Hello all,

My wife and I have finally booked our Asia trip. Everything is planned out; we just have a few quick questions on Siem Riep and and Angkor temples.

We'll be there for about 4 days and arriving around 11AM on the first day. We decided to dedicate the first day to a bit of sightseeing in Siem Riep (see the temples, shop, etc.) and a 'free' sunset at Angkor Wat, and the remaining three to the temples of Angkor.

My questions:
- We will get a driver on the spot for the three days for the Angkor temples. Do we need a driver for Siem Riep or can we walk around (I understand it's a small town)? We are staying at the Angkor Hotel.
-When hiring a driver for the three days, is it for a set amount of time or the whole day, or how does it work?
-We will bring $300-400 with us, but we know small-denomation bills are needed. Do you folks get small notes at the airport or what's the deal? Getting $400 in small bills here in Switzerland isn't very convenient.

We would greatly appreciate your help here as we're a bit anxious about Cambodia.

Thank you,

Lenny

Can't comment on hiring a guide/driver on the spot as ours was prearranged, so have no idea of procedure or cost. However, there are many threads on this board that provide estimate price for a guide/driver daily and temple site entance fees.

While Siem Reap itself if a small town and some areas easily walkable, the weather is brutally hot and humid. So walking should be done very early before the sun is high and/or late afternoon before dusk and evening once it gets dark.

Likewise, because of the heat, most touring is done during the early part of the day - maybe till 11am-12N, then in late afternoon 3PM on. Many choose to return to their hotels and just collapse in the pool for a few hours. Of course, there is no rule saying one can't be out during the hottest part of the day, but be prepared to be uncomfortable.

You're going to need to have plenty of bottled water (available for purchase everywhere and inexpensive), to drink and even pour over yourselves. A hat is strongly advised, as is a high number sun protection lotion. Also have extra clothing - t-shirts, shorts and "wears" as you'll be wet thru and thru. It's not unusual to change from morning clothing to fresh dry clothing for the afternoon, and then again for the evening. We didn't find that so-called "wicking" fabrics were any better.

Four-days is perfect, as it provides sufficient time to see/visit the temples you wish, even considering you may take time to relax mid-day.

As to getting small denomination USD, try to get as much beforehand, but if transiting thru the BKK airport, you can try to exchange larger bills at one of the Currency Exchange Windows. However, don't be surprised if these places don't have great volumes of "small" bills (and they may even charge you a fee). And if leaving from the BKK airport to REP, you have to pay a departure fee of 500Baht... there's also a departure fee from REP, about USD$20 (unless it's been increased).

Have a wonderful time, and stay cool!

Sandi, thank you for a quick response. I am more or less comfortable with heat, so hopefully, this won't be much of an issue, but good warning nonetheless.

Anybody else has a comment on the car procedure?

You should be able to get change for your US$ bills at your hotel.

Figure 12 hours for the car. Here is the e-mail offer that I received and took:

>I have a car and my brother will be your driver, I can offer you the best rate as below:
>
>Air-condition car with driver USD 25 per day around Angkor complex temple
>
>English speaking guide USD 20 per day
>
>Two ways transfer USD 5
>
>You will have a car for only you, Minimum 12 hours per day, Guide and Driver have good experience, and you will enjoy your tour in Angkor and around town.
>
>If you don't need the guide, English speaking driver will be provided.
>
>This arrangement rate is not available at the hotel and it valid here unless i get your reply with flight detail and advance reserved,
>
>Your coming period is difficult to find car and guide please reserve before you arrive

We did not know about the need for US bills in Angkor so did not have lots with us. We paid our guide, car, driver thru our hotel (Raffles) It cost an extra 5%, but was well worth it. Ask your hotel if they do the same. We may even have put the tips on the hotel charge (I don't remember). We paid for stuff at the Artisens by credit card, could not have bargained there anyway. But the entrance and exit fees at the airport had to be in US dollars. We had nothing smaller than $20 bills and had a hard time getting change in US currency. But you can buy cold drinks, snacks, etc. in Cambodian money you get as change.

Your hotel can arrange a car and driver for you (and a guide if you want one). My experience was that the airport transportation was included in our fee for the car and driver, and he was more than willing to drive us anywhere we wanted to go, including evenings.

If you are going to be in Bangkok before going to Siem Reap, you can get small denomination US$ there at a bank.

i took my cash with me from home, but i live in usa so that was easy...

expect you can get cash in thailand but it may involve a 3 way conversion thus costing extra...

if you need change from a purchase, they often give it to you in local currency which you can use for other things...cola, water, etc..

i would not want to wait to arrange a guide at my arrival...the best ones will be taken in advance...i would see what the hotel could offer you and/or what those mentioned on fodors could do for you...my hotel provided air port pick up and delivery for me....see if mrwndrful will give you his guides' name...sounds good to me..

your plan is perfect and essentially what we did....get aquainted on your own day one with no car or driver and then have the guide the next days...

our guide worked this way....tour from 9-12, free time from 12-3, tour from 3-6...we kept the driver in between 12-3 two days....and we kept him one nite and gave him an extra $5 which he was delighted with....i don't think you could tour for 12 hours straight however in that heat...

cash---i took a few $50 bills to pay the guide/driver with also....

Thank you everyone for sharing your suggestions.

We do not plan on hiring a guide (have done a lot of independent study over time), just a driver. I think we will arrange for the driver on the spot.

Thank you again.

Just to mention, you can get around town by hiring a tuk-tuk driver. Most will pull up in front of your hotel, or outside the front gates. You can hire a driver for a few dollars to take you to the Central Market, restaurants, Monkey Bar at Grand Hotel D'Angkor. The driver will wait for you. It really is too far to walk all over town.

