PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR Mr. JOHN TENG:
From Kristina Mayer, Washington State, USA.
John Teng is not your typical guide or driver. He has a unique blend of skills and knowledge that allow the traveler to engage with him on a more personal level. John strives to incorporate the traveler’s interests, time frame and budget constraints. He offers suggestions but is never set in his ways or wed to an agenda of his own. I have known John for over two years and have used his services on two trips to Siem Reap. Recently, he was so gracious in setting up a lovely and affordable guest house for me and my travel companions – it was nice to have him pick us up at the airport and already know we had great accommodations. The choice he made on our behalf was a true reflection of our travel style.
John is a very honest, caring and committed individual with a deep love of his country and the Khmer people/culture. He consistently looks for ways to introduce the traveler to the rich customs and folkways of the Khmer people. He is quick to recognize a tourist-trap and even better at finding uniquely inspired opportunities for authentic experiences.
I am a philanthropic advisor and educator who participates in charitable activity in Siem Reap. John has been instrumental in our ability to meaningfully connect with worthy causes and reputable people. When you are with John, doors and hearts open.
I highly recommend John’s services but even more, I recommend John as a trustworthy and professional individual who will take good care of you.
Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions – www.klmayer.com .
Warm Regards and Safe Travels,
Kristina L. Mayer, Ed. D.
Principal, KLMayer Consulting Group, Inc.
FROM KAREN BOWMAN, WASHINGTOM STATE, USA.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. John Teng for over 2 years. I first met Mr. Teng on a business-vacation trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia in 2003. He was the first taxi cab driver my business associate and I hired and he remained our driver for the duration of the trip. He continues to be our driver/tour guide, and has become a trusted friend over the years.
Mr. Teng is flexible to your travel style, whether you are a seasoned tourist or an international traveler. He speaks English well and can suggest a number of itineraries, depending on your interests and travel time, to introduce you to the Khmer people and culture, including Angkor Wat and other breathtaking temples. What is most important to share is that Mr. Teng is thoroughly trustworthy, honest, and is sensitive to your safety needs, which is critical for the woman traveler.
I am an occupational and environmental health nurse who has created a charitable practice in Siem Reap along with other women business associates. We could not have done this without John’s expertise as a culture broker. With John’s help, we have been able to conduct vital research, have made friends from around the world and have been able to contribute to the Khmer people in a culturally appropriate, sustainable and meaningful manner.
I cannot recommend him enough. He is a true ambassador of Cambodia. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact me at www.karenbowman.com Have a pleasant journey.
Blessings,
Karen Bowman, MN, RN, COHN-S
President
Karen Bowman & Associates, Inc.
FromMrs Janet & Party, Manila-Phillippines.
Hi,John! We're all doing ok here in the Philippines. Everyone had good memories of Siem Reap. Thanks to you.
I did tell you that I'd write a testimonial re your service. I want it to be seen in your www.angkorservice.com .
This is the testimonial in behalf of the group.I hope it helps in whatever way you use it...
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JOHN TENG'S SERVICE
Let Not Your Siem Reap Visit Go To Waste --- Let John Teng Take Care Of You!
Our group of 14 persons were in Siem Reap on Aug 4 - 6, 2007. After doing research on having a good tour of Siem Reap, John Teng's name became no. 1 in my list. Thus, I emailed him at johnangkor@yahoo.com . He promptly replied and gave his suggested itinerary. He was open to suggestions to suit our group's preferences. Thus, we came up with our Special Tour Package.
Our almost 3-day stay in Siem Reap has many good memories, mainly due to John Teng. Following are his good traits:
- Knowledgeable of Cambodia's history, people, customs, temples, etc. Ask anything and he has the answers.
- Made sure that we had comfortable transportation.
- Patient and always had smile.
- Got us good table reservation at a restaurant with buffet dinner and khmer show. Thus, our view was not obstructed.
- Flexible.
- Advised us of actual cost of things to avoid overpricing.
- Always prompt.
- Brought us to restaurants with good and reasonably priced food.
- Has good ability to speak English.
- Pointed out good photo spots at all the temples visited.
- Very professional
Everyone in the group gave him high passing mark as tour guide. He became everyone's friend. Everyone surely will recommend him to friends and relatives. Of course, have him again when we go back to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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John, in behalf of my family and friends, thanks so much for making our Siem Reap Visit worthwhile. Thanks for making my tour guide choice a great one.
