Thanks to information found on the internet, my husband and I hired Ratanak Eath, an English speaking tour guide, to ferry us around Siem Reap for three days in late January. Ratanak is an intelligent, dependable, good humored fellow who is well informed and able to put together day trips that accommodate to the clients' interests. Rates are moderate and vary only if driving distances require unusual amounts of fuel.
Ratanak and his brother have the following connections: for email, try ratanak_eath@yahoo.com
for their website, try: www.theangkorguide.net
for a blog, go to: theangkorguide.blogspot.com
And finally, to telephone, try +855 92 725552
CarolL
Excellent Guide Siem Reap
Recent Activity
View all Asia activity »
- 1 9 PM arrival in Narita
- 2 where is best place to exchange left over Chinese RMB's for US dollars
- 3 Suggestions for Asian visit Feb. 2014, incl. Singapore
- 4 Photography Trip to Vietnam
- 5
Beijing To Tibet, Mt. Everest And Nepal All In 10 Days
- 6 Which flight from BKK to Chiang Mai should I take?
- 7 Kanchanaburi - Toi's Tours
- 8 Thailand-Japan-China (is it a bad idea?)
- 9 Trip plans to SE Asia for 2014 coming together! Int'l flights purchased!
- 10 11 days in Japan, JR pass question
- 11 Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan tour suggestions
- 12 where to go in SE Asia
- 13
4 days with Orangutans Balikpapan + Camp Leakey
- 14 Elephant Visit in Chiang Mai
- 15 Proposed Sri Lanka Itinerary - any opinions welcome
- 16 Kuala Lumpur - Doubletree (Hilton) or Renaissance (Marriott)?
- 17 which hotel in Bangkok in July?
- 18
Uzbekistan: A Lesson in Silk Road Hospitality
- 19 Siem Reap from San Fran in winter 2013 FIRST TIME to Asia
- 20
trip report to tajmahal agra india
- 21 Hilton coming in Zhengzhou, China?
- 22 Dreamliner to Japan in Nov.?
- 23
Cambodia, Laos and a bit of Hong Kong - 5 1/2 weeks (Jan.24-March 4, 2013)
- 24 Sri Lanka
- 25 Suggestion for Bali
I actually think it's completely unnecessary to pre-book a guide in Siem Reap.
I also have a favorite guide but it's not necessary to single him out as there are about 2,000 licensed guides and it's very competitive.
All the hotels have their own lists of good official guides and drivers of cars and tuk tuks who provide excellent service for what you need...whether you need a car and driver only, tuk tuk only, or transportation plus guide who enters the temples with you and gives you a private tour.
I have never met anyone (including myself) who has gone to see the sites in Siem Reap who hasn't thought their guide is the best ever!
We stayed at Raffles and our guide, gotten thru hotel, was less than excellent. We tried to change for our remaining days, but not possible. If you prebook Ponheary you will have an excellent guide and contribute to the Plf.org which supports schools in the Siem Reap area. My daughter and her children did just this and it was most meanful. Got to the website.
The PLF website: www.theplf.org
For me, finding a good guide is one of the big challenges of travel. I was at Angkor Wat a couple of weeks ago and decided to try the first couple of hours on my own. I overheard many guides who did not speak English well or spent so much time talking about just one thing that their presentation ended up being very boring. I think it is very hit-and-miss there. In the end, I hired a tuk-tuk driver to take me to the various sites over a couple of days, bought a good guide book, and listened to great music blasting from my iPod as I went through.
When I was at the Plain of Jars in Laos, I managed to find a terrific guide who was a great story teller (he is Hmong) and my day with him ended up being one of the best of my trip. So I am not at all anti-guide as long as the person enhances the experience.
One of the reasons I like trolling this and other travel sites is to get ideas and recommendations from people who have gone to places I intend to visit. I prefer to plan ahead and to line up hotels, rental cars, and sometimes guides. That was how I got to the guide we used in Siem Reap; other guides were recommended by various hotels. One was good, one less so...
As they say, each to his or her own.