Review of Sowanna Yun, Guide for our Cambodia visit, January 2012
Recently our group of four traveled to Cambodia where we were met by Sowanna Yun, who guided us through Phnom Penh and the Angkor Wat area for a stay of about one week. The trip was very memorable, largely because of the work done by Sowanna, who proved to be an outstanding and very knowledgeable guide. He met us at the Phnom Penh airport on our arrival as arranged, even though we had been delayed in our arrival at least one hour due to long lines for visas after the flight. The next day and the following morning were spent touring the capital, during which we visited all of the major sights and took a very nice boat trip along the Mekong River at sunset. Then our guide drove us north to Siem Reap, stopping along the way to see a very interesting roadside market in the Skun area and several other sights.
We then spent several days in Siem Reap, each day making a full day visit to various Angkor temple ruins and surrounding sites. On our last day, Sowanna had made all the arrangements for us all to visit the bird sanctuary on Tonle Sap Lake, and afterward to enjoy a wonderful lunch of fresh lake fish at a small family-run restaurant in the nearby water village of Tonle Sap. That day proved to be one of the very most memorable days of all for us, seeing the roosting storks by the hundreds crowded in the trees of the flooded forest, and the colorful village full of activity (there was even a beautiful wedding procession by boat that passed by our waterfront restaurant as we ate our tasty meal)!
Throughout the trip Sowanna Yun anticipated our needs and provided for them, while making sure we saw the best parts of all the temples, and telling us the important information (and also many stories from the Ramayana and Mahabarata and other historical references) relating to the temples and temple carvings. He was on time each morning with the air-conditioned car cleaned and prepared, stocked with plenty of cold bottled water for our needs during the day.
At the end of our stay he drove us to the Siem Reap airport on time for our return flight, and there we somewhat reluctantly said goodbye to him, marking the end of a very interesting and successful Cambodian visit for the four of us.
I still think of our trip almost every day, and it will always be remembered as one of our most memorable and interesting ones ever - Sowanna Yun‘s skills in making our trip successful and enjoyable deserve much of the credit for this. I would highly recommend Sowanna Yun as an excellent guide to seek out for a unique and special Cambodian adventure to remember!
Robert P.
San Diego, California, US
February 12, 2012