jaynkazza
newbie
Posts: 2

#1 Posted: 25/10/2006 - 21:38


It took us 19hrs from Bangkok to get to Siem Reap because the so called roads became rivers! We were taken in a mini bus luckily (some groups mini bus had broken down so they had to go in the back of a pick up truck) We arrived at Angkor Health Villa (a guesthouse we were taken to at 3 am)it was cheap and the rooms were okay but the next morning we decided to visit Angkor wat and the mini bus drivr and his friends took us on mopeds, he said it would be 20usd to get in and 5usd each for them. We had a great day but when we came to pay it turned out to be 25usd for them each!!! Our friends that were staying there wanted to do the tour the next day but got taken round to completley the wrong place for 8usd and when the wanted to get a tut tut to the temples all of the guys who worked there and slept on the lobby floor started ripping into them and said they could cause alot of trouble for them and scared the tut tut driver away. We left catching a bus to Phnom Pehn and paid 8usd instead of 4! basically be careful how much u get charged, a government official gets paid 20usd a month and we had paid them 25usd each for a few hours on a motor bike!!!

Introverse
backpacker
Posts: 11

#2 Posted: 12/2/2007 - 19:56


Entrance fee to the temples are US$20 per day per person, so paying an extra $5 for a driver for the day is pretty standard. Not sure where you're friends got taken that is completely the wrong place but pretty much if you have your wits about you, leave your guesthouse and go onto the streets around 10ish or later you can get a ride pretty cheap. No way waround the US$20 entrance fee though...

The fact that a government official gets paid US$20 should be a reason to part with some of your "hard earned cash". There's no such thing as danger money in South East Asia, and alot of Khmer NGO's find out the hard way...re: WildAid, CMAC etc...