Rice Fields and Hidden Temples – Thailand to Cambodia
Bite-sized trip
Day 1 – Trat – Thai/Cambodia border – Battambang
You’ll begin your journey from Trat, after a bumpy ride in a private car you’ll reach the border after about three-hours. After one last look over your shoulder at Thailand, you’ll cross over on foot. The border is nothing more than a gate and two small offices on both sides. A driver will be waiting on the other side to take you to Battambang. Despite being the country’s second largest city Battambang is quite rural, full of crumbling French colonial architecture and has a lively market that people from all around come to visit. You’ll spend the night in a comfortable resort with a swimming pool, just outside the city centre.
Day 2 – Guided tour
Today you’ll join a small group of other travellers and travel to the outskirts of the city to learn more about rural life in the region. Due it’s fertile soil this area is known as the “rice bowl of Cambodia”. Your first port of call; a trip on the Bamboo train, this train is nothing more than a small platform made from bamboo, a chassis and a small motor. Still, it’s a unique experience and shouldn’t be missed. You’ll continue your trip through authentic villages where you’ll watch sticky rice and fish paste being made and learn how the local people make bananas into paper.
Your next stop is Wat Ek Phnom. This was once considered to be one of the finest temples in the Angkor period. In the days of the Khmer Rouge, the temple was used as a prison. Today, many of the walls have collapsed and the temple is overgrown with grass and bushes. However you can still get an idea of how impressive it must have looked. After lunch at the river, you’ll continue to the Killing Caves (Phnom Sampeou). The beauty of this temple is the view, from the two pagodas you can look out over the surrounding countryside, the green rice fields and karst mountains. In the afternoon you’ll return to your hotel and mull over your day as you relax by the pool.
Day 3 – Departure from Battambang
Today is the last leg of your Battambang travels so take one last wander through the area and let the country rhythm of life win you over. This trip will finish in Battambang after breakfast.
Accommodation
For this bite-sized trip we offer the following options
Upgrade to our In Style accommodation
For this bite-sized trip we have an alternative option available for your accommodation. Our In-Style version is something a bit more special or unique but still with lots of local flavour! If you would like to upgrade your accommodation for this bite-size trip select our In Style option below.
