare birds such as storks, adjutants, pelicans and ibis. Birdwatchers will drift through their habitat and can observe large flocks of birds feeding on the lake shore, perched in the trees or soaring above the forest.
A trip to Prek Toal requires an early start at 5.30am. Transfer by boat from Phnom Krom to Prek Toal and enjoy breakfast along the way. The morning is spent birdwatching on a traditional wooden boat as we glide through the flooded forest with local specialists. After a local lunch, we experience local life in the floating village, learning about different fishing techniques and traditional water hyacinth weaving. We return to Siem Reap late afternoon. Overnight in Siem Reap.
14 Nov: Fly home.
