My husbif you're looking for a tour guide and and I are Brits currently living in hot and humid Singapore. Last month his parents came out to visit us for a fortnight and we planned a week's side trip to off-season Cambodia, to see the temples of Angkor. We browsed various holiday websites and finally decided, through recommendations, to contact Mr. Tee (Sopheap Nhoep) We were slightly bothered about trusting our deposit money to a stranger, but we needn't have worried - Mr. Tee looked after us royally. He got us a discounted booking for 6 nights at the Angkor Village Botanical Resort which was excellent for our needs; quiet, green, clean and very comfortable. He has a Toyota Camry for 2-3 passengers, and a van for larger parties of up to 6, which was what we had. We paid US$135 for 4 days of tours plus US$25 per day for an English-speaking tour guide. This included a nice touch of unlimited bottles of cold drinking water, very welcome after an hour in the hot sun looking at temples. It seemed to us that nearly everyone in Siem Reap is either a tour guide, or a driver who wants to be a tour guide! Mr. Tee is studying for his tour guide exams and hopes to qualify in a few months. His English is excellent and he already knows a lot about them so he shouldn't have much trouble. Meanwhile he uses qualified tour guides - ours was Chea Vanna (pronounced Wanna), a gentle, softly-spoken, very knowledgeable man. The temples are amazing. Over the first 3 days we saw 16 of them, and took nearly 2,500 photos between us! Many of these ancient "lost" temples are still being restored, some by teams from other countries like China and Japan. There were a few noisy coach-loads even in low season, but they couldn't destroy the feeling of spirituality in the intricately-carved stone-work. On day 4 we visited a floating village on Lake Tonle Sap, and at our request, the Sunrise Angkor Children?s Village, an orphanage in Siem Reap. The children are educated with an emphasis on performing arts, and several have got to university. Some of the 74 children have lost their parents to land-mines. The rest have parents in jail or unable to care for them. These children are the lucky ones: many more are put to work selling tourist merchandise to supplement the family?s income. Alcohol and drug abuse are a big problem. We arranged a free day in Siem Reap so that we could do our own thing. We ended up asking Mr. Tee to take us to visit a silk farm and the artisans? centre, both of which were very interesting. We gained a new respect for those silk goods and paintings, and the stone carvings and lacquered elephants, deities and temple views when we saw how long it takes the craftsmen and women to create them. In between all this culture, Mr. Tee took us to a selection of local eateries for lunches, so that we could sample the Khmer cuisine. Don't miss trying Amok, which is meat or fish cooked in a coconut, with each restaurant offering slightly different variations. I loved the ?pumpkin in oven? with tuna from the Khmer Kitchen Restaurant in Siem Reap. It worked just as well in my oven at home! The US$ is accepted more widely than the Cambodian Riel, and in some places where we tried to pay in Riel we were quoted a very poor exchange rate. Had we known, we would only have brought US$. We loved Siem Reap and the Angkor temples. Not just for ?That Tree? in Tomb Raider, but for the knowledge that just by visiting we were helping a community that after nearly 30 years is still recovering from the effects of Khmer Rouge and the Pol Pot regime which lead to the deaths of a quarter of the Cambodian population. Apparently the unknown number of remaining landmines will gradually decompose and disarm themselves in 40 or 50 years. Meanwhile, a family of 2 senior citizens, 5 adults and 4 small children regards themselves as lucky to be able to live in the city in 3 rooms. They want their lovely country to grow and develop, and tourism is the second biggest earner for them.
I would go back, and take my friends too.
Rosy Dimond
Superb Angkor Holiday with Mr. Tee
We went to Siem Reap for 3 days in early Dec. 2007. It was an awesome experience. Firstly we had great weather, it was dry and not too hot to be walking around the many temples. The crowds were manageable, though if you went in the opposite flow to the standard tourist, you missed out on even more of the tourist horde. We flew to Siem Reap from Singapore via Jetstar Airways. The flight was very comfortable and got us into Cambodia by early morning, so the day was not wasted. We were very lucky with the taxi driver who picked us up at the airport with his profeciency of the English Language and his charming demeanour. We decided that he would be our guide/ chauffeur/ 'man-about-town' for our 3 day tour. This man did not let us down and I very highly recommend him. His name is MR. SOPHEAP (nickname is "TEE") and for approx. $30 US per day, he will pick you up in his taxi, drive you to where you want to go, use his local knowledge to help you get the best out of your stay.
