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Tip No 7:  Share a meal or two with your guide and the Tuk-Tuk driver.

 

 

Since the Tuk-Tuk driver and guide are paid to serve you, they naturally act as if you are their boss and treat you with deference. For instance, they would offer to carry your bag, never contradict you and seldom voice out their opinion. Also, while they will definitely share information, it is very basic and seldom gives you a deep insight into the Cambodian people and culture.

To get the Tuk-Tuk driver and guide to treat us less like bosses and share with us their real thoughts and feelings about themselves and their culture, Padma and I would invite them to eat with us for lunch. We would also ask them where they recommend we eat.  By eating with them in a place of their choice, we end up developing a comfortable camaraderie (and most of the time a friendship) and gaining an intimate look into everyday Cambodian life.

Unfortunately, I cannot remember our guide’s name.  It is a pity because he was such a great guy.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 12:08 am and is filed under 'Pinions, Siem Reap, Cambodia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.