We leave Phnom Penh and travel west towards the busy riverside town of Kompong Chhnang, meaning “Port of Pottery”. It is famous for its beautiful landscape, iconic sugar palm trees that dot the landscape and where local villages produce pottery in the midst of the rice fields. The town is also home to one of the larger floating villages on the lake which is predominantly inhabited by Vietnamese traders, which you will visit upon arrival. Visit a local floating home and enjoy a drink with your host and learn about how life is lived on the water. Return to the mainland and transfer to Phnom Touch. Touch means small in Khmer and this tiny hill located near a modern pagoda offers stunning vistas over the Tonle Sap Lake. Enjoy a picnic lunch in this picturesque setting before heading over sandy roads and through paddy fields to the pottery villages.

Learn how the community makes pottery the traditional way and observe how sugar is collected from the palm trees. Let your guide assist you with translating if you are interested to learn more about village life. Admire the beautiful surroundings once more before you continue driving to your hotel for overnight accommodation.

Meals: Lunch

Accommodation: A local hotel in Kampong Chhnang

Breakfast at the hotel, you drive to Battambang, the biggest province produce rice in Cambodia. On the way, we stop to Pursat, the capital of western Cambodia's Pursat province. It is indistinguishable from Cambodia's other small provincial capitals. This sleepy town holds marginal interest, so it is used a base for visits to the Tonle Sap Lake or Cardamon Mountains.  Upon arrival, check in at the hotel.

In the afternoon head towards Phnom Sampeau, meaning “Ship Hill” in Khmer, due to its distinctive shape, and one of the few hills standing out in this otherwise pancake-flat plain. From the small temple on the top, you will have a fantastic view over the typical landscape of paddy fields and sugar palm trees. Phnom Sampeau is home to the notorious killing caves, which are cruel reminders of Cambodian troubled past. Serenity and inhumanity represented in one place make this an interesting visit. Your visit will last until dusk – a time when millions of bats emerge from a cave and create patterns as they fly in tandem across the sky – a nightly spectacular show of nature. Overnight stayed in Battambang.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: A local hotel in Battambang

We leave Battambang after breakfast and travel north towards the trading town of Svay Sisophon. We then head deeper into Banteay Meanchey province to the incredible jungle temple of Banteay Chhmar, famous for its signature faces of Jayavarman VII. After travelling through some beautiful stretches of Cambodian countryside, we arrive at the main temple of Banteay Chhmar for a thorough exploration. We see the magnificent carvings of Lokesvara with 32 arms, nicknamed lok sam-pee (Mr 32) by Khmers, as well as the beautiful Hall of Dancers, similar to the famous Preah Khan.

After clambering about among this sleeping giant, we continue to explore the outer complex, including the outer gate of Ta Prohm, like a smaller cousin of the impressive Angkor Thom gates and protected by a moat, and the jungle-clad face-towers of Yeay Chy and Samnang Tasok. After a picnic lunch around Banteay Chhmar, we travel south through Sisophon once more before veering east to Siem Reap, the atmospheric gateway to the majestic temples of Angkor. End of the services.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: N/A