Cycling, Challenge Bangkok to Siem Reap

📍 Transfer from Bangkok Airport to Bangkok Hotel: 60mins

Upon arrival to Bangkok, our guide and driver will be waiting at the airport to provide transport to the hotel for check in. After resting up at the hotel, meet with the cycling team at 18:00 for dinner at a local restaurant and to prepare for the following days’ cycle. 

Overnight in Bangkok
 

Inclusions:

🍗 Dinner

📍 Transfer from Bangkok to Pattaya: 2 hours Cycling distance up to 75km Difficulty: Easy

After breakfast, meet up with the guides and check over the bikes before a transfer to Pattaya- the trailhead of the cycling experience. The day’s route starts with a local, traditional-style lunch before heading to the Noong Nooch Botanical Gardens. Discover a wide variety of flora from all over the world during the ride through the tropical gardens.

Late in the afternoon, arrive to Rayong for dinner.  

Overnight in Rayong
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Transfer from Rayong to Pak Nam Prasae- 45 minutes Cycling distance up to 75km Difficulty: Easy

The day begins early with a departure from the hotel at 07:30 (after breakfast) for the transfer to Pak Nam Prasae. Fit out the bikes and cycle on the scenic local road to Kung Wiman Bay. This idyllic, friendly community is illustrated by colourful fishing boats, fruit orchards and rubber plantations sitting at the foothill of the Cardamom Mountains in Chantaburi province. The sea is fringed by casuarinas trees, forest-covered hills and mangrove swamps with safe, clean beaches.

As the region’s Kung Wiman beach faces west, it is the perfect place to relax and watch the sunset. Continue the ride and stop for a walk along a trail through the mangrove forest at Kung Krabaen Bay Royal Development Study Center. Hop back on the bikes and cycle to the beach resort at Chaolao Beach.
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Cycling distance up to 17km Difficulty: Easy

Arrive at the quiet border crossing into Cambodia—guide and driver await on the other side. After changing bikes and shifting gear, begin cycling from here to the town of Pailin, about 17km distant. Around us are the Chour Phnom Kravanh, foothills to the wild Cardamom Mountains that rise steadily to the south. It was here that the Khmer Rouge put up its stubborn resistance to the government forces of Cambodia, battling them until the late 1990’s. In addition to its more infamous history, Pailin is also famous for its ruby and gem mines as well as its local temples and natural beauty. 

Overnight in Memoria Palace Resort.
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Cycling distance up to 85km Difficulty: Medium

Saddle up this morning and head east over tarmac roads for Cambodia’s second largest city, Battambang. This is really rural Cambodia with lots of mango orchards, corn fields, peanut farms, and of course rice paddies. There are a few hills on the way today but the general trend is a downward slope heading into the Tonle Sap basin. As the ride carries on, the mountains begin to give way to this endless plain. Stop for lunch this afternoon at Wat Phnom Sampeau, then visit the temple at the top of this limestone outcrop. Finally we reach Battambang, Cambodia’s second city, though it’s hard to tell by its sleepy, laid back style. This beautiful city fills with faded colonial buildings and charm. 

Overnight in Classy Hotel & Spa.
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Transfer from hotel to starting point: 2 hours Cycling distance up to 75km Difficulty: Easy

Transfer this morning about two hours from Battambang, sweeping through the crossroads of Sisaphon where National Road 5 and 6 connect. The journey turns eastward. Stop at the Kralang district to take a ride over an ancient Angkorian highway. This road travels from Kralang to the town of Pouk. Here the old highway rejoins the modern National Road 6, so we change course to avoid the heavy traffic and cycle on to the finish line in an old Pagoda near Siem Reap. Transfer this afternoon into town. 

Overnight at Natura Resort.
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Transfer from Angkor Complex to hotel: 20 minutes Cycling distance up to 30km Difficulty: Easy

After breakfast this morning, meet with the guides and prepare for our journey through the jungles of Angkor.

Begin with a visit to Ta Prohm temple (a setting of one of the Tomb Raider films), built in the mid-12th to early 13th centuries. Ta Prohm is unique in that it has been left largely as it was found: overgrown by jungle, trees and vines, with many parts of the temple crumbling to the ground. This makes Ta Prohm one of the most picturesque and memorable of the Angkor temples.

Continue from Ta Prohm to the ancient city of Angkor Thom. This was the last capital of the Great Khmer Empire under the reign of Jayavarman VII. An eight meter high wall draws a perfect square around the city ruin. Enter through the ancient East Gate. On each side of the entrance path a row of fifty-four gods and demons hold the sacred Naga snake of Hindu lore.

Next on this list is Bayon Temple in the exact center of the city. This 12th century masterpiece is a study in grandeur and is well-known for its fifty-four towers with enigmatic faces representing the fifty-four provinces of the Great Khmer Empire. The Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King are also must-visits as they are both known for their intricate bas-reliefs.

Return later to the famous Angkor Wat. Built during the reign of King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century, Angkor Wat is constructed following the model of the temple mountain symbolizing Mount Meru, the home of the gods. Inside the temple, the walls are covered with stone carvings and bas-reliefs depicting Hindu mythology and the wars Suryavarman II fought during his reign. Angkor Wat is well known for the more than 2,000 Apsara dancers decorating the temple. Construction is thought to have taken around thirty years of intensive labor. Today, Angkor Wat is figured on Cambodia's national flag as the temple symbolizes the soul of the Khmer people.

Overnight at Natura Resort
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Transfer from hotel to airport: 20 minutes

After breakfast in the morning, transport will be provided to the airport. Alternatively, stay in Siem Reap to continue the explorations independently. 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast