As the Mekong Discovery Project is coming to a close, a range of exciting new activities have been launched along the Mekong: At Wat Sorsor Muoy Roy (‘The 100 Pillar Wat’), Conservation International has set up a Turtle Conservations Project that puts its effort into preserving the rare Mekong Turtles. On Koh Trong Island, the community development project now offers guests to take part in the annual vegetable or rice planting and harvesting activities, or to teach an English lesson to the school kids on the island. The local people are always up for a volleyball match with their visitors which can be hosted on the island’s beach in the dry season. To get away from it all, the pagoda on Phnom Sambok near Kratie offers interesting Buddhist meditation sessions that can range from just one session to a several days’ stay. Our ‘Cycling the Mekong: An eco-experience from Pakse to Siem Reap’ not only offers the delight of crossing borders within a program, but immerses guests in local cultures with interaction at the forefront.

To view a full itinerary of this tour please, click here.

As of 3pm today Siem Reap has experienced prolonged heavy rain resulting in extensive flooding of downtown Siem Reap. More rain has been forecast for the next 3 days. Due to this development we have decided to shut down most operations in this area.

Until further notice we will provide group tours by coaster (25 seater bus) only. This means that any FITs will be grouped together with their individually assigned guides in coasters. We will only provide one group tour to the central temple complex of Angkor Wat and the National Museum as this is the only itinerary we are currently able to operate. The reason for this is the use of smaller vehicles such as minivans and cars are at risk of stalling in the flood water.

We will do all possible to keep all other services such as restaurants the same, though some services are limited so there may be some changes.  No extra charges will be incurred.

As soon as the situation improves and we can access more of the temples and attractions we will resume normal operations.  Please see below for the current restrictions:

• The central temple complex of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Angkor Thom are accessible and will remain so. All other temples are off limits until further notice.
• The airport road is only partially flooded and can be accessed by coaster. The main international hospital is still accessible via road 6.
• Operations in the northern provinces are off limits inclusive of Kampong Thom, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kratie and Steung Treng.
• Land transfers are being carefully monitored near Kampong Thom on route 6. The situation is changeable. If the route becomes impassable we will advise clients to remain in Siem Reap or transfer by air to Phnom Penh.

We anticipate these conditions to ease after 3 to 5 days after which limited services will resume as normal.

Our operations teams are on 24h standby to assess the situation and we are remaining flexible with clients who may wish to amend their travel plans and continue onto their next destination.  We are in close contact with the airlines and are able to make or change flight bookings if required.

All agents with clients in country will be contacted by a member of the Exotissimo team today. We will send another update on the situation on Monday.

For emergencies the operations team can be contacted on +855 (0) 12 907 097

Best Regards,
The Exotissimo Team

For the 5^th time, Japan has been chosen to host the FIFA Club World Cup, a tournament between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations.  From 8 to 18 December 2011, the six best clubs of the world will come to Japan, confirming the country’s tradition and growing interest in soccer, and highlighting the experience Japan has with hosting and organizing high level international events. Japan looks forward to welcoming soccer fans from all over the world, and of course hopes the fans will look beyond the stadiums and enjoy everything this amazing country has to offer.

Please contact japan@exotissimo.com for more information.