Help me explore Angkor Wat.
December 26, 2010 8:39 PM Subscribe
Good tour outfits for Angkor Wat, February 2011?
I'm headed to Siem Reap on the first of February next year. My schedule is flexible (one month in Cambodia and Viet Nam, flying home from Hanoi) and I'm currently thinking three or four days would be good for the temple complex.
I'm generally satisfied with Lonely Planet's recommendations, but have any of you signed up with a tour company recently? Which ones were great, and which ones not so much?
I'm headed to Siem Reap on the first of February next year. My schedule is flexible (one month in Cambodia and Viet Nam, flying home from Hanoi) and I'm currently thinking three or four days would be good for the temple complex.
I'm generally satisfied with Lonely Planet's recommendations, but have any of you signed up with a tour company recently? Which ones were great, and which ones not so much?
Response by poster: I like seeing things by myself, but I'm intimidated by the size of the complex. I figure I could take a tour for one or two days and then maybe do it myself once I have a grasp of the locations.
posted by bardic at 8:45 PM on December 26, 2010
posted by bardic at 8:45 PM on December 26, 2010
When I was there I stayed at a hostel and they called up a couple of guys to take us around on tuk tuks. You have to buy a pass to wander around the complex - 1, 3, or 5 days, IIRC. We did the 3 day and they hit all the highlights. It was amazing. I forget how much the pass was, but the tuk tuk guys worked out to be about $5 per person per day.
Another option is to ride a bike around the place, which is easy enough for all the main temples, but there are a few neat temples not within easy cycling distance.
If you book a full on tour you'll probably end up paying, uh, western prices.
posted by MillMan at 8:54 PM on December 26, 2010
Another option is to ride a bike around the place, which is easy enough for all the main temples, but there are a few neat temples not within easy cycling distance.
If you book a full on tour you'll probably end up paying, uh, western prices.
posted by MillMan at 8:54 PM on December 26, 2010
Response by poster: "When I was there I stayed at a hostel and they called up a couple of guys to take us around on tuk tuks."
This is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for (and what LP recommends fwiw), just want to know the actual names of some companies, hostels, or hotels who are reputable.
posted by bardic at 9:01 PM on December 26, 2010
This is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for (and what LP recommends fwiw), just want to know the actual names of some companies, hostels, or hotels who are reputable.
posted by bardic at 9:01 PM on December 26, 2010
Best answer: I stayed at this place and will vouch for it being great:
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/The-Siem-Reap-Hostel/Siem-Reap/22304
Forgot this until just now, but there are a lot of unusually swanky hostels / guest houses in Siem Reap. I mean, pools at a hostel? Cambodia was a tough place emotionally and that fed into it.
posted by MillMan at 9:33 PM on December 26, 2010
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/The-Siem-Reap-Hostel/Siem-Reap/22304
Forgot this until just now, but there are a lot of unusually swanky hostels / guest houses in Siem Reap. I mean, pools at a hostel? Cambodia was a tough place emotionally and that fed into it.
posted by MillMan at 9:33 PM on December 26, 2010
Best answer: The first part of this is old information, but it may still be useful.
One of my landladies worked for Apsara Tours and we used to hop their buses all the time to get out to villages. Their guides seemed to be highly competent in dealing with the needs of their groups, were fluent in the various languages of those groups, and were basically great. They're not cheap, but prices include hotels and (I think) the Temple Pass fees.
That said, I wouldn't do this as an organized group tour.
First, get yourself Dawn Rooney's Angkor (there should be a new edition out soon, and you could get a copy in Phnom Penh or Siem Riep for $4-5, but you wouldn't have time to read it) and Claude Jacques and Michael Freeman's Ancient Angkor (again, you can probably get a copy in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap but it's also a book that takes some digesting and the photos won't be well copied.)
Secondly, plan on just a little more time than four days. IIRC, you'll be paying the same for a Pass over seven days as you would four, and (at least) seven days is a more realistic time frame to get around (the complex is huge), see some good stuff, and have the time to relax and take it slow where you want to. And you will want to. Obviously, your driver and guide fees will be more, but it's worth it.
Thirdly, every moto and tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap wants to be a temple guide.. But the licensed ones are just so much better at their jobs. Once you're there, either go through the union (on the ground, find them through the Tourism Office), or get a recommendation from your hotel or guest house for a driver/guide who speaks your favorite language well. Check that out - sit him down for a meal and a chat. Then negotiate hiring him for one day to start with, but make it clear that if he's good, he's hired for the week. And if he is good, either pay a little over the odds, or tip.
posted by Ahab at 10:05 PM on December 26, 2010 [2 favorites]
One of my landladies worked for Apsara Tours and we used to hop their buses all the time to get out to villages. Their guides seemed to be highly competent in dealing with the needs of their groups, were fluent in the various languages of those groups, and were basically great. They're not cheap, but prices include hotels and (I think) the Temple Pass fees.
That said, I wouldn't do this as an organized group tour.
