Anne James and family review 3 Jan 2007
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Our most memorable experience on the trip was our overnight stay in a village, with a Minority tribe. We "slept" in the community hall, in the centre of the village, and were therefore able to watch as people arrived home after spending the day working on their outlying farms, did their evening chores and then to see them setting off again the following morning. This was an incredible opportunity to really observe how the people live, and and to appreciate how different their lifestyle is! Animals running wild too! But no mains electricty means no hot showers and no emails to answer!!!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The company gave us excellent advice about what to bring on the trip, so my advice would be to follow that! They then looked after us throughout the time away very well, and we appeared to have everything we could need with us, from mosquito nets and first aid kits, to knowledgeable and friendly guides!
We enjoyed combining this trip with other experinces in Cambodia, staying in Phnom Penh and visiting the Temples at Siem Reap and then having a few days to relax at the beach at the end. We really feel this gave us the breadth of opportunities to say we had been to Cambodia on this holiday.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Undoubetdly local people have noticed that visitors have more "things" than they have, and are curious to see if anything is to be given out or bought from them. However we didn't find we were pestered by children as were were around the Temples, or in Phnom Penh. I hope the village benefitted from us staying there, as they postponed a meeting until the following eveing because we turned up. Although this may not have been much, a few pounds does make a small difference. I think Westerners are more into rubbish disposal and recycling than Cambodian nationals are at present! Our guides were careful to remove (or share -out) any items we didn't want so hopefully we didn't leave a lasting impression behind!
4. Any other comments?
Hope this may be useful to someone in the future. We would definitely book again with this company. Definitely a high 4**** experience!