Wishing you good health and more success. Take care,friend.
Janet
From Australia.
In December 2005 my wife and I arrived in Siem Reap for 3 days to visit Angkor Wat and the Temples. We had been recommended by our friends to use the services of John Teng as our guide and driver. Upon meeting John we realized that his aim was to please and to make sure our time was used wisely. He gave us detailed background of the sites to visit and ensured that we saw the beauty of the Temples and understood the culture of his beautiful country. John has a wonderful manner with people and we felt that we had known him forever. John was always punctual, flexible, knowledgeable, considerate and proud of his country. The whole experience was fantastic.
We stayed at the FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club) and would recommend it to anyone visiting both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. The facilities in Siem Reap are first class with the restaurant providing a good mix of high quality Cambodian and European fare.
All in all the combination of FCC and John Teng provided us with a wonderful adventure and one we will always treasure.
Mark & Christine Montgomery
mmont88@yahoo.com.au
From South Africa,
Mr John Teng, Siem Reap, Cambodia's driver, guide, interpreter, negotiator, and now friend.
Planning a photographic trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia, I found John Teng listed as a driver on the web and e-mailed him. He responded promptly and after answering all my questions, I engaged him for our three week trip. I figured that at $25 a day he could make my life a lot easier as I couldn't afford to waste time on a learning curve.
John lived up to his every word, and more. He is prompt, friendly and helpful (he even voluntarily helped carry some of my equipment) and was always well prepared for the day ahead.
I had quite a hectic schedule and John was most helpful in sorting this out for me in the most practical way, taking into account preferred times of the day to photograph specific temples and traveling distances. His English is good and his knowledge of the temples extremely helpful, even if you do you own preparation.
John is also intuitive, and after seeing which temples I was concentrating on, he recommended a few lesser-known ones to me. Ta Nei is one that comes to mind's a beautiful, peaceful place that I had to myself for the entire afternoon. At the same time, he seemed to know just when to offer advice, make suggestions or when to leave me to myself to get on with my pics.
I recommend John without hesitation. He certainly enriched our second Cambodian experience and by the time we had to leave, had become a friend. I stay in touch with him and we'll see each other again some time.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Jake Brink, South Africa
jake@bandc.co.za
Here is the testimonial for you, I hope it helps in whatever way you use it...
Mr. John is the guide I chose for my first experience to Angkor. He made my first trip to Cambodia such a life-changing event that not only have I repeatedly returned to Cambodia and Siem Reap, but he is the only tour guide I would ever think of hiring. Not only is his knowledge of the Khmer civilization extensive, but as a Khmer himself he has a unique insight of the places you'll go to and the people you shall meet.
Being knowledgeable is something anyone would expect out of a tour guide, but Mr. John has a firm grasp of the English language and along with his warm and friendly way of enlightening his clients to the wonders of Angkor, he becomes more than a tour guide and you become more than a client. With Mr. John, you each gain a great new friend. And like any friend, he wishes to show you his home and share the proud heritage he possesses of Angkor and Cambodia. Mr. John can give you the normal "tourist" treatment if that is your cup of tea, but what I enjoy the most is getting off the "beaten path". If that is what you have a thirst for, Mr. John is the guide you are looking for!
Cambodia is a paradox, a place of unequaled beauty with ancient monuments that are perfume for the eyes. It is also a place of many questions, many of which came forth in the last 40 years. Mr. John has been very candid in answering my questions from a viewpoint of a Khmer and has vastly increased my understanding of this both fascinating and heart breaking land.
Your trip to Angkor will change you forever. With Mr. John along to expose you to it in depth, it will become something that you will always look forward to returning to. And like me, you most probably will with Mr. John being your host each and every time you come back.
Jon Allen
Seattle, Washington – USA
kalakala_1@hotmail.com
Greetings from Japan !
First off, I want to thank you so much again for your tour of the temples last weekend. You were full of so much information and it was such a pleasure to learn so much about the country and area that you seem to so truly love. I very much enjoyed talking to you not only about the temples themselves, but also all the insight you have about your country's education, politics, and history. I hope to be able to hear from you once in awhile to see how you are doing, and would enjoy very much to talk with you again about your country's education situation. Again, I want to thank you so much for sharing your country with me. I truly am looking forward to returning someday and will definitely share my experience with others. If there is anything I can do for you or someway I can help to promote your tours, please let me know.
