Advice needed for 4D3N Siem Reap

[tommyx]

Hi,

I will be heading to Siem Reap with my wife next month for a 4D3N trip.
I am now in the midst of discussion with the local guide on the itinerary and cost.

Below is his recommendation (direct extraction from his email):

Day 1:On 20th , April ,2012
Afternoon: I will meet you at Siem Reap airport and transfer in your
hotel for check after you check in we will visit Angkor Thom South
Gate, the Bayon, Terrace of the Leper King
and Terrace of the Elephants, Baphuon. Royal Palace , Angkor Wat and
Sunset at Phnom Bakheng.
Over night at your hotel
English Speaking-Tour Guide and transportation A/C:USD55/day

Day 2:On 21st , April ,2012
Morning: Early morning visit Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei, Pre Rup temples

Afternoon: Eastern Mebon, Neak Pean, and Preah Khan temples
Get dinner and over night at your hotel
English Speaking-Tour Guide and transportation A/C:USD70/day

Day 3:On 22nd , April ,2012
Morning: Roluos Group as Bakong , Loulei , Preah Koh temples

Afternoon: Visit floating village and Cultural Village .
Get dinner and Over night at your hotel
English Speaking-Tour Guide and transportation A/C:USD60/day

Day 4:On 23rd , April ,2012
Morning : You can visit Beng Mealea temple this is place you will
enjoy with jungle and explorer of countryside and villages .

Afternoon: After your lunch i will transfer out of Siem Reap airport .
The end of your tour in Cambodia .
English Speaking-Tour Guide and transportation A/C:USD70/day

The above itinerary is flexible and may be adjusted to suit your requirements.
You have pay all entrance fees below !
1/ Entrance fees of Angkor Wat :USD40 per person
2/ Beng Mealea entrance fees :USD5 per person
3/ Cultural village entrance fees :USD11 per person
4/ Boat ride at Tonle Sap lake :USD16 per person

Please note when you have tour with me i will offers cold water , cold
towel , coke and when you arrive in Siem Reap airport i will pick up
and drop off .


My concerns:

1. Are his cost reasonable?
2. Will i have "temple visting" overload?
3. Gear related. Will 24-105 F/4 and 35 F/1.4 on FF be sufficient?
I am not a landscape person but will probably want to capture the temples. More of a street person.


Many thanks for the advice!

 

[tommyx]

Anyone?

 

[daveloo28]

hi there,
I did not engage a local guide for all my trips when i was there. I just took my guesthouse transport which cost around USD 8-15 depending on my distance per day.Depending on your preference, me just went there to shoot photos and not much of the history behind it.I m sure your hotel can arrange and advise you too on how to plan your excursions. I did bought a 3 days pass (USD40) for angkor wat. I will always ask my driver what he recommends for the next day and plan with him.There are plenty of itinerary brochures which you can use and personalize to suite your taste and preference. Hope you enjoy your trip.

 

[tommyx]

hi there,
I did not engage a local guide for all my trips when i was there. I just took my guesthouse transport which cost around USD 8-15 depending on my distance per day.Depending on your preference, me just went there to shoot photos and not much of the history behind it.I m sure your hotel can arrange and advise you too on how to plan your excursions. I did bought a 3 days pass (USD40) for angkor wat. I will always ask my driver what he recommends for the next day and plan with him.There are plenty of itinerary brochures which you can use and personalize to suite your taste and preference. Hope you enjoy your trip.

thank you for the advice. I have finalized my itinerary and chosen a guide.

 

[cloudywind]

Hi there, I've just been to Siem Reap and back, for 5D4N

There are constructions in most of the temples, incl. Angkor Wat, but still can siam a bit to get good shots.

Our car (USD25/day) picked us up at 5am at our guest house for the sunrise, and since I took mostly silhouette, can't really notice the green tent on the right:

or the other option is to take B/W

Dun forget to go Phrom Bakheng to take pix of the sunset (and dun go there too late cos it gets real crowded) too!

 

[PhotoProZero]

Honestly, you are super temple overloaded. I've been there 5 times, and the last time, i just decided to take the tut tut, grab a book and read it. Tonle Sap is really nice for sunsets as well. Suggest that you just go for a few 'famous' temples. Bayon, Terrace of the Leper King and the Elephant Terrace, Ta Prom are near to one another. There's a lot of History in Angkor Wat, the carvings and sculptures are great elements for photography. Enjoy your trip and hope to see your photos!

 

[tommyx]

Thanks for all the advice. Can't wait for my trip next week!

 

[yrh0413]

to be honest I was bored after the 1st day shooting temples... I have no interest in their history/ culture thus all the temples look pretty similar to me... stones everywhere, climb up then climb down, walk to next temple, climb again... after a while I start picking local kids as my subjects instead of shooting stones. :embrass:

That's just me.

 

[tommyx]

I guess I will have to customise a little with the guide if I got temples loaded after day 1