Tour Date: 4 to 12/19 March, 2023
Location: Cambodia
Travel by rail through this fascinating country on a private train that covers all sections of the rail.
The Southeast Asian kingdom of Cambodia recently renovated its former French colonial metre-gauge railway. Currently, this is an active freight carrier with a skeleton passenger service. There are two railway lines, with a total of 612 km of single-track with passing loops. One route runs north-west from Phnom Penh, the capital, to Poipet, where it connects to Thailand’s rail network. Another line runs south-west to the port of Sihanoukville on the south coast.
The mainstay traction for the Royal Railway is a fleet of 10 Indian-built ALCo YDM4 locomotives which the Railway purchased from IRCON in Malaysia in May 2019 after the national carrier, KTMB, declared them surplus to requirements. The ALCos work anything and everything on the network including oil trains to Sihanoukville, and also passenger trains during holidays, when trains need to be strengthened.
We are chartering a train to give us a week of rail-travel in a program to travel the whole of the Royal Railway network using YDM4 locomotives to haul our train to both Poipet and Sihanoukville. Highlights should include the Sihanoukville dock line and also in the Phnom Penh area a day is planned covering all available tracks near the railway station, locomotive shed and wagon repair shop. On this day it’s planned to use a top & tail formation with locomotives at each end and to change the locomotives as often possible.
Cambodia is full of diversity and offers different interests for its visitors. The capital, Phnom Penh, is home to Palaces and Pagodas and, from the darkest days of its history, the infamous Kymer Rouge Prison and Choeung Ek Genocide Center. To the north is the mighty Mekong River with freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins, and the Tonle Sap Lake, containing comprehensive floating villages to the north-west. Finally, and close to the lake, there’s the world-famous temple-complex of Angkor Wat. Stay on with us for a few days to experience these national treasures.
Our special train will be formed of fresh-air stock (with opening windows) in which we will have room to circulate during the tour. You will also visit a locomotive depot in Phnom Penh to inspect and photograph the resident fleet and of the steam locomotives that are stored.
So, we should “Clear” Cambodia in one go – ride the entire track, see all the rolling stock including stored and plinthed steam locos. Where there are depots or stabling points, we will have time to see everything present.
Each day we do not plan to depart before 09:00 and aim to finish by 17:00. A very leisurely pace for the whole tour is planned.
Tour Highlights
- Carriages with opening windows
- Great scenery
- Insight into the period of the Khmer Rouge
- Private loco hauled charter train
- Railway depot and works visits
- UNESCO Angor Wat (culture add-on)
- Vietnamese Floating Villages (culture add-on)
- View the critically endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin (Culture add-on)
Map (Shutterstock)
Tour Itinerary
Part 1 – The Rail Tour
Day 1 – Saturday 4 March 2023
Various flight options but if you want to do it with just one stop-over then you need to fly from London Heathrow. From Manchester and other UK airports you need to fly first to Frankfurt and then onward from there. From Heathrow there are three main options; via Singapore (Singapore Airlines), via Bangkok (Thai Airways) or via Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia Airlines). Journey time is around 15 hours in total and flights are about £850 (Economy). We can arrange a stop–over in any of the cities should you wish us to do so. We also recommend, if you have time, to arrive a day earlier so giving more time to acclimatise.
Day 2 – Sunday 5 March (D)
Arrival in Phnom Penh: Drive to hotel, free time to acclimatise, welcome dinner and overnight at hotel in Phnom Penh.
Day 3 – Monday 6 March (B,D)
The first day with our charter train, formed of three carriages with opening windows and hauled by one of the YDM4 locomotives. Take plenty of photos as you travel from Phnom Penh to the coast of the important port city of Sihanoukville. Overnight in Sihanoukville. The town of SihanoukVille is surrounded on 3 sides by the Bay of Thailand. From the beaches and surrounding hills, many of the bay’s small islands can be seen. Many of the beaches are filled with grass hut restaurants and bars, some of the beaches are rocky, there are a couple are large resorts, and some are pure sandy beach.