Sincerely,
R. Staehlin
Dear John, 4-6 March 2007
It's very nice to hear from you - we think of you and our time in Siem Reap often! We would like to thank you once more for guiding us through the temples and the visit to the schools - it truly was the highlight of our trip. We are hoping to email you some photos we took but we're having some computer problems since we got home. During our travels, we recommended you to several other people that were headed to Cambodia, I hope they found your services!
We wanted to write a recommendation for you, please feel free to use all or parts of this as you see fit.
We were fortunate enough to find a recommendation for John Teng's tour guide services and booked him for 3 days before leaving home. We were traveling for 4 weeks in SE Asia and the days we spent in Siem Reap stand out as our favorite. We attribute much of this to John and his amazing service. John is a thoughtful, articulate, knowledgeable guide. John's English is excellent and his knowledge of the temples, carvings and Khmer history is impressive. We were worried the crowds would be overwhelming at the temples as we were traveling during busy season, however John always knew where the crowds would be the worst at certain times - and we were able to avoid most of them. John was also very good at moving us through a temple, taking time to talk about history or the details of the carvings in the quieter areas and moving past the big bus groups more quickly. We have many photos where it looks like we are the only people at a temple. We feel like we got so much more out of the experience with John as our guide compared to trying to figure things out on our own or follow the herd in a group. We especially appreciated John's pride and love of the Khmer people - they are amazing, resilient, and beautiful people.
Misty & Jason Johnson, Canada
Thanks again John, Happy New Year!
Misty & Jason
mistybleakley@hotmail.com
From Washington State, USA.
John Teng is an incredible resource and a very trust worthy individual. I use him a lot as a cultural broker and will be working with him on a grant through the University of Washington in collaborations with Angkor Hospital for Children. He'll look out for you, make sure you are safe and make suggestions to keep you safe. I can't recommend him enough. He even helped take care of me when I got really sick.
He's a very thoughtful, honest young man. I would recommend him highly, plus, of course, he knows the culture, area and history so well. Hope that helps. Please feel free to contact me again if you have further questions. You're really going to enjoy Siem Reap and Angkor Wat.
John also has contacts in Phnom Penh as well.
Take care,
Karen
Karen R. Bowman, MN, RN, COHN-S
President
Karen Bowman & Associates, Inc.
Phone: (206) 368-9377
Fax: (206) 368-9377
Email: Karen@KarenBowman.com
Web: KarenBowman.com
Over the past 4 years I have been bringing a group of students from my school in Melbourne, Australia to work on a Community Project in Cambodia and I have had the great pleasure of working with Mr. John Teng. I will continue to book Mr Teng as our driver/tour guide as he is a trust and reliable friend and a very professional Tour Operator.
Mr. Teng is very inspiring and offers an all-embracing Tour for my students and staff. His English is very good and he can create an itinerary to suit your personal needs and wishes, ranging from learning about the Khmer people and culture, the History of his Country and the dreams for the future. Mr Teng’s knowledge of Angkor History and the Temples is something to behold and he is able to present this knowledge in a relaxed and inviting way for all ages. As well, Mr Teng organised our Tour with opportunities to visit and participate in the local Cambodian community.
I have always found Mr. Teng to be very trustworthy, honest, and is sensitive to my students and staffs needs, enjoyment and safety at all times. Nothing is “too difficult” for Mr Teng from the moment we arrive at the Airport to the time we say ‘good-bye’ he is continually attentive to us.
I am planning another school Tour with Mr Teng for September next year, and I hope to then bring my own family back a little later. Mr Teng will be our Guide as there is no one like him. As my students say “Mr John is a legend, Miss” and that means – he is the BEST!
- Mrs Julie Ramsay Templestowe College Chaplain Melbourne Australia
Dear John,
Thank you for your e-mail and for your sentiments.
I would also like to thank you again for your services during our visit to Siem Reap. We enjoyed your company and appreciated your help very much. Michael still talks about you and Saru all the time and told everybody back in Beijing that the best part of his trip was driving with you and Saru because "you were his friends". A photo of you and your small friend is attached.
