Kim Soryar - Thumbs UP!!!!

We had just returned from SR yesterday with Kim Soryar as our Driver/Guide - highly recommended by this website.

Our Group of 5 are extremely happy with is impeccable service. We stayed at Golden Mango Inn owned by Soryar%26#39;s mom-in-law which was opened in Aug 07. Everything is new and clean and spacious as well. Service is Excellent !!!

Due to us being a rather boisterous group, Soryar is very patient, humble and warm with regard to our requests - be it last minute change of programme and so forth. He always has bottles of mineral water kept in his famous Blue Cooler Box as standby for us at any time of the day.

We took a day trip to Phnom Penh with Soryar as our Driver. He was very honest to tell us he is not familiar with the roads over there but we insisted that he should take us, after all we are only going to selected palaces. Soryar took the initiative to contact his friend in Phnom Penh to guide us all around town so as not to waste our time getting lost in Phnom Penh at no extra charge - but of course we pay the guide tips which is fair and justified.

Soryar even took the initiative to get me some Cambodian Sweets which I mentioned to him on day 1 and have intended to buy home but have completely forgotten about until he presented us with several packets of the Sweets on our departure day. We were touched!!!

So, if you are looking for a reliable and a cheerful Driver/Guide, we would not hesitateto recommend Kim Soryar at Kimsoryar@yahoo.com.

He is a really hardworking, warm and friendly guy. We really miss his smiling and cheerful face!!!

Kim Soryar - Thumbs UP!!!!

i%26#39;d like some information on golden mango inn, i cannot find info. on internet. do they have webpage? cost to stay there? location is good? how close or far? have photos you can share? i am going there next month from manhattan. i%26#39;d appreciate your input. thank you very much.

also do you recommand a day trip to phnom penh? how many hours did it take you to get there from siem reap? is the road condition and scenary worthwhile? how much should i pay about?

many thanks!!!!!

Kim Soryar - Thumbs UP!!!!

How much was his services per day with driver etc for your group of 5? I am travelling in a group of 7. Appreciate if you also let me know how much was the hotel rate and your itinerary in Siem REap. As we will be there only 3d/2nites, appreciate the advice given .Thanks in advance.

Hi !!!

The website for Golden Mango Inn is under construction. The rate for Twin Bed or Double Bed c/w aircond and hot/cold water together with Western Breakfast is chargeable at USD20 per room night. For triple bed is chargeable at USD30 per room night (all nett).

Free internet broadband service available at the lobby. I do have some photographs on Golden Mango sent to me by one of the former hotel guests. Should I email to you all? I have problems in uploading to the forum.

Since we have 5 adults, we got a 10-seater Hyundai Starex and was charged around SR at USD30 per day unlimited hours. Soryar is always punctual and be around on time to pick us up as and when we are ready.

As for day trip to Phnom Penh, it costs us USD220 for 5 persons using the same Hyundai (which is comfy - as 3rd %26amp; 4th Rows we can stretch our legs and lie down - if you are not more than 163cm in height). The trip took 10 hours for 2-way as Soryar is a careful driver driving at 60kmph most of the time. (My friend sat beside him and took note of that!). We started our journey at 5.00 am and reached PP slightly after 10am with 2 stops in between. We went to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, Russian Market and had lunch plus city tour. Of course, you can spend more time by visiting Killing Fields, Museum, National Monument, etc which we did not cos%26#39; we are not too keen on these sights.

You must try the fruit juices in SR and PP, it costs only USD1 and tasted real pure without artificial flavouring.

Hi Again!!!

Overlooked some questions:-

1. November is a wedding month for SR people. So along the way to PP, we encountered 4 weddings in progress.!!!! Really interesting - something like our Minangkabau culture (Malaysia). SR is having their Water Festival on Nov 23, so if you happen to be there you will be able to watch the Dragon Boat Race.

2. Road wise, overall I would say acceptable only bumpy on certain stretch - less than 500m. Along the way, a lot of greenery and village-style postcard. Interesting, though.

3. As for cloudlesssky, I would suggest you put a night or so in PP if you have enough time to spare, cos%26#39; I am sure you want to see more than where we have been. PP is different from SR - PP is a city whereas SR is a quiet town. We prefer SR lifestyle - slow moving and peaceful without the hustle and bustle of city sounds!!!

4. Transportation is chargeable on the MPV itself only not on headcount. So if you have more than 4 - 10 persons the cost is the same.

5. Location of Golden Mango is around town cos%26#39; SR is a small town. If you wish to hire a tuk-tuk - Soryar has as well. As we hire Soryar, at all times, we are chauffeured around.

