Ankor Wat
 

I contacted Ponheary to see if she could be my guide after reading your messages. She is booked when I am planning on visiting in Nov., but he brother will be my guide. Do you think a personal guide is needed for 2 days or just 1 day? I am arriving in the evening around 7:30pm and don't have a hotel yet. Do you think that is a problem or are there many places to stay?

Agood

two things...i would not arrive there at that time of nite without a place to stay....Ponheary operates a very nice guesthouse we have been told here on this board...do a search...with the small amount of time you have you absolutely need a guide and driver or you are going to see very little...
the brother gets good marks..

agood...i just spent 4 days, 3 nites in siem reap....a guide is not necessary...buy the
dawn rooney angkor wat book...wait till you
get to the first temple (not the checkpoint where you buy your pass) to buy the book...
$2 for a cheap black and white copy or $4-5
for the color version...it really helps understand the reliefs etc. maybe have a guide for one day, the next, just use a driver and the book.
you should have a place before you arrive.
i stayed at the passagio hotel..has the suite on the top floor...clean, a/c $60 per nite
the hotel prices are either 5 star $150 and up or guest house cheap...$25-35 per nite.
most include breakfast.
cambodia is a unique place...angkor wat
is well worth the hassle to get there....

I'd recommend that you buy Dawn Rooney's book BEFORE you get to Cambodia. First, there is a lot to learn about before you get there so you are prepared to use your time wisely. There are many more temples than you can see in 3 or 4 days (or even a week), so you need to choose. Second, the books you buy in Cambodia, whether black and white or color are all copies. Out of respect for intellectual property and Rooney's hard work, buy your book in your own country or in Bangkok before you go.

Divediva. How did you like the little Lizards that came with the room. I stayd there in early October and watch them run around on the wall of the room 303. Nice place except for the Monks, they started chanting at 5.00 AM. Very cheap to get your laundery done. 0.50$ a piece.

i stick up for my support of having a guide...especially if you are only there a day or two...firstly they will take you right to the important sites within a temple...one of you does not need to have his/her head in the book all the time....you do not need to stop and read before you can look...the guide assists with this and can do it as you approach a place...remember the footing is not the best so you have to pay some attention to where you are walking...its only $20 per day....unless you are on a tight budget it seems a must to me unless you have lots of time....1, 2, or 3 days is not lots of time for that complex....imo

dive diva---weren't you going to do it in one day orginally???

When i was there in August, I had a terrific guide, smart, young, great english, great sense of humor. Going to grad school in tourism in Cambodia. Let me know, and I can send his email

dawn rooneys book is fantastic. i could not get it at our borders books with out a 3 week or longer order time....so plan ahead. i agree with kathie...if you can , get it before you go....

the geckos are nothing new to us,,,,we have them here in maui...but they are huge in cambodia...and loud. one morning we woke
to a huge pile of reptile droppings...bigger than i had ever seen so we asked the housekeeping staff...what is that...and it was from the geckos. lol...thought it was from a
monitor lizard ( we saw 2 while there)....

yes a guide is helpful....but we eavesdropped in on many groups with guides and the same info was in the book i had read. our driver was very informative as he is studying to become a guide...so we lucked out.

i loved listening to the monks at sunrise...a spiritual experience for sure (we are studying Buddhism).

have a great time at angkor...and if you can go the the temples of banteay srei...the drive is amazing...you pass villages that seem untouched by time