Testimonials from our customers

We went to visit Ankor Wat and we discovered Cambodia. It was one of the rare cases when you receive more than you expected.

We were dreaming of a journey to Cambodia for several years and finally we had the opportunity for doing it. We could either choose an Italian travel agency offering package tours or participate to a tour guided by some archaeologist, focused essentially to the discovery of ancient Khmer  civilization. We were not really happy with these two choices.

While surfing  the web, I came across this organisation. At the beginning I was very sceptical, still I sent a mail asking for some information . I received an immediate answer with suggestions and proposals and in a few weeks, confidence was built up through exchange of mails, comments, and adjustments to the programme ….. I felt a strong commitment by Andy to satisfy our wishes , sharing with us his knowledge of the country . What convinced us was the fact that we could tailor the programme to our needs, we had a car and a guide only for us , we could include in the programme the visit of places that could give us a deeper knowledge  of the country, and we could choose the accommodation suitable to us, ranging from the top la Résidence to the guest house near Koh ker. And all this within a reasonable budget.

The first part of our journey was mainly dedicated to the Khmer art and to Siem Reap area. Phallika, the Italian speaking guide that was with us during 9 days , introduced us not only to the history and art of  Khmer civilization, but also to the various aspects of the present khmer life, without hiding the problems that Cambodia is still facing.  We visited village markets where you could not find tourist stuff , we visited Takeo area by boat, hardly meeting other tourists, we slept one night in a village near Koh Ker where by chance we assisted to a wedding party. We had a few organization problem and the staff were very helpful in assisting both in extending hotel reservation and in changing the programme due to the cancellation of internal flights.

During the second part of our journey we were in Mondalkiri where we could visit the wonderful surroundings, the waterfalls  and  meet minority people in their villages . Sambor, our local guide, made us feel part of the community, and invited us for dining with her wife showing us the photos of his recent wedding party and explaining the ceremony. Maybe other tour operators could organize  the same visit , but we had the feeling of spending a long week end with friends .

What can we recommend to  future visitors to Cambodia?

-        Dedicate enough time to plan your travel with Andy.

-        Do not rush . Avoid doing something like “ Venice Florence, Rome Naple”

-        Allocate part of your time to non tourist activities ; cooking lessons, visit to NGO  initiatives,  their school.. Idle time is essential to understand the country.

After this experience it will be hard for us to select a packaged tour for our next destination.

Many thanks to Andy and to our friendly guides and drivers.
Carlo Lainati - Italy March 2007

We have just got back this morning after our trip to Siem Reap. My family and I thank you for arranging the itenary for us. It was beyond our expectations and we truly had a wonderfull time in Seim Reap. Our tour guide Mr. Sophea is truly an enthusiastic and knowledgeable man. He is a proud Cambodian and he truly does his country and your company proud. The driver that we had is an excellent chap as well. I could not have done a better job of driving myself. Our warm regards to him as well. We will most definately recommend your agency to Singaporeans wanting to visit Siem Reap. Keep up the good work guys.
With regards,
Jag - Singapore March 2007

Just a quick update to let you know how pleased we are with our visit to Cambodia so far. Our guide, Mr. Chim Pheakdey ("Joe") is wonderfully knowledgeable and has provided us with so much insight into the history and culture of your country. You driver Poly is very professional and safe. The Hotel de la Paix is lovely - we could not want for any better accommodations or service. We thought you would like to know that we can highly recommend this company for anyone traveling to Siem Reap.
Dick and Linda Lewis - 2nd Feb 2007

     This thank you is long overdue, but we didn't forget.  We want to express our appreciation in helping us plan a memorable trip to Cambodia and Vietnam.  Everything went smoothly. . .the people were friendly and helpful, the food was delicious, the accommodations fabulous.   Angkor Wat was just amazing and our guide, Meus, was the best. . .it's easy to understand why people fall in love with these  temples. You were right and we were so glad that we did the remorques and got a glimpse of the daily lives of the Cambodian people. . .unfortunately, Helen got sick and didn't go with us that day, but it will give her reason to do a return visit. By the way,  if you ever go to Hoian, Vietnam, you must stay at Nam Hai Resort.
       Once again, thank you, for all your help.  When we think of Angkor Wat, we will always remember your kindness. Helen and I both felt like we met someone who could easily be our friend.   You can be certain that we will recommend you to our friends who want to visit Cambodia.  If you ever need a reference to future travelers, please feel free to contact us.
      
