nycmary

Thanks virginiafish and yestravel. Yestravel, did you use Jermsak for touring, trekking or hiking?

lcuy

nycmary, the Hotel de la Paix is a lovely place. We stayed there on our frist trip to Siem Reap. It was recently bought by a major hotel group, so I'd check for any renovations going on. It is definitely in "town", though not down on Pub street. Maybe a 10 minute walk to the old market? I can't remember as I'm usually on a bicycle or tuk tuk in that area.

Virginia- youd be better off posting a new thread. Asking for ideas for a totally new itinerary really confused me. I thought you were the OP and had changed your mind!

yestravel

We used him only for touring. He drove us around in his car for close to 12 hours. He suggested many sites to c and we picked the ones we wanted to c given that we only had the one day with him.

nycmary

Thanks lcuy and yestravel. I think I have my itinerary down, with all your help!

Still looking for recommendations for any guides who take people hiking and biking in CM and LP, speak English, and drive a good car. I have found several outfitters online but I'd always rather go by recommendation. Any suggestions?

yestravel

A couple thoughts - You might contact Jermsak and see who he recommends. He worked for a tour agency for 17 years I think before going out on his own. Also check Trip Advisor which has a pretty active board on Thailand. Additionally there is a poster on this board, schlegal, who was happy with the guides she used for trekkin/hiling. U could do a search and find her TR.

FromDC

Jermsak was our guide in the Golden Triangle area during our 2008 trip and we thought he was one of the best guides we ever had. If you can arrange something with him, you won't regret it. I remember that he said he worked out of CM as well. Just to add to your confusion, we strongly prefer BKK to CM. as for HDLP in Siem Reap, we stayed there when it first opened and it was really fantastic. But I thought you were asking about the one in LP, which didn't exist when we were there. We stayed at 3 Nagas but had a room in the annex that I didn't like because the exhaust from the restaurant was so close to our room that it was filled with an awful smell. Although we didn't stay in the main part, I think the rooms were similarly furnished, but I would want a room on the top floor so that I wouldn't hear noise above me. The floors are all wood, no carpeting.

nycmary

Thanks again yestravel and FromDC. I will reach out to Jermsak and see if he can help me. FromDC - At this point I will be spending 3 full days in BKK and in CM. Sound reasonable?

FromDC

My personal preference would be 4 in BKK and 2 in CM if you have 6 days. We just love BKK and weren't really taken with CM. One of our days in CM, we went to Doi Ithanon and really liked it and you can see other things along the way. Then you have one full day to explore CM, for me that would be enough. If you can get Jermsak, it will make it much more enjoyable and he might have some suggestions.
If you stay longer in BKK and have any interest, we really loved the Bangkok Food Tour. We did the nighttime Chinatown tour and will do another on our next visit.

Smeagol

HLP is a fabulous hotel in Siem Reap its been bought though by the Hyatt, which make me think it will increase in price when it reopens.

nycmary

Thanks FromDC. Will definitely consider your suggestions in BKK. Didn't know about the Bkk Food Tour and Chinatown tour. Always great to hear about what to do. Thanks Smeagol. I also heard great things about HLP. Good confirmation.

yestravel

A second vote for the BKK Food Tour. We did the tour in the day and it was fun and interesting and delicious.

nycmary

Thanks yestravel. Appreciate your comments. Getting hungry already

lincasanova

If you need a reliable driver in Siem Reap for part or all of the time we were very happy with Vuthy. He has an air conditioned Camry. We also are involved with theplf.org and stayed at the 7 Candles guesthouse... it was a wonderful trip.

Vuthy's English is good and he drove us out to more remote places/temples and explained many cultural things and activities along the way at several interesting stops. We also went to the Lake on one of the visits. He negotiated our own boat and he came with us to explain things.

He and his wife just had their second baby, so, exciting times for all. If you do contact him, tell him his friends from Spain say "hello"!

Vuthy: [email protected]

We did a fun bicycle tour in BKK through http://www.absoluteexplorer.com/

I'm sure I found out about it here through one of the frequent posters and it was a great day out. gave us a nice feel for the countryside in the middle of our city frenzy time in BKK.

Your trip sonds marvelous. Have a great time!

nycmary

Thanks so much lincasanova. Will also check out the bike tour in BKK. Sounds great for us! Getting so excited by all the wonderful suggestions coming through from this site. Thanks to all.

cjon

Re. Discovery Pass. We are going to Thailand, Laos & Cambodia at the same time as you & were able to get the Discovery Pass. Did you email Bangkok Air? Our first flight is BKK - CM, CM- LP, LP - SR, SR - BKK. I believe it is about $500.

You've gotten some great tips here that I will use myself in planning the rest of my trip. We are using Angkor Walkers for a guide. There was a recent review in the NY Times & my emails were promptly responded to.

Good luck in your planning. It did take a lot of work for my husband to reserve those flights & numerous emails & unhelpful phone calls.

Kathie

Wow - Angkor Walkers guides are expensive - unless the guide cost includes a car and driver.

yestravel

We used Bangkok Air Discovery Pass for our trip last year. I contacted them thru email and it was fast and efficient. No trouble at all.

cjon

Kathie - Angkor Walkers is $35 for 3 people for the day. That seems comparable to what other guiding companies are charging. The transport is extra but other Angkor tour companies are charging approx. $70 for the day with transport. Angkor Walkers quoted $20 for a tok tok & $40 for a car. Does that seem expensive? If so, do you have other recommendations for guides?

Kathie

On the webpage, it shows rates from $35-55 per day for a guide, depending on language. Generally, you should be able to get a car for $30 a day and a guide for a similar amount. So the other companies charging $70 a day with transport is at the top of the range. The companies that arrange guides and drivers are always more expensive than individuals you contact with directly.

I always recommend Ponheary Ly or her brother, Dara if you want a guide.

cjon

Thank you for your response. I will rethink Ankgor Walkers & pin them down on the pricing.