Siem Reap
Before I embarked on my Cambodian vacation, I agonized about booking a tour on line. I did the usual and smart checks and I settled on Viator. The regional contact was Bravo Tours. I am very thankful I had Bravo Tours. The tour guide provided for the Siem Reap part of the tour was very well versed in history and the English language. He was not only concerned about the agreed itinerary, but also was concerned about what the customer really wanted to see and showed concern with the clients total comfort. He was a very personable, helpful, and conscientious guide. He also is fluent in Spanish.
The hotel was Angkor Paradise Hotel, a very clean hotel with a very helpful staff. Breakfast was excellent there, having a variety of dishes to select from. Breakfast was included in the package. Dinner was available at the hotel at a very reasonable price. The hotel was also very accessible to convenient stores where money exchange was available and transportation as well. A tuk tuk ride to the airport was a lot of fun.
I was able to see the temples I had always dreamt of visiting. Great experiences and good memories at Ta Promh, Angkor Thom, Bayon and Angkor Wat were accomplished to last a lifetime. The Tonle Sap water villages tour was amazing, an eye opener to a different world of living on water as a community. I saw a floating school, church, tennis court and visited a snack bar and a store. Time was allotted for the Artisan Gallery and the Central Market for shopping. On one of the days, lunch was included at an excellent local restaurant offering Cambodian and French cuisine.
I am very pleased with the services and Bravo Tours is highly recommendable. When I get a chance to visit Laos and Myanmar, I hope Bravo Tours is still around to help me.
Phnom Phenh
The Phnom Penh tour guide was successful in showing the following: royal palace complex n silver pagoda, national museum next to the royal palace, Wat Phnom on a hill, a Buddhist temple, the killing fields, Toul Sleng a former high school turned prison where people were tortured before being sent to the killing fields, the central market where I went shopping, a river cruise along the Mekong/Tonle Sap before sunset. He also showed the Russian market n the night market across the river walk, but we opted not to do it. The Independence Park with the beautiful monuments n nice buildings around it and the old French colonial section where the beautiful post office building was also part of the tour.
The hotel is Plantation Hotel, clean with hospitable staff. Excellent breakfast was included. The hotel location is within walking distance from the Royal Palace, river bank, night market and the Independence Park.
The particular tour and the hotel I had chosen are highly recommendable by my assessment I should have elected three 3 days stay instead of two. There is so much more to see in the Cambodian capital.
Christina N.
USA