Best Regards,

Linda & Vince Fong 18June07

My name is David Kirszbaum. Hopefully you remember me. I had the pleasure of experiencing your Monulkdiri trip with the wonderful
Mr Sambol in July.

I am sorry that I have not had a chance to write sooner, but I have had to move interstate for work within one week of returning to Australia. I actually received a job offer whilst in the taxi between PP and Kampot!

Anyway, I just wanted to thank both of you for all you work in organising this trip. I can honestly say it was the most memorable part of our trip to Cambodia.
Mr Sambol is probably the best guide we have ever had. His friendliness and knowledge set an extremely high benchmark which others have been unable to come close to. I have tried to email him to say thank you direct, but I would appreciate if you could forward this to him just in case he didn't
receive it. I cannot praise him highly enough.

Our drive Nee also did a wonderful job, especially negotiating the muddy roads between Keo Sema and Sen Monorom.

I may also have found you some clients, as I received some interest from a post I wrote on a lonely planet forum. Her name is Ann and I am forwarding your details to her today. Hopefully she will contact you soon.

Again, thank you for the trip of a lifetime.

Best Regards,

David Kirszbaum - Australia Sept 2007

I want to let you know we were delighted with your service, our clean hotel rooms, our kind and realiable driver Donny and with our tour guide "Vy". At all times "Vy" conducted himself with gentleness, filled with a wealth of information and very easy to talk converse with in English. All of these a must when guiding two adults with a 7 year old boy and 4 year old girl. We LOVED Seim Reap and plan to return. We look forward to using your services again and again.
Lesley Dennis lesley_dennis@hotmail.com
1st December 2006

Andy--

We had a really great time in Cambodia. Thank you! I thought you put together a wonderful and thoughtful intinary.  From the hordes and hordes of tourists that we saw passing us, I can see that it could have been a really crowded (and unpleasant) holiday. 

 

I really enjoyed Beng Melea-- I got to live out an Indiana Jones fantasy!  Seeing the school was an important part of our trip-- please keep us posted and we would like to help in the future.  As for the photography, we could not have asked for more.

 

Vy was very nice guide-- his historical/archeological explanations could have been more systematic (we found his English hard to follow at times). His strengths were clearly in explaining the mythology and religious iconograhy.  However, he was very helpful and enthusiastic. We also thought the driver should be commended for his excellent service.

... if you ever decide to cover other countries and places please let us know.

Rileggendo quanto ho scritto, mi rendo conto che il mio può sembrare "eccessivo slancio promozionale": ma, credetemi, non ho per nulla esagerato. La mia unica speranza è che il progetto AboutAsia possa avere sempre più riscontri e che, allo stesso tempo, il boom turistico che la Cambogia, meritatamente, sta vivendo, non intacchi l'integrità dei luoghi e delle persone. La dolcezza e profondità del popolo cambogiano nel suo insieme, nonostante le ferite agghiaccianti lasciate dalla folle esperienza Khmer Rouge, è veramente speciale e merita il meglio. Pensate: nonostante il genocidio di un terzo (!!) della popolazione, questo popolo ha avuto il coraggio e la statura spirituale di non lasciarsi andare alla comprensibile voglia di contro-vendetta, come purtroppo abbiamo visto nella ex Jugoslavia e vediamo accadere in Iraq. Credo che solamente ciò sia sensazionale. Beh, buona Cambogia e Angkor!" Fulvio Iori - Milano 11.12.06

Now that we have returned I wanted to write and let you know how pleased we are to have made this trip with your expertise and assistance.  We can’t imagine having done it any other way, particularly having watched so many other tour groups herding large groups from the bus to a quick look at a temple, and NEVER seeing these groups in some of the other most interesting places we got to go.  With one minor exception, the coordination among our guides and drivers was perfectly choreographed and we were so well cared for.  Each of our 4 guides was helpful and knowledgeable and went out of their way to make our experience special. We particularly enjoyed Sarath during our days in Siem Reap.   I would highly recommend your organisation to anyone I know considering going to Cambodia.

