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Exotissimo Travel was established in 1993 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We are now one of the longest established inbound tour operators in Indochina, Myanmar and Thailand and one of the best known.
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The best experience I had in Cambodia was at Kbal Spean, about 50 km from Siem Reap
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Thank you very much for your incredible help to us during our time in Thailand.
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Marvin and Michele Zwerin, Lana and Mike Einschlag
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We spent three marvelous days in Siem Riep. We would like to thank you for the hospitality we received from your ...
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Ida Frojda and Dr. Albert Keresztes
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Beng Melea (which translates into lotus pond) is an Angkor-style temple complex located more than 60 kilometers east from Siem Reap. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 1992 and is one of the new temple sites of Cambodia, having been cleared of mines in 2003.
Only recently has Beng Melea been accessible from Siem Reap. Dirt roads from the Cambodian city to the site made travel difficult, but it has now been paved and travel time from Siem Reap only takes about ...
Staff Picks
Sibylle R. - Cambodia Product Manager
The best experience I had in Cambodia was at Kbal Spean, about 50 km from Siem Reap. The tuk tuk ride through typical Cambodian countryside was very interesting as it lead us to a lesser visited area, on a dirt track of red sand that wound its way through the lush green rice fields, passing small settlements with kids waving and ‘hello’ at my friend and me. At Kbal Spean, a short hike uphill awaited us, but the jungle path wasn’t exactly lonely – entire Cambodian families, complete with babies and grandmothers, a large picnic basket and everybody soaking wet from the waterfall, crossed our way. On top of the hill, we admired the ‘River of 1000 lingas’ with its unusual and fine stone carvings in the river bed, together with a group of friendly monks in their bright orange robes.
A few meters further, we joined the happy holiday atmosphere at the small but beautiful waterfall, where families were picnicking on the rocks, kids were screaming and generally everybody was splashing about in the water. What really made our day was as one Cambodian family cordially invited us to join their picnic. We were treated to taste interesting Khmer food that we never tried before, like small mussels with chili, chicken feet and banana sticky rice (Yummie!), and even though they hardly spoke any English and we didn’t speak Khmer, we managed to communicate somehow. The family gave us a flip flop each to sit on so we didn’t have to sit on the wet rocks and it was great to see that they had a blast in showing us how to eat their delicacies. When we joined the crowd in the water, the family’s kids proudly introduced us as their newfound friends to everybody they could find.
On our way back to Siem Reap by tuk tuk, they passed us on their motorbikes, with great cheers and loud honking of course. We were still in SMS contact with the older daughter, who spoke a little English for a couple of days after. A wonderful experience - not exactly a quiet day in the jungle, but incredible Cambodian fun.
Traveler's Review
Marvin and Michele Zwerin, Lana and Mike Einschlag
Thank you very much for your incredible help to us during our time in Thailand. As you are aware, we were caught up in the ongoing events in Thailand and spent an extra week in Bangkok, just trying to get out and return home. Your company single handedly provided us with a security blanket and rescued us.
In fact, we are so appreciative of your services both before and during the crisis that we have told everyone to use your services when they travel to any of your company's locations. Please pass our regards on to Sue, the tour guide in Bangkok without whom our trip would never have been the same. Her unending concern for us and the efforts she expended to make sure we made it safely from Bangkok to Cambodia (Poipot) and her care to ensure that we got across the border to Cambodia were heroic. She is a gem to be treasured always.
Again, THANK YOU Exotissimo for a wonderful touring experience before the coup and an incredible job of rescuing us from our plight in Bangkok. We hope that your country resolves this crisis and your lives can return to the normality of day to day life again.
Sincerely yours,
Marvin and Michele Zwerin, Lana and Mike Einschlag
November 08
Traveler's Review
Ida Frojda and Dr. Albert Keresztes
We spent three marvelous days in Siem Riep.
We would like to thank you for the hospitality we received from your company. Your birthday present was a great surprise. I like the scarf very much, which always reminds me of Angkor and our excellent guide Mr.Thon.
As we were absolutely satisfied with everything, I am not going into details.
Evaluation:
Our guide, Mr. Thon: excellent in every respect Our driver: excellent in every respect
Hotel: excellent
Restaurants and meals: excellent
Overall satisfaction rating is: fantastic!
Thank you for the excellent service. We will recommend your agency to all of our friends, and we hope to return one day.
With our best wishes:
Ida Frojda and Dr.Albert Keresztes from Hungary
January 2009