Paul and Jane
"Exellent Guide and Taxi Driver"
Our trip was made more interesting and memorable thanks to Tee. He picked us up from the airport and took us around safely for entire holiday - he took us to various temples and other sights in and around the Siem Reap area. Tee was always happy to change the itinerary to fit the sights into our time in Cambodia. Tee organised our complete tour and this included booking a fantastic tour guide. Please do not hesitate to book Tee's services - you will have a fantastic holiday, see so many sights and learn so much about this beautiful country, its history and its people. I hope that you and your family have a Happy and Peaceful Christmas and a prosperous 2010. With best wishes
David Crook
"We had a fantastic trip to Camodia and Angkor Wat this year."
We have just returned from the most amazing holiday in Cambodia where we were very fortunate to have spent a few days experiencing the amazing Angkor Wat and several other temples. We pre-booked our driver Tee before we arrived so we had local knowledge before we arrive. Tee picked us up from the airport and instantaneously we were made very welcome and we knew we were in for a fantastic time, and our experience proved just that. Tee was there for us during our entire stay driving us to all the amazing temples around Siem Reap. It would not have been the same if we did not have a driver and guide, as they know so much and we learnt a lot from them. I would HIGHLY recommend Tee to be your driver on your trip to Cambodia, he speaks very good english and is a genuinely lovely guy. We arrived in Cambodia and we were his customers, but we left with a new friend and truly amazing stories to tell our jealous friends back home of our phenomenal time in this amazing country. We are de
Gareth
"Had a wonderful trip in Cambodia."
We went to Cambodia in April 2008 and had the best time ever! We live in Korea and lots of our friends told us to DO NOT GO because it is such a poor country and we wouldn't have fun! Please if you have the chance to go GO!!!!!! it is a great GREAT place to visit. We stay in the Prince de Ankor Wat Spa Hotel, it was clean and everyone friendly! We visit so so many temples such as Ankorwat, Bayon, Ankor thom, Bakseichamkrong, bantey Srey, bengemelia, Taprohm, etc? We didn't go in a tour, we took the advise of one of "trip adivsor reviews" and email this guy Nhep Sophea nickname Tee (sopheanhep@yahoo.com), he answer right away and he was our driver guide for 5 days and took us to so so incredible places. Please if you have a chance to go to cambodia DO IT!!!!! it is a very very incredible country with so so many things to offer. We like it so much that we are planning to go again! Do not forget to go to the floating city very very INCREDIBLE VACATION!
Marcela Skora
"INCREDIBLE VACATION "
Hi there I must agree, we used Tee and he was great. He went way beyond what was asked of him and took us to some great places off the beaten track. Where most places were filled with tourists he managed to take us to see one of the most beautiful sunsets on our journey which we He treated us fantastically. After travelling for 3 weeks through some areas where people would not even serve us food for speaking English he was a breath of fresh air and his kindness made Siem Reap one of the highlights of our trip. Thanks, Rehana
Rehana
"We use Tee and he was great "
Hi there, Had a great driver while visiting Siem Reap who sorted us out with Airport transfers, temple visits, river village tours,.... Even took us to a great spot for sunset, very much secluded from the rest of the city. His name is Tee (Mr Sopheap), and he speaks very good English. I kept his number as I promised to recommend him here, so here goes: (855) 12 478 612. He also uses email on sopheanhep@yahoo.com If you do call him or get to see him please send my regards, he's a very nice guy. Cheers, Sacha from South Africa
Sacha
"Great driver while we use in Siem Reap "
My wife and I have just returned from Siem Reap last week. It was hotter than the time you will be there, but neverless I hope I can give you some helpful hints. I advise getting a driverand car for two days as whilst the temples are not too far apart,its wonderful to have an airconditioned rest in a car whilst ravelling between them. A tuk-tuk is a lot cheaper but not too relaxing. We picked up a driver at the airport who was fantastic. He spoke very good English and knew all the necessary. His name is Tee, his email is- sopheanhep@yahoo.com he cost US80 for the two days-but was well worth it. Had unbelievably fantastic Kyhmer 7 small course degustation meal at the very swanky Hotel dela Paix . It was $28 ,expensive for Siem Reap -but unique. My wife, a chef in Sydney-and was blown away.
Fredx
"advise getting a driver and car"
