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We expect that you came very likely to visit Angkor, so here are a few words about History from your webmaster.

The Khmer empire at Angkor was at its height in the early 12th century, under Suryavarman II, and Angkor Wat was constructed at this time. This empire began under Jayavarman II with a god-king ceremony at Phnom Kulen in 802AD and ended when the capital moved from Angkor to Phnom Penh in 1432. It was mainly a military and Hinduist empire, based on an agrarian economy (irrigation works and rice fields), that extended to what is today Cambodia, but also to parts of Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. As usual, in the end, the Military spent too much, and the empire collapsed.

There have been a lot of kings, temples and styles. One of these kings, Jayavarman VII, a Buddhist, reigned from 1180 to 1220 and was a great warrior and builder, building more than one hundred of monuments, among them the capital city of Angkor Thom, the Bayon with the well known giant faces, Preah Khan and Ta Prohm the temple prisoner of giant trees.

Your guide at Angkor, which we can book for you, will not fail to explain what are the “Linga-Cult”, the “Hindu Mythology” and the “Temple Mountain” and much more than that, so, I will not try to do it.

About the amount of time you have to spend in Angkor, I would say that you can spend your life in Angkor, even die there like many French “Conservateurs de l’Ecole Française d’Extrème Orient”, however this is a bit excessive and a good plan is to stay 4 nights and 3 days.

As I guess that may be you would like to stay quietly by the pool for 1 day, here is a proposal for a 2-days visit:

By the way “Phnom” means mountain, but your guide will tell you better…

This plan is a minimum, and you can really enjoy to stay more than one week in Angkor.

CULTURAL DOES AND DON’TS

Khmer people are extremely tolerant and will forgive almost all your cultural "faux pas". However a little awareness and consideration will help you avoid causing offense and are sure to make your stay in Angkor more enjoyable.

  1. Smile and greet people. Everyone understands "Hello" and "Thank you".
  2. Both men and women should wear a shirt and a pant in village streets, temples, and restaurants.
  3. They are very affectionate with children. Feel free to fuss over little ones and let others fuss over yours.
  4. Public displays of physical affection are deemed immodest and inappropriate.
  5. Leave a small tip if you liked the service.
  6. Be soft spoken and deferential. This kind of humility is respected, and it is how most Khmer would behave in your country.
  7. Try to be patient with people's many personal questions. No harm is meant by their queries.
  8. Try to eat Khmer style foods. Don't be surprised if everything you order does not come out at the same time. Since Khmer usually share, they don't care much which dish comes out first. Be indulgent.
  9. Do not point your foot at anyone or place it near them. This is extremely insulting.
  10. Displays of anger are likely to worsen a trying situation. So are declarations of "That's not the way we do things in my country!" Try to win the day with quiet and calm persistence.
  11. Avoid directly accusing someone if you feel you have been cheated. Contact Tourist Police.
  12. Remove your shoes before entering someone's home, or a temple.
  13. Don't touch strangers or child on their head.

OTHER ACTIVITIES