First, get yourself Dawn Rooney's Angkor (there should be a new edition out soon, and you could get a copy in Phnom Penh or Siem Riep for $4-5, but you wouldn't have time to read it) and Claude Jacques and Michael Freeman's Ancient Angkor (again, you can probably get a copy in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap but it's also a book that takes some digesting and the photos won't be well copied.)
Secondly, plan on just a little more time than four days. IIRC, you'll be paying the same for a Pass over seven days as you would four, and (at least) seven days is a more realistic time frame to get around (the complex is huge), see some good stuff, and have the time to relax and take it slow where you want to. And you will want to. Obviously, your driver and guide fees will be more, but it's worth it.
Thirdly, every moto and tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap wants to be a temple guide.. But the licensed ones are just so much better at their jobs. Once you're there, either go through the union (on the ground, find them through the Tourism Office), or get a recommendation from your hotel or guest house for a driver/guide who speaks your favorite language well. Check that out - sit him down for a meal and a chat. Then negotiate hiring him for one day to start with, but make it clear that if he's good, he's hired for the week. And if he is good, either pay a little over the odds, or tip.
posted by Ahab at 10:05 PM on December 26, 2010 [2 favorites]
We stayed at a guest house in Siem Reap. They hired out their driver for tours. I think we paid 20 bucks and he stuck with us for like 8 or 9 hours. Angkor is big enough that you'll want a driver. His English wasn't great, but he knew where to stop and because he was employed by the guesthouse, he didn't try any funny business. Try to get someone who is beholden to a higher interest.
That said, one day was kind of enough for me. If you have a serious interest in temples, then by all means take many days and see all the stuff off the beaten path. If you're just kind of collecting experience, one day is enough to see the major stuff, sunrise, sunset, climb around and go home.
posted by GilloD at 10:16 PM on December 26, 2010
That said, one day was kind of enough for me. If you have a serious interest in temples, then by all means take many days and see all the stuff off the beaten path. If you're just kind of collecting experience, one day is enough to see the major stuff, sunrise, sunset, climb around and go home.
posted by GilloD at 10:16 PM on December 26, 2010
Best answer: Also, I stayed at Mother Home Guest House and they were absolutely incredible. A little story:
I lost my iPod on a tuk tuk. Stupid, stupid, goofy, stupid and stupid of me. Our driver kind of dissapeared after dropping us off, but everyone in town knew who he was. Because we're young and white and tuk tuk drivers are bored, we gathered quite a crowd around us as we described the guy and tried to get his name. Locally he was known as "Mr. Happy" and he had almost no friends. Most of the other drivers didn't like him.
So we're in the street just kind of chatting with the other drivers when the Bellhop-y, errand dude from our hotel walks by. Keep in mind he is not on duty, he's just chilling out. He sees we're having a problem and INSISTS on driving us the 20 or so minutes out of town to file a police report. I do this (And feel absolutely stupid and awful describing a device whose value probably exceeds the annual income of the police man taking the report) and we depart for Thailand the next day.
A few days later, the guest house drops us an e-mail: They had someone out looking for our iPod everyday. We never asked them to do this and I had given it up as a lost cause. A day or two later, they found it and shipped it back to Korea. They refused every dime we offered.
The service was amazing, the rooms were really and the staff, as demonstrated, are nothing short of amazing. Check it out if you can, I will shill for them every chance I get.
posted by GilloD at 10:24 PM on December 26, 2010 [4 favorites]
I lost my iPod on a tuk tuk. Stupid, stupid, goofy, stupid and stupid of me. Our driver kind of dissapeared after dropping us off, but everyone in town knew who he was. Because we're young and white and tuk tuk drivers are bored, we gathered quite a crowd around us as we described the guy and tried to get his name. Locally he was known as "Mr. Happy" and he had almost no friends. Most of the other drivers didn't like him.
So we're in the street just kind of chatting with the other drivers when the Bellhop-y, errand dude from our hotel walks by. Keep in mind he is not on duty, he's just chilling out. He sees we're having a problem and INSISTS on driving us the 20 or so minutes out of town to file a police report. I do this (And feel absolutely stupid and awful describing a device whose value probably exceeds the annual income of the police man taking the report) and we depart for Thailand the next day.
A few days later, the guest house drops us an e-mail: They had someone out looking for our iPod everyday. We never asked them to do this and I had given it up as a lost cause. A day or two later, they found it and shipped it back to Korea. They refused every dime we offered.
The service was amazing, the rooms were really and the staff, as demonstrated, are nothing short of amazing. Check it out if you can, I will shill for them every chance I get.
posted by GilloD at 10:24 PM on December 26, 2010 [4 favorites]
GilloD, that story basically describes every person I came in contact with in Cambodia. Everyone is so, so nice without being overbearing or aggressive at all. OP, you can try to book ahead with a tour company, but nearly anyone of the drivers in Siem Reap can take you around the complex and will happily show/tell you everything they know about it. That + a good English-language guide book will give you a pretty great experience.
posted by booknerd at 7:38 AM on December 28, 2010
posted by booknerd at 7:38 AM on December 28, 2010
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posted by meta87 at 8:42 PM on December 26, 2010