Banteay Srei, Rolous Group and Kompong Phluk

• Return: Evening

• Sites you will visit: Banteay Srei, Bakong, Lolei, Preah Ko, Kompong Phluk

• Highlights: delicate pink sandstone carvings, architecture, history, stilted villages, life on water, people, flooded forest

In the morning you will travel to a small temple of Banteay Srei well known for its beautiful delicate carvings in warm pink sandstone. This late 10th century temple is fairly compact and very different from other Angkorian temples.

The late 9th century Hindu temples Bakong, Lolei and Preah Ko form what is collectively known as the Rolous group located 15km west of Siem Reap, away from the main Angkor Archaeological Park. Explore the early capital of Angkor and let your guide show you the most attractive sites in this location, the most impressive being the pyramid-like Bakong surrounded by moat still containing water today.

You will have a lunch break locally and rest during the hottest part of the day.

Later in the afternoon you will travel to Kompong Phluk, an authentic stilted village on the edge of the great Tonle Sap Lake. The Khmer, Vietnamese and Cham people live in harmony with the rising and falling water levels of the lake. Fun fact: most households here own boats as well as motorbikes as their road becomes a water channel during the monsoon. The biggest attraction in this neighbourhood is the eerie Flooded Forest accessible by boat during the wet season.