9. Siem Reap: Kulen Mountain, Beng Mealea, and Tonle Sap Tour
You will be picked you up from your hotel at 8:00 am and take you to purchase a ticket of Kulen Mountain. We will then head to Phnom Kulen National Park for approximately 1 hour. This journey takes you through rural Cambodian villages, where you may observe locals going about their everyday lives and admire beautiful landscapes such as rice paddies and traditional dwellings. Stop off at the Palm Sugar Village and witness how Cambodian people make their own sugar to supply their families and villages. Afterward, we continue to the hilltop of Phnom Kulen, and our knowledgeable local guide will take you to the most spectacular tourist attractions in the national park, including the largest and most beautiful waterfalls, the reclining Buddha sculpture, and the River of Thousand Linga, which was constructed in 802 AD. In the afternoon, we will have lunch at the local restaurant before heading to Beng Melea, the mysterious 12th-century temple in the middle of the jungle. This temple is heavily overgrown with vegetation, trees, lianas, and mosses. This temple is surrounded by a rainforest due to it being abundant for over 300 years. When it is not fully restored, many local and international tourists fall in love with the area. Continue to take a local boat from the ferry to explore the famous floating village of Kampong Phluk. There, you can see firsthand what everyday life is like for the many families who make their living primarily from fishing. Most families live on the lake shore in brightly colored houses on long poles, so the high water levels are not a problem during the rainy season. Explore the flooded mangrove forest surrounding the area, which is home to a variety of species, including crab-eating macaques and 3,000 inhabitants. We will then take you to visit a Buddhist monastery built on an artificial island. Drop you off at your hotel.