What can I say, I think we totally lucked out with our tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap.
We were picked up by Mr Rith, aka, Mr Why Not (which is also his catchphrase!) at the airport and taken to our accommodation – The Cashew Nut Villas (fantastic place – full review to follow!).
He was lovely and we had a chat to him when we arrived at the guesthouse about seeing the temples the next day. We explained that we had visited before, so we didn’t want to do the usual tour, there were some specific temples we wanted to see. Mr Why Not took this all on board and we arranged for him to take us around the next day. It cost us $20 for each day, which considering we were out for about 6-8 hours, was more than reasonable!
Well, he was brilliant! Our itinerary that day included everything we asked and them some. Mr Why Not was there with fresh fruit (oh my god, the pineapple and mango were to die for!) and cold water when we stumbled out of the each temple, hot and incredibly sweaty!
He was very knowledgeable, teaching himself the history of the temples, and imparting that knowledge to us at each place we visited. His English was great and he was very patient with us as we took our time looking around the temples. He was great fun, joked with us and told us stories about his life and his family.
We couldn’t have been happier that he was our guide for a few days (we spent two days with him touring around the temples)! We asked for him to take us to the airport on our final day, however, unfortunately he was unable to make it (busy guiding other tourists around for the day I hope!). He didn’t leave us stranded though, sending another lovely guy to take us to the airport instead.
We found Mr Why Not through our guesthouse, the Cashew Nut Villas, so if you are staying there, do ask for him!
If you aren’t, he has a website and you can contact him through that. From our experience, I’d highly recommend him to guide you around the temples, he knows what he is doing, will look after you and will make sure you get the most out of your visit.
I know this sounds like an ad, but it’s definitely not! We were just so impressed with Mr Why Not, he worked so hard and I wanted to spread the word!
He was very informative, friendly and great fun! The best tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap? Well, he certainly helped to make our trip a very memorable one!
mydustyflipflops.com 
Usually when I open the WordPress Reader, I scroll down to the last post I read and start working my way to the top. Not today. When I spotted your post I read it straightaway! Though it’s many, many months away, our trip to Laos/Cambodia is confirmed and just last night I was looking at the travel guide about the two countries that I picked up from the library! Because we’re going to be with a tour group and it is a multisport (hiking, cycling, kayaking) trip, I don’t know if we’ll have need of getting our own tuk-tuk driver (for instance, I know we’ll all be cycling through the Angkor Wat complex), but just in case, I’m going to make note of his name and website. Thanks for the recommendation and I’m glad you had such a great experience!
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Thank you, I’m so glad that I could help! He was so lovely, we really did enjoy the few days we spent with him. I must point out that he did not guide us around the inside of the temples. I understand that the tuk-tuk drivers are not allowed to do this. There are guides at some of the bigger temples that you can hire if you want though. But he would explain quite a lot to us about each of them before we went in, he had definitely done his research! It sounds like you might not need to hire wheels though as you will have your own to get to the temples – cycling around them is another great way to see it all! It’s so exciting planning for trip isn’t it. I love getting all of the guides and reading up on what there is to see and do! I know you’ll have a fantastic time!
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It’s lovely to meet the locals and learn a bit more about them and hear their individual stories, very rewarding 🙂
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It really is and it puts a lot into perspective too. Mr Why Not worked so hard during our two days touring around with him. I do hope that his business goes from strength to strength!
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They sure do work hard. 😊
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Wonderful blog!!! I love tuk-tuks!!!!!! 🙂
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Thanks! Me too, they are great way to get around and see the local area 🙂
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Such a nice piece among so many horror stories.
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Thank you! He was excellent, I really wanted to share 🙂
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We too had such a guide (not Mr Wjy-not, another) in Cambodia and his price for guiding us was equally reasonable. In fact, I want to say ‘cheap’ but that sounds a bit not quite right. After finding out about the cost of living from other people and from the hotel where we stayed, we gave him a super large tip as we felt as though we were exploiting him. I presume you would have done the same. It’s a very hard life for these tuk-tuk drivers/guides, and ours worked so hard, keeping the vehicle clean, having water always at hand, and carrying my bag when I looked as though I was about to collapse! I returned from Cambodia a much wiser person.
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This is so true, it is hard work and often involves very long days for not much return, it seems. And there are so many tuk-tuk drivers in Siem Reap now, it must be really hard to compete. I’m glad that you also had a great experience, it is these experiences that help to make the trips in my opinion!
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We had a great guide in Rome. She got us into places that others weren’t allowed, she knew the inside stories on everything and was also lots of fun. By the end of our stay, she was our new best friend. Claudia made our trip special and we’ve sent several friends and family members her way since then.
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She sounds amazing! It sounds like she really helped you to make the most of your trip. How did you find her? It makes such a difference when you find a great guide doesn’t it. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!
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Sounds like Mr Why Not was a gem. I just loved Siem Reap when we were there. Our tuk tuk driver was lovely too although we didn’t use him as a guide just to get from one place to the next, usually a temple. It always amazed me how he found us the moment we came out of the temples. He would just appear. It is also a great place to just relax.
Funny I had to check the meaning of lucked out. In Australia our meaning is the opposite of yours (in the UK) and the Australian version is the same meaning as the American definition. Apparently. It was new to me.
Louise
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Hahaha, oh dear, I didn’t know that!! You learn something new everyday 🙂 How interesting, it means that a lot of people will be reading that sentence in a negative way!!
Oh yes, My Why Not would do that too! We’d come out and wonder where he was and then would appear out of nowhere. I do enjoy going to Siem Reap, it’s changed so much since I first visited and over the years, but it’s an interesting place to visit for sure!
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Yes I love would love to go back too.
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