Siem Reap - The Driver

Sorn was recommended to us by friends who had met him on their trip to Siem Reap a few weeks back. He's the first generation to be born after the civil war in the 1970's. His parents survived the war but when we ask him about it, he says his dad never talks about it and he has no memories of the killing fields or what happened in the past. I think the new generation is only interested in looking forward and trying to enjoy their lives as much as possible.

He is a very polite driver and always on time. He will take us wherever we want to go and wait patiently until we finish to pick us up again and take us somewhere else. He doesn't know much about the ruins and quite frankly, he's not all that interested either as the most important thing for him is to pick up tourists so that he can earn enough money to feed his family. He is 26 years old and he already has 2 children. His wife doesn't work and she doesn't have much education either so she can't work in the hospitality industry which is their best bet to get above the poverty line. He speaks English well enough but he's not able to spend more time studying as he's the only bread winner.

We really liked him and we saw so much poverty in Siem Reap that I want to do my bit to help people like him. We paid him USD$20 a day and even when we did not use him for the whole day, we paid him the same price. On the last day, we paid him USD$20 to take us to the airport by tuk tuk. A taxi ride in an air conditioned car would have cost USD$5.

This guy is very enterprising and needs work so if you are going to Siem Reap, do give him a call.

His name is Sorn and his mobile number is 012 294 402 when you dial within Siem Reap.

Lynette