Day 4 – Tuesday 7 March (B,D)
Today is a short day. Drive from Sihanoukville to Kampot and return to Sihanoukville. The line is built on the land between the sea and the Preah Monivong Bokor National Park. The Park is located at the southern tip of the Elephant Mountains near the Cambodia – Vietnam border. Preah Monivong National Park, also known as Bokor National Park, encompasses 982 square miles of evergreen rain forests south of Phnom Penh. It is home to several endangered species. Again, we should have plenty of time for photo stops and also at least one change of locomotive. Return to Sihanoukville and enter the docks area through the railway station. This is only a short branch as we are almost certainly the first passenger train to ever visit it. You will have plenty of free time as you will return to Sihanoukville mid afternoon. Overnight in Sihanoukville.
Day 5 – Wednesday 8 March (B,D)
With hopefully a different YDM4 loco in charge, we head back to Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh is Cambodia’s capital and largest city, located at the junction of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. Temples and museums are one of the city’s cultural and historical attractions. A good infrastructure makes it easily accessible for visitors. Cambodians are also not exhausted by the mass tourism yet, and many consider it one of the most beautiful cities in Asia. We expect to arrive by 4pm to give you free time for your own exploration from our city centre hotel. Overnight in Phnom Penh.
Day 6 – Thursday 9 March (B,D)
Today is a long day and we are planning to leave at 9am and finish the trip at 6pm. With a different YDM4 loco in charge we head north-west to the city of Battambang (the 3rd largest, after Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville). Battambang is traditionally a picturesque provincial capital. Ancient buildings and old pagodas line the picturesque riverside. The city is one of the largest in the country, but it is still not crowded. The town’s narrow streets are lined with charming colonial buildings. In the walking district near the market, contemporary art galleries, local and foreign cafes, shops and bars live in old shophouses. Again, we will have plenty of photo stop. The railway line lies between the Cardamom Mountains and the vast Tonle Sap Lake. Spanning more than 4.4 million hectares of rainforest in south-western Cambodia, the Cardamom Mountains remains Southeast Asia’s largest remaining rainforest. Inhabited by a swathe of endangered wildlife, the expansive woodland is also home to about 25,000 people, many of whom are ethnic minorities. Tonle Sap Lake is Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake and one of the world’s most productive inland fisheries. Overnight in Battambang.
Day 7 – Friday 10 March (B,D)
Today, we go north from Battambang to the border town of Poipet (Poi Pet) to finish the track. Our train goes straight past the station to the Thai border (and possibly Thailand itself). The line north of here was closed for many years, but reopened in 2018. There is a strip of land between Cambodian and Thai border posts. Once Cambodia’s tourist exclusion zone, Poipet was notorious for filth, scams and sleaze, but has recently undergone a facelift. Sponsored largely by neighboring Thais, where gambling is illegal, casino resorts such as Tropicana and Grand Diamond City have turned the city into the Las Vegas of Cambodia. After a short rest, head south again and return to Battambang for an overnight stay. Again, plenty of photo stops and we expect our day to last from 09:00 to 16:00.
Day 8 – Saturday 11 March (B,D)
Our final long journey as we return south to Phnom Penh for our overnight stay.
Day 9 – Sunday 12 March (B,D)
Today is the last day of charter trains and we plan to cover all available tracks in the Phnom Penh area near railway stations, locomotive depots and wagon repair shops. It’s planned to use a top & tail formation with locomotives at each end and to change the locomotives as often possible. In addition to YDM4, we hope to utilize ČKD Bde410 series, ČKD BB1010 series, Alsthom BB1050 series and CRRC Qishuyan CKD6D BB1060 locomotives. We plan to start around 10:00, have a break for lunch, and finish by 15:00. It’s our final night in Phnom Penh unless you’re joining us to see more of the country outside the railway.
Day 10 – Monday 13 March (B)
Today we head to the airport for our return flight back to the UK, but since you only visit Cambodia once in your life, give yourself a week to see some of the cultural highlights of this fascinating country. We strongly recommend that you stay for a while.
Part 2 – Palaces, Temples and the Mekong River
As well is its re-laid rail infrastructure, Cambodia is full of diversity and offers a variety of interest for visitors. In the capital Phnom Penh, there are Palaces, Pagodas and, from a dark period in its history, the infamous Kymer Rouge Prison and the Choeung Ek genocide centre. There’s the magnificent Mekong River, with freshwater Irrawaddy Dolphins to the north and the Tonle Sap Lake, containing comprehensive floating villages to the north-west. Finally, and close to the lake, there’s the world-famous temple-complex of Angkor Wat. Stay on with us for a few days to experience these national treasures and if you wish anything to be added in the general vicinity of our tour, please let us know.