Our 4D/3N SR itinerary :-

Day 1 - Arrived SR at 8.00 am. Check-in to Golden Mango. Warm welcome from the staff and owner. Visited the Silk Farm. Had lunch. Then on to Old Market - got some nice bags!!! Bargain Hard. We bargained by slashing 40 - 50% off the original price.

Then, we went to Angkor Wat temple to purchase the ticket at 4.30pm. If we purchase the ticket at 4.30pm (the temple close at 5.30pm) it is valid for the next day as well. We had a short preliminary tour of the Angkor Wat. Then, we watched the Cambodian Cultural Dance including buffet dinner at USD10 per person excluding drinks. Good Performance. Not bad, international buffet style with around 60 varieties of food including cambodian food as well. If you want to have a front table.to take some photos, you must ask Soryar to book early . After dinner, we went to Angkor Night Market - things are slightly expensive than Old Market - i guess possibly of high rental. Following which, we went straight back to hotel. We were dead tired by then!!!

Day 2 - We cancel our sunrise trip to temple. Too tired. Woke up late. Relax and visited the Local Market near Golden Mango. Interesting. No tourists except 5 of us. So, we can actually see the daily life of the Cambodians. Bought some of their local sweets and bread - not bad for the Bread. Bought some pretty pyjamas at the Local Market. For Malaysians where we shop in Mydin or Giant, you can%26#39;t get such quality in terms of material and workmanship at the price of USD3.50 per pair. Check it out!!! After lunch, we visited the temples again until dinner time. We went to bed early in preparation for our trip to PP next morning.

Day 3 - PP whole day.

Day 4- early morning flight. can%26#39;t do much. but we enjoyed ourselves very very much!!! Like my mum said, ';all because we have a very good driver/guide in Soryar!';

Hope the above helps!!!!

We have just returned from Cambodia and we used Kim Soryar and he was brilliant. Would definately recommend him, he supplies you with free cold bottled water and refresher towels and he is very pleasant. Rates are $12 a day. His email is kimsoryar@yahoo.com and telephone (+855)12 221 883

Hi,

Is Kim a Driver or a Guide?

I heard that only Guide can enter the temple.

I would like to look for a guide who is also a driver =p

Trying to save some cost since I%26#39;ll be traveling alone.

Kim is his family name %26amp; Soryar his name. I was also mistaken and kept on calling him Kim until I checked with him and understand the correct form of address.

Soryar is not a licensed guide. But before you enter the temples, he will give you an overview of the history of the sites . He is knowledgeable and well-versed on these historical sites. We didnt hire any guide (to save cost as well) .

Hi we had Soryar as our driver too and he was superb. we also got Soryar to organise a guide for us at $25 per day and it was really worth paying the extra for the guide. Highly recommend to spend the little bit extra on the guide.

Marian

We also engaged Mr Kim Soryar as our driver for our trip in SR. He s just excellent,and I would recommend him to anyone out there. We stayed at his Golden Mango Village, which was very new, claena nd spacious. It gave us a cosy and homely atmosphere. The staff there were so nice. Mr Soryar also help us arrange accomadation and another trustworthy tuk-tuk driver in PP.

I would say, a part of our wonderful trip was due to Mr Soryar!

Just returned after visiting SR and PP. Hired the services of Soryar and his services are recommended. Although he was only available for one day, for the balance 2 days he recommended to us his brother in law and another gentlemen who drove us to PP and is familiar with the city.

Our itinerary was as follows;

Day 1 - received upon arrival by Soryar n checked into hotel of our choice, a quick bfast at a fast food chain, 1 1/2 hour boat ride on tonle sap at USD13 pp. Lunch at an indian restaurant (recommended Delhi Darwar in Old Market, prices are reasonable). Sunset at Angkor Wat - see it from the hill which is a 15 mins walk. Day ended with cultural dinner (at USD 12 pp)

Day 2 - Soryar%26#39;s BIL fetched us from the hotel at 5am (punctuality is excellent). Also hired an english speaking guide for USD25 recommended by Soryar (worth the money. Afternoon at cultural village on road 6 (highly recommended at a promotion price of USD9). Follow the various cultural programs which commence fr 2.30pm and will last until 6pm. Excellent time

Day 3 - Left SR at 4am in pte car arranged by Soryar (USD120). The journey takes 4 1/2 hours. Visited the Kings Palace, followed by Killing fields, Musuem (not much here), independence monument and PP hill (how PP got its name). Departed PP at 3pm and back to SR by 8pm.

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