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Angkor Road - Personal Photo Adventure Tours & Workshops
 Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat - photography by George Mann, Nikon D300, Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8

Photo Adventure Tours: Temples of Angkor & Tonle Sap Lake

For small groups ranging from 1 to 5 participants.
We specialize in personal photo tours and on location workshops in South East Asia. You 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 personal photo 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 a Personal Photo Tour please provide the following information.

1. For how many days would you like to hire our services?

2. On what date would you like to start your personal photo tour?

3. How many people are in your party and which hotel are you staying at?

4. Do you have a trip itinerary in mind or would you like us to suggest one?

Please email
George Mann for more information - george@dpmac.com

Personal Photo Adventure Tour Options:
All Personal Photo Adventure Tours include an SUV or Van and driver, for sunrise to sunset transportation & photography. 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
#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.
#05 Tonle Sap - fishing villages
Kampong Khleang > Kampong Phluk
Floating villages and houses on stilts
. We hire a private boat for the lake.
#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.

#07 Anlong Veng, Preah Vihaer & Koh Ker - 2 days / 1 night
Preah Vihaer > Anlong Veng > Koh Ker
Anlong Veng was the last stronghold of the Khmer Rouge and burial site of Pol Pot, 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 on to Koh Ker for sunrise.


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. Remote locations may require an additional charge to cover the cost of fuel and alternate modes of transportation.

Personal Adventure Photo Tour costs: 
Tour cost does not include: hotel costs, meals, or any other 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, Steung Siem Reap

Great Hotel deals in Siem Reap - up to 70% off on normal rates.

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.

Personal Photo Tour cost: $250 per person / per day (minimum 2 persons)

1 Day Tour cost: (one or two persons)  - US$ 500
2 Day Tour cost: (one or two persons)  - US$ 1,000
3 Day Tour cost: (one or two persons)  - US$ 1,500

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.

Personal 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.

PhotoTour Deposit
US$500


Personal Photo Adventure Tour FAQs: 
Bayon faces - Angkor Thom
Bayon Temple, Angkor Thom - photography by George Mann, Nikon D300, Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8

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.

george mannPhoto Tour Leader - George Mann will be accompanying you on all personal 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 and an - 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.

Personal Photo Tours in other locations: 
Suvarnabhumi departure
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand - main aviation hub for traveling in South East Asia. Photo - George Mann

We are also available for personal photo tours and workshops in other parts of South East Asia. Personal photo tour and workshop costs are approximately the same as in Cambodia.

Our Personal Photo Tour & Workshop Philosophy:
KomPong Kleang
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 personal 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.

Thailand dancers
Dancers at a dragon boat race in Chonburi Province, Thailand. Photo - George Mann

Location Scouting & Base Photo Assignment Fee
- US$ 500. per day (plus travel expenses), anywhere in Asia, images and reports can be transmitted to the client at the end of each day. This service is available for film and video production companies, and corporate clients for annual reports, real estate ventures, aquisitions, mergers, golf tournaments, etc. email: george@dpmac.com

Angkor Road - Photo Tours



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