Siem Reap is all about the temples: magnificent, vine-strangled ruins dating back to the height of the Khmer Empire, when Angkor was the largest civilisation on Earth. Kick off your visit with a posh meal with wine pairings at the Embassy Restaurant, enjoy champagne and canapés on a gondola ride on the moat of Angkor Thom, eat Swiss-Khmer fusion at a garden restaurant in the suburbs, and spend an evening learning about rice wine production and cocktail-making in the heart of the city. One of our highlights of Siem Reap is a morning cooking class, which will have you browsing the markets for ingredients before whipping up your own Khmer delicacies in a village outside the city.

After a last wander around the morning markets of Siem Reap, it’s onwards to Battambang: a sleepy, colonial town that’s now a haven for contemporary arts. One of the joys of a stay here is how close you are to rural life, which you’ll experience on foot and by bike: passing through paddy fields and orchards, visiting a winery, seeing the production of sticky rice and fish paste, and watching from a hillside restaurant as millions of bats swarm across the sky at sunset. Battambang is also home to a world-class college that trains underprivileged kids in the arts, and a visit to one of their mind-boggling acrobatics shows is sure to be a highlight of your Cambodia trip.

Skip the hotel breakfast today: you’ll be spending your last morning in Battambang with “Noodle Guy”, a local character beloved for his delicious hand-pulled noodles and dumplings. Don’t let the humble appearance of this kitchen deceive you: it’s one of the best culinary experiences on this trip! Wash it down with award-winning coffee and head to the capital in time for afternoon tea at the Raffles Hotel: a fittingly classy introduction to the former Pearl of the Orient. While you’re here, explore the city’s colonial history on a walking tour, and enjoy canapés and wine on a sunset cruise on the Mekong.

Low-key Kep may have swapped its swingin’ 60s parties for sleepy sunsets and quiet streets, but it’s no less lovely for it. The order of the day here is seafood galore, and on a half-day cooking course you’ll explore the town’s crab market, hand-pick your own ingredients, and learn to cook some local delicacies with a local chef. Nearby Kampot grows the best pepper in the world (trust us, it’s that good) — and a bit of its sprinkled on some fresh Kep crab is perfection itself.