I could never imagine seeing Angkor Wat without an experienced guide.

lenny---i can understand you not wanting a guide, but are you aware of how huge this place is?? i also can't imagine walking around those uneven walks with your nose in a guide book to try and find the most fantastic parts of the place, reading about it on the spot and then moving on....

i guess what i am trying to say gently is that you probably are going to waste so much time each day just organizing what you want to look at and and then trying to find it is a whole other issue and frustration....and then there is the heat and humidity....i am sure there are drivers who speak english and other languages, but i did not see any....our driver spoke no english...

you asked for help and those of us who have been there volunteered, but only you know what is needed and most comfortable for you....most of us are also experienced independent travellers as well....

Hi Lenny-you can change US$20 bills at moneychangers in Siem Reap's main street between Mandalay Inn and Siem Reap Ponleau Villa. We were picked up by our hotel and changed some US$ cash for our dinner at our hotel. Cambodia has its own currency and we used it with no problem.

We organised a car & driver at our hotel the night before we wanted to visit the temples. In Dec 2003 we paid $US20 per day for air cond car & driver.

I researched prior and took a guidebook with me and our driver gave us good info about everywhere we wanted to go in the Angkor area. We've found many guides at many monuments, all over the world, to be unnecessary. I'd rather read the history and maps myself and potter along at my leisure than be hurried around by a guide. Just my humble opinion. Have a great time!

Thanks again, everyone. I think I got the gist of it.

It's interesting to read how everyone here has their own approach and preferences.

Rhkkmk - I realize that the temples cover an area of approx 300 sq km, but we've recently read a book on the Khmer civilization and the Angkor Empire, so we will have an idea on the background of each temple. It's really not an issue; we prefer to do everything on our own and don't normally use guides anyway.

We will follow Lyndie's suggestion here.

Thank you, Fodorites!

Lenny -

I happen to be in agreement with "rhkkmk" as it relates to the sights around Angkor and having a guide. Like you, I read and study and check maps for every destination I've traveled and for quite a number of these, I can easily do the sightseeing without a guide. However, there are some places in the world where there is just so much history to take in and things one could never find without a guide... I believe that Angkor and the immediate area is one of them.

Few drivers speak English, and neither do many locals you'll find at sites. Guides can easily find the quickest way to get from temple to temple, know exactly where certain reliefs can be found, know what's around every corner, know how to get out of every corner, from where to get the best photo ops, etc.

The heat is so unbearable, you could easily get turned around by this alone and loose your bearings. The cost for a guide is so minimal and since you're paying, you can easily tell the guide what you want to see, how much time you want to spend, when you want to leave and that you don't want to be bothered by touts. You pay, you control. I'd recommend you re-think this.

Lenny -- Not to pile on, but we too are do-it-ourselfers but did hire a guide in Siem Riep and were so glad we did. She added so much to our understanding and appreciation of the reliefs on the various temples. I would really recommend you hire a guide even if only for one day. The cost of the official guides and drivers is set by the government so you don't have to bargain or wonder if you're getting a fair price. Plus, it gives you interaction with a local and you can ask questions, etc. about the culture. When we were there last November it was $20 per day for the guide and $20 for the driver -- tipping optional. We thought it was well worth it. Our guide was Ponheary Ly -- if you do a search here you will see many recommendations for her and can find her e-mail if you're interested. She was very flexible and accommodating of whatever we wanted to do. We usually spent all morning together from around 8am-1pm, then we usually took a break from around 1-3pm and were dropped off at our hotel to have lunch and enjoy a dip in the pool to cool off, and then were picked up at our hotel again around 3pm and toured until around 7pm. She also recommended restaurants and had the driver take us wherever we wanted to go in the evening. It was so convenient. And hearing the experiences of her family under the Khmer Rouge added a deeper dimension to our experiences in Cambodia. Obviously it is up to you. I don't use a guide in Paris or London -- but at Angkor, yes!

Lenny,

Allow me to digress with fellow Fodorites. I am going to be visiting Angkor for a few days next month and just like you, I am not planning on going with a guide, just a driver to help ferry me around.

While I am not out to underestimate tour guides, I always thought of Angkor as a mystical place that I would like to enjoy on my own. Having a guide with you tends to defeat this purpose. Some people like to be walked around, but others (like me) prefer discovering everything on their own. Travel books always offer suggested itineraries, so time management need not be such a big issue as others make it to be.

Also, a lot depends on age, etc. I am in my 20s, generally enjoy hot weather, and do not plan on taking noon breaks like others. In fact, I am told that this is when tourists leave the temples en masse for lunch back in Siem Reap, providing some respite from the crowds.

Whatever appeals to you more!

I, too, opted for Angkor without a guide. I wanted to experience the quiet of the temples alone. While some temples it was impossible to be alone, We were the only visitors to many of the so-called minor temples. We also were nearly alone at sunrise at Angkor Wat - a wonderful experience. We did not stay at the temples at noon, but still had plenty of opportunites to be alone at many temples. (I had also done my research ahead of time and brought along Dawn Rooney's book.)

Across the road from Angkor Wat is a restaurant. It is in back of the souvenir kiosks. The food is very good, and safe, as the soup my mother and I ate was boiling hot. The latrines may scare you, however, sweetie.

Who says you can't be alone with a guide? My guide let me wander around at will. You will find that the Khmer guides are very low-key, and aren't as agressive as guides in other countries.

I too was in Siem Reap last November for our honeymoon and Ponheary Ly was our guide. It added to our experience of the trip. Highly recommended.