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| Luxury Adventure Travel & Photo Tours - Temples of Angkor |
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Angkor Wat - photography by George
Mann, Nikon D300, Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8
For small groups ranging from 1 to
10 participants. We
specialize in Luxury Adventure Travel & Photo Tours in
South
East Asia. We can set the itinerary, or you can let us know what you
are looking to do and we will set up the trip for you. We are based out of Thailand
& Cambodia, so we are always available to
conduct these tours, and unless we are already booked, can be hired on
very short
notice.
If you wish
to visit Angkor Wat and photograph the magnificent temples of the Khmer
Empire, we
would like to
suggest scheduling a four day (or longer) stay in the town of Siem
Reap. The Angkor Archaeological Park
area is much larger and the
temples more spread out, than it appears when looking at the maps.
Ideally
you want to spend at least three days, exploring and photographing the
temples in the immediate
Siem Reap area.
When contacting us about Luxury
Adventure Travel & Photo Tours please provide the
following information.
1. For how many days would you like
to hire our services? (minimum three days)
2. Do you have a trip itinerary in
mind or would you like us to suggest
one?
3. On what date would you like to
start your tour?
4. How many people are in your group?
Please email George
Mann
for more information - george@angkorroad.com
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| Luxury Adventure
Travel & Photo Tour details:
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With Personal Photo Tour
Leader - George Mann
Tour Location &
Tour Guide
- This agreement applies to any Angkor temple and Tonle Sap locations
within one day
driving
distance (round trip) of Siem Reap - air conditioned van and driver
(unless we are on a boat), plus a government licensed tour
guide for the Angkor temples and Tonle Sap Lake are part of the
agreement.
Transportation
- The air conditioned tour van will be equipped with plenty of cold
drinks, sandwiches and
snacks so that we do not go hungry or have to rely on available food in
the countryside. Restaurants in the countryside and in most of the
temple areas can be pretty basic.
 Photo Tour Leader
- George Mann will be accompanying you on all adventure travel &
photo tours and
provide a laptop
computer for image downloads and reviews (using Adobe Lightroom) while
on location in the
temples and out in the country side. You can think of George as your
photographer friend in Cambodia.
Photography -
What type of camera equipment you bring is completely up to you. If you
are highly skilled photographer or a beginning enthusiast is not of any
importance. We will assist you in every way possible to get the images
you are after. At the end of the day we will
transfer your images to CD-ROM (no extra charge) and if you wish,
discuss your images with you at your hotel before going out for another
day of shooting.
Digital Workflow
- George Mann is a recognized expert on Adobe Photoshop
Lightroom and writes for O'Reilly Digital Media and other on-line
publications.
How much of your Personal Photo Tour is spent on digital workflow
questions is up to you. If you would like to maximize your digital
workflow experience on this tour, please bring your own laptop computer.
Website Trip Reports
- We can help you produce daily web pages of
your adventures while you are here, so you can invite
your friends and family (by email) to see what you are up to.
Angkor Park Pass
- Our fee includes the Angkor Archaeological Park Pass which is
$20 per day or $40 for a three day pass, per person. The pass can not
be purchased ahead of time, as you have to pose for a photograph at the
time of purchase.
Length of Your Tour
- 3 days are
recommended to see most of the major Angkor sites and a 4th day for
Tonle Sap. If you
are really pressed for time, we would like to suggest a minimum
two day personal photo tours of the main temple sites.
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| Luxury Adventure
Travel & Photo Tour costs:
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Tour cost does not include:
hotel costs, dinners, or any non-tour related activities
Suggested hotels
- Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, Victoria Angkor Resort, Hotel de la
Paix, Sofitel Royal Angkor Resort, FCC Angkor Hotel
Great Hotel
deals in Siem Reap - up to 70% off on normal rates.
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Tour cost includes:
All temple passes, all transportation (4WD, vans and boats) from
sunrise to sunset, the highest quality drinks and snacks available at
all times, lunch in a quality restaurant, or a picnic basket when no
suitable restaurants are available at our tour location.
Tour cost: $300 per person / per day (minimum 3
days & 2 persons)
3 Day Tour cost:
(one or two persons) US$ 1,800
Suggested three day itinerary:
Day 1 - Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan
Day 2 - Banteay Srei, Kbal Spean, Beng Melea
Day 3 - Tonle Sap (floating villages), or Koh Ker (remote
Angkor temples)
We require a $500
deposit on booking (your tour dates) and 50% of the total fee within 30
days
of your tour, the remainder to be paid at any time before the tour date.
Luxury Photo Tour
- booking deposit
US$ 500 - Deposit required to book your personal photo tour dates. This
deposit is refundable (minus a $100 cancelation fee)
if
the tour is canceled more
than 30 days before the tour date. Contact george@dpmac.com for
more
information.
