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Recommended Driver in Siem Reap/Angkor Cambodia

Recommended Driver in Siem Reap/Angkor Cambodia

Old Jul 11, 2019, 5:11 pm
  #151  
rjh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Berkeley, CA USA
Programs: Kam Leng; Two Dragons GH
Posts: 1,615
Originally Posted by Hoyaheel
if he is booked, if he has others he'd recommend? ...]
Not quite what you asked, but I've used Darith Touch, [email protected] for years on several visits, most recently June, 2019. Highly recommended. I don't know his rates. I think I may get a "friends" discount.
--
Rich

Last edited by rjh; Jul 12, 2019 at 12:15 pm Reason: edit to include proper email
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Old Jul 11, 2019, 5:51 pm
  #152  
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
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Originally Posted by Hoyaheel
We'll be in Siem Reap at the end of August. We're doing a river cruise from HCMC to PP then flying (with the group) to SR. So some of our Siem Reap touring will be included in the river cruise. We're staying an extra day and a half on our own - but we aren't sure what we'll have already seen OR how much more we'll want to see. How far in advance would I need to book Synon, do you think? Anyone know - if he is booked, if he has others he'd recommend? Thanks! [I know I'm asking for guesses]
You can email Synon to see if he is booked. He will get back to you quickly.
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Old Jul 11, 2019, 6:01 pm
  #153  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: Delta Gold, silver, what yr is it?
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Thanks I guess my issue is I don't want to book right now, don't know when I want to book. We're talking about the trip a little more this weekend so maybe we'll try to figure out we think we will want to do in Siem Reap....
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Old Jul 12, 2019, 1:01 am
  #154  
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Originally Posted by Hoyaheel
Thanks I guess my issue is I don't want to book right now, don't know when I want to book. We're talking about the trip a little more this weekend so maybe we'll try to figure out we think we will want to do in Siem Reap....
I just booked him so I had a driver and if I didn't need him on all the days it was only $35. He needs it more than us.
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Old Aug 9, 2019, 1:23 pm
  #155  
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
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My family and I booked Synon for 4 days in early July 2019 and he was exceptional. Thank you to everyone who commented above how great he was. I don't think the trip would have been the same without him.

One thing to keep in mind is that his Lexus has 4 passenger seats, but it was rather tight in the back. Good thing Synon kept the air conditioning blasting or it could have gotten hot and uncomfortable fast.

A highlight of the experience was when he took us to Tonle Sap for a cruise. We skipped a lot of the lines and got our own private boat out on the lake.

He's normally really quick at responding, but if he doesn't respond right away don't feel bad sending another email a couple of days later.
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Old Aug 10, 2019, 6:16 pm
  #156  
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: PHL
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I prefer a tuk tuk driver if touring the temples. Adds so much more to the experience being in an open air vehicle. Breeze on our faces felt great. Getting in and out of an air conditioned car isn;'t the best thing for the body. Heat wasn't bad at all when there last week.
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Old Aug 10, 2019, 9:56 pm
  #157  
rjh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Originally Posted by Uncle Nonny
I prefer a tuk tuk driver if touring the temples. Adds so much more to the experience being in an open air vehicle. Breeze on our faces felt great. Getting in and out of an air conditioned car isn;'t the best thing for the body. Heat wasn't bad at all when there last week.
Just curious if you went to Banteay Srei by tuk tuk and if you had a guide for the temples generally.
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Old Aug 10, 2019, 11:10 pm
  #158  
 
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Originally Posted by Uncle Nonny
I prefer a tuk tuk driver if touring the temples. Adds so much more to the experience being in an open air vehicle. Breeze on our faces felt great. Getting in and out of an air conditioned car isn;'t the best thing for the body. Heat wasn't bad at all when there last week.
Agree with this for the close-lying temples in dry season. Having done it in wet season, it was incredibly humid with the covers closed during the heavy rainfall. For Banteay Srei, Koh Ker, Boeng Mealea etc, car (or helicopter) are the way to go.
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Old Aug 11, 2019, 12:19 am
  #159  
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
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I did not stray to the far away temples. We stuck to the main section with the tuk tuk. Did not use a guide as we like to go at our own pace. We did two days worth of exploring. Angkor and Thom first day and sunrise followed by some of the outlying ones the next day.
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Old Aug 11, 2019, 3:45 am
  #160  
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I worried about all the tuk tuk traveller's on my sunrise visit to Angkor Wat. You have to get up doubly early if going buy tuk tuk. We passed them in the car and they were still half an hour away. I was worried they'd miss the sunrise.
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Old Aug 11, 2019, 8:26 am
  #161  
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
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Originally Posted by Annalisa12
I worried about all the tuk tuk traveller's on my sunrise visit to Angkor Wat. You have to get up doubly early if going buy tuk tuk. We passed them in the car and they were still half an hour away. I was worried they'd miss the sunrise.
Well, unlike you and I, they do it everyday and I'm sure they have it down to a science.
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Old Sep 12, 2019, 11:48 am
  #162  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
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We used Synon during our stay in Siem Reap and he was wonderful! We booked him for 2 days and he drove us to some temples we hadn't had a chance to see on our tour. The 2nd day we decided we just wanted a drive to the airport in the late afternoon, so Synon (who had booked an actual tour after we said we didn't want to do more temples) got his younger brother to drive us and only charged us $10. (we had told Synon we'd still pay the $35 for a full day, even just for the airport trip, but had no issues with his brother driving us so Synon could take a "real" tour....)
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Old Jan 20, 2020, 12:30 pm
  #163  
 
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Thanks to everyone for the recommendation. We recently hired Synon for three days in January 2020 (including two airport pick-ups, and two days of temple sightseeing in/near Siem Reap and as far away as Banteay Srei) and he was fantastic!! Extremely responsive to emails, always on time, and everything was seamless. Highly, highly recommend him!! He was also a lot of fun to talk to about life in Cambodia -- we learned a lot.

He drove us in a Lexus SUV that was clean and comfortable, and he always had cold towels and cold bottled water for us when we came back from visiting a temple. Total cost was the same as what others have noted -- $30 a day for close-by temples, extra $10 for farther away to Banteay Srei, and $10 for each of the airport pick-ups. We also tipped generously because he really went out of his way to make our journey enjoyable and smooth.

Happy to answer any questions! If you need a driver, just send him an email using his gmail address.
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Old Jan 20, 2020, 2:31 pm
  #164  
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
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Great to hear he is still doing great...especially with the FT community.
Such a nice guy!

Originally Posted by autobahnal
Thanks to everyone for the recommendation. We recently hired Synon for three days in January 2020 (including two airport pick-ups, and two days of temple sightseeing in/near Siem Reap and as far away as Banteay Srei) and he was fantastic!! Extremely responsive to emails, always on time, and everything was seamless. Highly, highly recommend him!! He was also a lot of fun to talk to about life in Cambodia -- we learned a lot.

He drove us in a Lexus SUV that was clean and comfortable, and he always had cold towels and cold bottled water for us when we came back from visiting a temple. Total cost was the same as what others have noted -- $30 a day for close-by temples, extra $10 for farther away to Banteay Srei, and $10 for each of the airport pick-ups. We also tipped generously because he really went out of his way to make our journey enjoyable and smooth.

Happy to answer any questions! If you need a driver, just send him an email using his gmail address.
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Old Jan 21, 2020, 6:29 pm
  #165  
rjh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Programs: Kam Leng; Two Dragons GH
Posts: 1,615
Darith Touch, [email protected] is great for unvisited, remote sites.
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