Khmer Traditions & Culture in Cambodia

Wake up in Siem Reap and jump into expedition life. Meet the ground team, discuss your plans and book any optional activities like boat trips or cycle tours. You also need to buy a SIM card for the team phone, so head to the market and get to grips with the currency (Cambodian Riel). Jobs done, it’s time to explore. As you walk along the tree-lined boulevards, look for old French shop-houses and ‘naom banchok’ noodle stalls, these thick rice noodles are served with seafood broth or chicken curry. Yum! To experience more, you could join an optional boat or kayak trip on Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Next, prepare to time-travel to the famous Angkor temples. Maximise your time by watching the sun rise over this mindblowing complex. Angkor Wat is just incredible, and you may recognise Ta Prohm temple from the Tomb Raider movie. There’s also the Terrace of the Elephants, Palace of the Leper Kings and 54 towers of the Bayon Temple. Or how about an optional cycle tour of the temples? Pedal along jungle-fringed walls and gaze up at towering ruins.

Dive deeper into Khmer culture by living alongside a traditional farming community. Here in the countryside, access to education is limited and very few of the villagers have been to school. Staying in a traditional longhouse, you’ll get immersed in their lives and experience the reality of rural life. Get involved with a local initiative working to foster sustainable incomes for the local community; find out more about their rainwater harvesting systems, agricultural projects, and skill-building workshops, then roll up your sleeves and help out where you can. This is a one-off opportunity to experience another way of life. You’ll eat like the locals and connect with the community. Get more from this experience with dance lessons, sports, cooking classes and reforestation. And listen closely to the stories of local landmine victims.

Time to trek! You’re about to discover a lush region on the edge of the Cardamom Mountains. To get there, travel to Phnom Penh and spend a night in the city before heading west to Chi Phat village. In 2008, the Chi Phat community launched an initiative to protect the local wildlife and stop illegal logging and poaching. Today, this is a biodiversity hotspot of green hills and wild elephants. Take it in turns to lead the group as you trek to the Chhay Chrey rapids. Nearby, you’ll have dinner with a local family and spend the night in a homestay. Push on through the forest as gibbons call through the treetops. Make lunch on the go, and learn how to forage for fruit and edible leaves. When you reach the campsite, you’ll need to string up a hammock and sleep beneath the stars. Continue along old logging trails back to Chi Phat village and listen as your guide reveals the area’s turbulent past, when illegal logging was rife. Then crash out on the journey back to Phnom Penh. You’ll sleep like a log tonight!

Back in Phnom Penh you’ve got a full day to explore the capital and get your final fill of Khmer culture. Seek out the city’s buzzing streets, French-colonial architecture and ornate temples. Feeling hungry? Try the local fish curry and fresh mango salad. Learn more about the Khmer Rouge regime and Cambodia’s tragic history, it’s a disturbing but important story. Take a deep breath and enter the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, this former school was a torture centre, where more than 20,000 people were held. Continue to the Choeung Ek Memorial, where the stupa contains thousands of human skulls on the site of the Killing Fields. As the sun sets on the last day of your trip, gather the team and head out for a final team meal. Share your favourite memories and set your friendships in stone.

After the best two weeks of your life, it’s time to travel home, so cram everything into your backpack and head to the airport. Check in, sit back and let it all sink in, you’ve just experienced something incredible. Cambodia has opened your eyes and challenged you more than you ever imagined. You’ve fast-tracked your life skills and connected with the locals; you’ve led your team and made new friends for life. These experiences will shape who you are and put you on the path to becoming a true global citizen, so prepare to return home forever changed!