Monday 13 March (B,L,D)
The tour continues with a train tour starting from your hotel in Phnom Penh. We aim to leave at c.9:30 with the opportunity to say farewell to those who are not joining us. Drive northwest along the Mekong River to Kampong Cham. If you want, we can stop at the Spider Market on the main road and try fried tarantula! In Kampong , visit Wat Nakor, a 12th-century Ankorian temple, and a charming bamboo bridge over part of the Mekong. We take our lunch here before crossing the Mekong and continuing to Kratie for our hotel on an island in the Mekong (1N).
Tuesday 14 March (B,L,D)
After breakfast, drive a few kilometers north to Kappi Rapids. There we hope to see a pod of freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins, which are rare in this rural area. We will then transfer to Kompong Thom (1N). We will break our journey to visit Phnom Srei & Phnom Bros (man and woman mountain) where we can see monkeys. We will also visit the Hindu temple at Phum Prasat.
Wednesday 15 March (B,L,D)
En route to Siem Reap (2N), have time to visit the ancient Angkorian bridge. After checking into your hotel, visit the magnificent Angkor Wat, the pearl in Cambodia’s crown. You can walk around the artefact and photograph the evening colors as the sun sets.
Thursday 16 March (B,L,D)
A prompt start this morning, we visit the 150km long Tonle Sap, a natural Mekong balancing Lake and take to the water to view one of the unusual Vietnamese Floating Villages with their church. We return for lunch and in the afternoon, go again to the archaeological area to see the ancient capital of Angor Thom.
Friday 17 March (B,L,D)
Today we move to Battambang (1N) on the other side of the lake. Along the way, visit the Puok Village Silk Farm to discover this ancient craft. Then visit the grand temple of Banteay Top, followed by the huge 13th century moated temple Banteay Chmar. After lunch, observe the life in a Khmer village before heading through scenic rice fields to your destination.
Saturday 18 March (B,L,D)
From Battambang, we complete our circle of Tonle Sap Lake to return to Phnom Penh (2N). We will break firstly at the floating village of Kompong Luong prior to lunch. At the confluence of the Tonle Lake and Tonle River at Kompong Chhnang, we will see traditional Khmer pottery made. Our final call will be to the 17th century abandoned city of Oudong, to view the temples and stupas which cover the hillsides.
Sunday 19 March (B,L,D)
Our day will be spent in and around Phnom Penh and first we visit Tuol Sleng Museum, the former school in Phnom Penh which the Khmer Rouge used it as their notorious Torture Prison. Prior to lunch, we visit the ‘Killing Fields’ of Cheung Ek. In the afternoon we have a leisurely visit to the Royal Palace, and Silver Pagoda. For those with a thirst for more detail, we can have a final call at the National Museum then after, we hope you will all join us for a sunset cruise and drink on the Mekong followed by our final dinner.
Monday 20 March (B)
This is our departure date and the room can be reserved for late check-out.
Prices & Options
Book by the 31/12/2022 and bring your wife/husband/Civil Partner with you and they go for half price on the train – saving £1,025!
Prices (per person)
- Full 9-day holiday joining in Phnom Penh: £2,650 (£2,250)
- Full 10-day holiday including flights from London Heathrow: £3,550 (£3,150)*
(via Singapore, with Singapore Airlines) - Full 10-day holiday including flights from Manchester: £3,595 (£3,195)*
(via Singapore, with Singapore Airlines) - Special trains only: £2,050 (£1,650)
- Supplement for single use of double room: £190
- Palaces and Temples Add-on: £1,250 (single add £180)
- Mekong River cruise: from £1,600
* with flight price confirmed at time of booking
** full fare paying customers
Transport & Accommodation
Various flight options but if you want to do it with just one stop-over then you need to fly from London Heathrow. From Manchester and other UK airports you need to fly first to Frankfurt and then onward from there. From Heathrow there are three main options; via Singapore (Singapore Airlines), via Bangkok (Thai Airways) or via Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia Airlines). Journey time is around 15 hours in total and flights are about £850 (Economy). We can arrange stop overs in any of the cities should you wish us to do so.
Gallery
