JohnH

I'm leaving next week for Cambodia and Laos. Some of you may (or may not) remember that I was previously questioning whether or not I wanted a guide at Angkor, since I really prefer travelling independently.

I decided to use a guide for one day, and am very lucky that Ponheary is available! If you had her for only one day, what would you do and where would you go with her?

For sure I want to visit one of the schools she is involved with, and I've already let her know that. I imagine that will still leave time to visit at least one temple?

I'll be there for 4 full days. On the other 3 days, I will be using her driver (but no guide).

terryr

Hi JohnH,

That's great that you have been able to get a day with Ponheary and that you will be able to visit one of the schools that she's involved with. As for temple touring and other activities to do in the area, have you looked at the many reports that have already been posted by past travelers? There is a wealth of useful information in them. For instance, I wrote up a summary report of our short time in SR when my family and I toured with Dara Ly, Ponheary's brother. You can read about our experience on "Just back: Terryr's report on Siem Reap, 12/05." If their driver Rithy is taking you around, he's a wonderful man and good driver.

Since our family knows Ponheary, Dara, and Rithy, will you please extend our warmest hellos to them, please? One of our daughters spent time with Ponheary last March while she did volunteer teaching in SR. Tell them that they stay close to our hearts (that's how much we appreciate them and the advocacy work that they do for the poor)! Another good source of information for school visits is The Ponheary Ly Foundation, www.theplf.org.

Have a great trip and do let the rest of us know how it went when you return!

Terry

MichaelBKK

If you're traveling around on your own, you'll probably only take in the temples of the main complex, so I would use her to get to some of the outlying places you can't easily get to on your own. Bantea Srei comes to mind, as does the Roulous Group.

Kathie

A couple of suggestions: in your reading about the temples, is there any particular one that really intrigues you? Or you might ask Ponheary for her favorite temple.

With a driver, you can get to any of the temples. We just used a driver and were able to get to many outlying temples, though some were not possible because of road conditions. Do your research ahead of time so you can ask for some of the "minor" temples wher you may be the only visitor.

Craig

In a full day, you can probably do 2 temples plus the school. The school we visited with Ponheary is just outside Siem Reap and that is the one she will probably take you to. It is called Kong Moch primary school. Visiting outlying temples probably isn't a very good use of your time. You really shouldn't leave Siem Reap without at least seeing Angkor Wat from the outside - although it is usually not anyone's favorite, it is the largest in the complex and the one people most associate with the area. Ta Prohm, the "Jungle Temple" was our favorite - it is a good one to see first thing in the morning. The other major temple is the Bayan at Angkor Thom. Hopefully you will have time to visit Artison's D'Angkor - quality crafts, locally produced in a school that is associated with it. Keep in mind that you will be taking a break in the early afternoon when it is too hot to tour.

jenskar

John
Just wanted to say lucky you !! Have a wonderful time.
If it were me, I'd ask her what would be the least crowded places to fit in with your school visit, as I would think she'll give you an overview of the temples that day (background, etc.) and then you can do the rest with a driver. Someone else (dogster, I think) was the nick, suggested routing using a tuk tuk driver -- and has been back to SR 3 times. You'll find the post if you search, it was pretty recent.

Kathie

I think you will very much appreciate having a car and driver as opposed to a tuk-tuk. I liked being able to get out of the heat between temple stops!

Craig

Ponheary has her own driver and a nice a/c minivan so you don't have to worry about dealing with a tuk-tuk.

JohnH

Thanks all for some great suggestions! I have been researching a list of which temples I want to see for some time, just was wondering about what might be best to do with Ponheary.

Craig

Ponheary is very good at describing the stories that are played out in the carvings on almost every structure in the temple complex. Her descriptions were rather overwhelming for us but may be quite stimulating for others.

Kathie

I've heard others talk about Ponheary discussing the famous "churning of the sea of milk" carving at Angkor Wat. It's the earliest depiction of this scene outside of India. That might be an interesting thing to do with her.

jenskar

John -- just an fyi -- the 'tuk tuk' part of my post was incidental -- you said you had a driver -- it was the poster's routing suggestions that seemed worth reading to me.