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Photo
Tour
Deposit
US$500
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| Luxury Adventure
Travel & Photo Tour options: |
All Luxury Adventure &
Photo Tours
include a 4WD SUV or Van and driver, for sunrise to sunset
transportation needs. We provide high quality cold drinks and
snacks throughout the day. Lunch will be either at a high quality
restaurant, or from a picnic basket if a high quality restaurant is not
available at our tour location.
Photo assistance & image
review will be available at any time you request. A computer will also
be available at all locations, for digital download of your memory
cards, burning of DVDs and upload to the internet if required (if an
internet connection is available).
#01 Angkor Wat & Angkor
Thom
Angkor Wat > Angkor Thom > Bayon > Terrace of the Elephant
King.
Classic Angkor Wat sunrise, giant faces of Bayon and other Angkor Thom
temple sites. |
#02 Ta Phrom & Preah
Khan
Ta Prohm > Banteay Kdei > Preah Khan
Ta Prohm is famous as the overgrown "Tomb Raider" temple |
#03 Banteay Srey & Kbal
Spean
Banteay Srey > Kbal Spean
Banteay Srey - exquisite
stone carving, Kbal Spean - river of a
thousand lingas
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#04 Kulen Mountain &
Beng Melea
Kulen Mountain > Beng Melea
Lingas, water fall, reclining Budha
at Kulen Mountain. Beng Melea is an unrestored temple in a jungle
setting, an opportunity to climb over the ruins and feel like Indiana
Jones.
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#05 Tonle Sap - fishing
villages
Kampong Khleang > Kampong Phluk
Floating villages and houses on stilts. We hire
a private boat
for the lake.
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#06 Koh Ker & remote
villages
Prasat Thom > City of Lingas > Rahal
Koh Ker was a more remote capital city of the Angkor Empire than Angkor
Thom but it has numerous interesting temple sites and most important,
at this time it still has very few visitors.
Option:
visit remote village and contribute ceramic water filters to villagers.
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#07 Preah Vihaer & Koh
Ker - 2 days
Preah Vihaer > Koh Ker > remote villages
Preah
Vihaer sits on a cliff at the Thai border, we arrive in afternoon,
spend the night in guest house (no hotels available yet), and then
backtrack to Koh Ker for sunrise.
Option: visit remote
village and contribute ceramic water filters to villagers.
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The above options are suggested itineraries only, you may mix and match
any destinations and suggest other itineraries that are not shown. We
are here to serve your needs.
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Our
Adventure & Photo Tour Philosophy:
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Kids
playing outside
their house during the wet season - Kompong Kleang, Tonle Sap,
Cambodia. Photo - George Mann
Over
the last 30 years I have traveled throughout Asia as a photographer for
commercial clients, book and magazine publishers, international aid
organizations, and just plain for the enjoyment of it. You could say I
am a very lucky man, because my work and my play has always been one
and
the same. Whenever people ask me where I went on my last vacation, I
always have to grin and say that I never take a vacation, I do not
understand the concept.
The journeys I always enjoyed the most were those I took with a group
of fellow photographers, exploring the roads that normal tourists and
even most veteran travelers never venture down. A key ingredient for
photographers being,
that you have to have control of your method of transport, so that you
can protect your camera equipment at all times. Another key
ingredient being that you have to allow for chance and opportunity to
decide your final destination.
In practice this means that we travel by road in a mini-van or suv as
much as possible, so that we can carry all our camera equipment and
personal effects with us. It is also very difficult to tell an
airplane, train or boat to park it for awhile, so we can take some
pictures.
For much the same reason we also specialize
in
adventure
& photo
tours
for
individuals
and
small
groups
of
friends.
Our
experience says that throwing a group of strangers together almost
inevitably leads to disagreements, about alternate shooting locations,
choice of restaurants, hotels, time tables, etc.. This also
makes it easier for us to cater to clients with different economic
realities.
Siem Reap, where the Angkor temples are located is in some ways an
outcropping in the middle of the jungle, but it also has a fair number
of five star hotels and restaurants. There is also a large selection of
low to medium priced hotels, and guest houses ranging from a few
dollars a night to luxurious (foreign managed) Bed & Breakfast type
establishments.
This wide variety of accomodations and restaurants makes it very
difficult to offer a single tour package that will satisfy everyone, so
we would rather offer advice and connect you directly to the
appropriate hotel properties. If you want us to take care of the entire
package we can, but will require some guidelines so that we can make
you as comfortable as possible.
Personally I like nothing better than sleeping on a smooth teak floor
and scooping a few buckets of cold water over my head in the morning,
but it takes some time to get used to that way of life. The last thing
we want is a
bunch of grumpy photographers on the way to a sunrise shoot location.
So please be realistic about the level of comfort you require.
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