Q)           How did you begin your journey as a tour guide?

A)           When I finished high school in 1999, my uncle wanted me to become a pilot like my late father. However, my family was very poor and my mother had to work very hard to provide for me and my seven siblings, so she could not afford to send any of us to college. Since then, I worked as motorbike driver and in guest relations at a local guesthouse in my village.

In 2002, one of my sister's friends, who worked for a travel agency in Siem Reap, advised me to become a tour guide. His words opened my eyes, since I always want to introduce my beautiful country with its richness of culture and ruined temples to barang (foreigners). So I applied for a course to become an English-speaking tour guide. Becoming a guide in Siem Reap was truly the best decision I have ever made.

Q)           Working with tourists means that you have to deal with different people from different cultures, backgrounds and expectations. You need to be upbeat and full of energy for all day long. What keeps you doing it? What is the most rewarding about this job?

A)           Being a tour guide requires excellent communication and people skills, as you will be working with all types of people every day. You can't do this job if you don't like people. Furthermore, the tours can eventually become boring if you visit the same place over and over again. But it is the guests who are different and make the job interesting. I always keep in mind that it's probably the first time my guests have been to these attractions, so my job is not only to show them things, but also to share their excitement.

The most rewarding part of the job is when I see the smiles on the faces of my guests after seeing, for example, Angkor Wat, or another of our country’s beautiful landmarks. At the end of the day, customer satisfaction, loyalty and recommendations are priceless.

Q)           Do you have one standout highlight of your time as a tour guide with ASIA DMC?

A)           To be honest, I have had many great moments while working here. Besides the good times I have with my clients, the “Roots and Fruits” (tree-planting) campaign in Siem Reap and the company trip to Bangkok were the highlights for me in 2017.