Normally add feedback to our website feedback page but since this one was rather lengthy and we liked the warts and all, but overall very complementary, comments we may as well stick it up here anyway! Thanks Roland and sorry about the hat! Sensible tips too!
Roland and the lads take the bamboo train.
“I travelled with All Points East to Cambodia in April 2011 together with my two children aged 13 and 15. The trip was outstanding and thoroughly appreciated by all of us. I will comment on the choice of destination, followed by the choice of All Points East, and finally a few tips.
Cambodia is fascinating in several ways: its history, with days of glory a thousand years ago, and downfall to become, through a complex political turn of events, one of the most miserable places on the planet from which it is still recovering; its ancient monuments, which should be up there on your must-see list together with the Egyptian pyramids and the Taj Mahal, including Angkor Wat, the largest religious building of any kind in the world; and if you are interested in seeing simple undeveloped life, the atmosphere in Cambodia is truly something to remember and takes you back in time in a way that even Vietnam can no longer do.
Angkor Wat sunrise
Choosing a tour company is difficult. There are differences but they are hard to know in advance. I chose this one at random and felt I made a lucky choice. Some comments:
The tour leader, Mark Ord, was exceptionally good – brilliantly knowledgeable, good fun, and exuding competence such that we were entirely comfortable that whatever might go wrong he would handle it.
Our Cambodian guide, Fin, was intelligent and educated and spoke English that I could understand. All around me I could hear other tour guides speaking an incomprehensible gibber of English that sounded Chinese.
All Points East seems to have designed their itinerary very cleverly. The pacing was just right all the way through. We saw and did a lot without feeling rushed. In particular we seemed to see everything at the right time, maximising the relative cool of early mornings and late afternoons and yet avoiding many of the crowds and queues.
This is not a gastronomic tour. To keep the cost down All Points East does not take you to expensive restaurants. However, they have made a good selection of authentic local restaurants that serve traditional food of good quality in cheap surroundings. Eating amongst locals was arguably a better experience than fine dining in an air conditioned hotel.
The information and advice given before the trip was slightly on the optimistic side. I was told I didn’t need to bring a hat as it was easy to get one there. In fact the schedule didn’t make that easy. I was told I wouldn’t need much money – just tips and drinks and about 3 meals. Tips and drinks turned out to be more than I expected. I have no problem with the amount – it had practically zero impact on the overall economics of the trip but it did mean that some people were running out of cash towards the end.
The hotels were reasonable but not luxurious. All had en suite bathrooms and air conditioning that worked. Two had basic swimming pools.
Casa Angkor Hotel, Siem Reap
Based on this experience, I would definitely use All Points East again. I would not even take the trouble to look at alternatives – unless I wanted something in a completely different price bracket e.g. a really up market luxury tour – but Cambodia isn’t the place for that. As for going on a down market backpackers tour, I saw the tour bus for one of them and it looked like a hellhole. The road transport used by All Points East was excellent quality (though the Cambodians don’t seem to have discovered seatbelts yet).”
Some tips:
The tour I took offers you an option to return home early. If you do this you will see all the sights but miss the overland travel. Everyone in our group took the full tour except one couple and they soon changed their mind and decided it was worth staying on. All Points East was ready to accommodate a change at short notice but the flights were all full. The rest of the group found the longer version worthwhile.
There are lots of early morning starts, which adds to the jetlag. The leader will often give you the choice of getting up a bit later. It is worth making the effort and getting up early. You will get back to your room earlier and can sleep it off.
Cambodia is hellishly hot. Take some very light long sleeved clothes and head protection.
We chose not to take Malaria prophylactics. We were only mildly troubled by mosquitoes. Malaria is very unusual in built up areas, but dengue is a risk everywhere, so it makes sense to be liberal with the deet spray.
Cambodia is not as good for shopping as Thailand. Save your shopping trip for Bangkok.
If your airline cannot check your luggage all the way through to Siem Reap (BA doesn’t for example), you will have to arrange for the second airline to collect your luggage in the baggage hall at Bangkok. This makes the connection awkward. I was told I would collect my luggage and check it in, which wasn’t in fact possible. As a result I bought 4 cans of spray cooler at Heathrow, which were confiscated by Bangkok security during my transfer.
Cambodian food is excellent. I am not a fan of Asian cuisine but thoroughly enjoyed the food.
We all suffered from diarrhea. None of us was actually ill or suffered any bad symptoms but we did miss a few meals.
Roland and family travelled on a Cambodia Overland tour in April 2011.