I have a couple of friends who are heading to Camboida in the coming weeks and have passed on your business card to them and recommended your services. I have also passed on a favoruable review to my travel agent, Helen, for her future reference as her company does a substantial amount of business with the French ex-pat community here who, as you well know, are well-inclined to visit Cambodia.
In the interim, I offer you the following testimonial which you may feel free to use:
During our recent visit to Siem Reap, we used the guide and transportation services of Mr John Teng. Mr Teng was patient, reliable and flexible, tailoring our intinerary to our specific needs and interests. We found his services to be both reasonable priced and of the highest quality. His expansive knowledge of the local area allowed us to visit many of the less frequented local temples - an experience which we found immensely enjoyable. His friendly manner and constant good humour made him instantly popular with our children who ask about him to this day. We offer our unqualified recommendation of his services.
Our friends and I returned to Canada yesterday and were most satisfied with our visit to Cambodia. Kind regards to you and please relay our warmest sentiments to driver. We will most certainly contact you if we return to Siem Reap in the future.
Sincerely,
Mike, Sherri and Liam Vernon
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
Hi John,
I do hope all is well with you in Siem Reap.I have attached the picture that you asked for and also written a testimonial for you. Deva also has written a second testimonial for you to use.
"John Teng made for my 3 traveling companions and I the journey through this marvelous land of temples, history and culture an experience much more than any of the guides we were armed with or the interweb could ever have done. A gentle person, trustworthy, polite, and a veritable encyclopedia of information of his country, John is very easy to be comfortable with, more like a friend and certainly aims to please. In his
charge of ferrying us around in the days we spent touring on what can be best described as a dynamic schedule, his insight into the ways of the Khmer people and the history of his land had a genuine desire to want to show to us the beauty that is more than just ancient history locked into stone on display. As our driver, part guide, part interpreter and in the days we spent there, in retrospect, also our traveling companion, John made our visit there a very memorable and pleasant one. There were not the four of us on this journey, but five."
- Dr.Amarjit Singh,
Malaysia.
Dr. Amarjit Singh, Malaysia. 12th Sept. 2006.
(amarjitsinghmd@hotmail.com)
Dr. V.Paranthaman.
Dharmananda.
"What can I say about John Teng in simple words, well.... let me start by saying... I really thought my visit to Cambodia is going to be a boring and unpleasant one, until I met John Teng. I was so amazed about his knowledge on cambodia and its culture too. We were at times in a same mind when it came to religion..John Teng not only knows about being a guide but knows how to organize your stay. I was having problems calling
back home but he showed me and told me the best way to contact home, that really eased my familys and my mind. Regards to seeing places or doing your personal things beside from your group, John is the guy. He takes you and arranges everthing for you.
A simple description about John Teng is.... The Guy Blends With You."
Devarajah N. 12th Sept. 2006 (devasaint@yahoo.com)
hope to see it on your website.
Best regards,
Amarjit.
Hi John,
I have just posted a testimonial to www.mfaic.gov.kh to recommend your good service to others intending to visit Siem Reap, but not sure if they will publish it on the website. In any case, below is our recommendation for you to add onto your website if you want to.
Thank you once again for guiding us during our trip to Siem Reap. We have all enjoyed ourselves immensely and we find your services highly professional! Hope to see you again in future!
My family of 11 visited Siem Reap for 4 days from 29 May to 1 June. Before the trip, I searched the internet for reviews on hotels and local tour guides. We sent out emails to 3 tour guides, of which 2 replied. We finally decided on engaging the services of John Teng even though the other guide who replied to our enquiry showed a better command of the English language (not to say that John's English is no good, he speaks very decently good English ¨C we all understood him crystal clear!). This is because John also emailed us a recommended itinerary based on the duration of our stay and he came across as very sincere. True enough, he was not only sincere and earnest in his service, we also find him very honest, patient and attentive to our needs (we are travelling with 3 elderly and 3 young children).
We enjoyed ourselves tremendously while in Siem Reap, and we must say a large part was due to John's very approachable, friendly and accommodating personality. He has great knowledge of the places/temples that he brought us to and gave us good recommendations on restaurants with good food and reasonable prices. Through the conversations, we also know that he is proud of his country and its heritage. If you are visiting Siem Reap, don¡¯t forget to email John Teng to engage his services because we are one group of very satisfied customers.
Joyce Woon, Singapore