Though the temples, museums, and palace were all outstanding sights to visit, our favorite memories will surely be the people and the unique things we had opportunity to see and do.  Sarath taught Jon to fish using the round net with weights around the edges and though he didn’t catch any fish, when he fly fishes he often doesn’t catch any either and still has fun.  Throughout the country we met children that were delightful --- the kids at the temple near Kompong Thom that were learning to play traditional instruments, the kids at the orphanage learning the alphabet, the teenage boy at the market in Siem Reap that knew the capital of every country, the kids performing with shadow puppets.  Our planned activities were excellent --- learning to cook some of the Cambodian food, visiting the weaving village, and seeing the pepper plantation near Kampot.  And our unplanned activities were amazing ---- planting rice and driving the ox to plow the field, having lunch with the other workers in the field, coming across a parade of villagers celebrating the engagement of a young couple.  We loved our accommodations (though maybe not the one in Kompong Thom so much):  Amanjaya in Phnom Penh had a fabulous view of the busy street along the Mekong River and we were fascinated watching the traffic.  The Veranda Natural Resort in Kep was like living with Swiss Family Robinson in the trees and your suggestion of the Kampot green pepper and salt shrimp was my favorite dish of the whole trip.  The Residence d'Angkor in Siem Reap was beautiful and relaxing and the staff delightful and always interested in what we were doing and amazed at how much more interesting our itinerary was compared to most tours they see.

We were both surprised and pleased at how open the people were to our questions and the honesty of their answers.  We learned so much of the history and culture of the country that we were woefully uninformed on prior to our trip.  We were both saddened by the great difficulty that remains for the people of Cambodia and impressed with how much initiative many of the children and adults alike exhibit.  We are also grateful that your compnay contributes to try to improve their lives through your foundation.

Our greatest regards to all of your staff that contributed to our memorable trip.

Lisa Nicholson and Jon Huffman - August 2007

I decided to book a tour with Andy because I was impressed from the outset by the thoughtfulness and quality of the information the company provided about its tours and organizational philosophy. The company's founder helped me with all of the arrangements from finding a hotel to booking a flight from Thailand to Cambodia. When I arrived in Siem Reap, I was pleased to find that that I'd made a good choice of tour companies. My guide was very knowledgeable and professional and did a great job of telling the stories and histories associated with each temple. I appreciated that, in addition to explaining the history and significance of the temples, he also took time share information about life in Cambodia/ Siem Reap today. I enjoyed visiting Cambodia and my visit was greatly enhanced by the folks at the company who, from the founder to my guide, to our driver were kind, helpful, and competent.

Stephanie Burrows - January 29th 2007
Washington, D.C.

 I wanted to thanks you for the wonderful experience that you have made to pass me in Cambodia.I have tried of the extraordinary feelings visiting these situated ones and knowing people of the place, simple people but that it has transmitted to a humanity and an availability to me that never I will be able to forget. Thanks and thanks still and thanks in order to occupy you of the children who have given to me of the smiles that will always remain in order in my heart...

Thanks my friends. My heart now is fuller thanks to you.I hope of being able to see you again a day and I hope that more and more people will be able to know your friendness and your experience. You deserve it

Benito favretto - Italy Sep 2007  

> Hi,
>
> I would like to thank your team making the trip so relax and enjoyable. The guide Sarath was humorous and knowledgeable. The driver was careful yet nimble. They made a good team, always punctual and ready.
>
> The hotel was excellent with a bunch of very hospitable staff that were very polite and speak good English. The breakfasts were excellent to the extend that one of the party members even asked for the recipe for the egg Benedict.
>
> I would like to congratulate you and the team for putting in great efforts to plan a relax but yet very in depth tour of Angkor Wat. Also not to forget to thank you for the complimentary tour of the lake, which we thought was an eye opener.
>
> I would certainly recommend your service to all my friends not only for the excellent service but also the laudable efforts to help the poor children in Cambodia.
>
> On behalf of all our party of 6, may you have a profitable and prosperous future.
> rgds
Vince Wong - Singapore June 07

Reading back to what I wrote, I realize that all this could sound excessively "over promoting": but, believe me, it was not my purpose. My only hope is that this initiative can succeed and, at the same time, the touristic boom Cambodia is worthly experiencing won't alter the integrity of sites and people. The natural politeness and deepness of Cambodian people at its whole, which goes beyond the frightening wounds left by the allucinated Khmer Rouge experiment, is really special and deserves the best. Think about it: nevertheless the genocide of a third (!!) of the entire population, this same people has had the courage and spiritual strenght to not allow itself to pursue a comprensible aim of counter-revenge, as sadly happened in the former Yugoslavia and as Iraq is experiencing. I believe that only this is already sensational. So, have a nice Cambodia and Angkor!"

Fulvio Iori - Milan (Italy)