From the reviews I read and my e-mail exchanges, I expected Kim San would be a good guide. He was very patient with me trying to tweak my itinerary over several e-mails over a week and he replied promptly.

I'd like to give my full recommendation for Kim San. He speaks excellent English and is very knowledgeable. He was constantly pointing out areas of interest as we were driving. He helped us understand the history of the temples and told us some stories about growing up during the civil war. He pointed out the good areas for pictures and was happy to snap photos for my mother and I. He made a big effort to help my mom. She's in her 70's and recently had a knee problem so it was hard for her to walk steps. He helped her up the stairs and through the more difficult areas. Of course, I tried to do that myself, but it was nice that he was so helpful. Finally, he went the extra distance with service in general. He insisted on carrying our umbrellas for us. He had cool towels and cold water ready in the car after each temple stop. Having a cooler was nice touch. We had just finished a two week tour in Vietnam. They had bottled water for us there every stop but none of them had a cooler for us. Oh, he even bought me a Diet coke one day. I inquired about how much a can was and I didn't want to pay $1 for it. The next thing I know, he surprises me later with a Diet Coke.

If you do decide to hire him, and really want to make his day, please pay in $2 bills. I remember reading a Conde next article that was linked here on flyertalk saying people love the $2 bills in Cambodia. It's so true. I paid him in all $2 bills and he loved it. He says he now has neat gifts for his relatives and can spend them and make the vendors and clerks happy. Anytime I paid in Cambodia or in Vietnam with $2 bills, the clerks were trying to change the money out so they could have the bills or people were asking me if I could change some $2 bills with them. The tailor in Hoi An, Vietnam wanted to buy $100 worth off of me, but I only gave him $50 as I wanted to save the build of my $2's for Cambodia.