Ley Donh

He is the driver whose service we have engaged for our whole trip in Siem Reap.

Our trip was 2D2N, departing on 30 June 2006.
I went with Lina and auntie Rose.

Ley can be contacted at +855 1253 ???
I would have to mask his number to protect his privacy :)
I can give you his number separately if you wish to charter him or to develop further relationship with him.

He charges US$25 for whole day taxi charter including overtime.
His half day charge is US$15.
Venturing out to the suburbs would be US$50.
Very worth it if you are travelling in a group of 3 or more...

His service includes bringing you to the correct agencies for purchasing temple passes, boat passes, recommending good local restaurants, providing umbrellas, searching for plastic bags to protect your footwear when walking in 5-inch-thick mud and of course, going all out to find your 'favourite' pizza.

He drives a Toyota Camry.
A commonsight in Siem Reap. Everybody seems to be driving a Camry. Driver's seat is on the left which led him to conclude that his Camry is made in California. Interestingly, the car is equipped with automated seat belts! The moment one takes a seat, the seat belt will move and tighten the belt automatically! The kind you find in Nissan sports car sort! But this one is a Camry. This must have added as confirmation to Ley that his car is definitely from California. Lina complained she always got strangled by the seat belt.

Such an easygoing and carefree chap he is. Let me give some excerpts from our conversation with him as I recollect from my memory...

When asked how old he is, he said:
Oh, I am 29 years old.

Us : Wow, then you are the same age as us
Ley: Yes, yes... I am born in 1979
Us : Huh!?? Then you are not 29! You are 27
Ley: Oh? Okay okay... Because I am born in 1979

Ley brought us to Foodstall No 22 in the Angkor area.
We ate our lunch while he took a rest in the one of the many hammocks provided at the rear of the restaurant.



Later, he also went back to this No 22 to borrow umbrella.

A young attractive lady always attended to him.

Us : Ley, that girl your friend?
Ley: Yes, my friend
Us : Or is it your wife?
(He burst out laughing)
Ley: No...! I not yet married.
That lady is my friend's wife.
Us : Ooooo........
So Ley... do you have girlfriend?
Ley: Now no... But last time I have! 2 girlfriends.
Us : Wow! You mean one at a time or 2 together?
Ley: 2 together. I was in the university then
Last time Siem Reap no university, so I study in Pnom Penh
(Wow, we have a graduate taxi driver!)
Us : So what did you study in university?
Ley: Political Science
(Impressive!)
Us : and they teach you English too?
Ley: Yes, we also study English
Us : So that time you have girlfriend at home and at University?
Ley: Yes, 1 in Siem Reap, 1 in Pnom Penh.
Lifetime experience for me you know
(said Ley with a big wide smile)
But I think I will get married in 2 or 3 years time.
Us : Huh?? How? You don't even have a girlfriend yet.
How do you know you will be married in 2 to 3 years?
(Ley laughed again)
Ley: No, my parent will arrange. It is usually like this here.

Later we discovered that his parents got divorced when he was 7 years old.
He lived with his mother and has a 9 year old sister.
We suspect, the mother married another man after the divorce.
He even showed us his family photograph.
He seems to be quite well off. He said his house has 4 bedrooms.

The whole trip, we were very eager to eat Happy Pizza.
The pizza is apparently laced with M leaves that will make you feeling very happy upon consumption.
We reminded Ley again and again to bring us to eat the Pizza.
We were not lucky though.
The restaurant has since closed down :(

I think Ley could obviously see our disappointment.
He said he could get M leaves easily from the market.
For US$8, I can get this much (signalling to us a handful sign).

Ley: I don't really like to eat Happy Pizza
Us : Why?
Ley: Because after that I cannot do anything.
I just sleep the whole day. It is too strong!
(Gee, sounds scary!)
Ley: So I usually cook soup
Us : Huh? What soup? Happy soup with the M leaves?
Ley: Yes (He laughed again) More healthy like that.
Us : So is it with meat or what?
Ley: Yes, sometime I put beef, sometime I put chicken.
Then I add onion, carrot...
Us : Oh, so your mother cook the soup for you?
Ley: Yes, my mother cook soup. But her soup is not the happy one.
Only when I cook myself then I will cook Happy Soup
(We couldn't answer anymore because we were rolling on the floor laughing at what he just said)
Us : Ley, the tour guides here all have license?
Ley: Yes, they all have
Us : They study tourism?
Ley: Yes, they will study in university. Then they get the licence. Every year they must renew

On Day 2, he told us...

Ley: I asked my friends already. To help to look for Happy Pizza
(Obviously we were thrilled and touched by his helpfulness)
Us : Really???
Ley: Yes, I already have the leaves in my car.
Us : What? Show us show us!!
So you will ask your friends to make the pizza?
Please remind your friend, a little happy will do.
Normal happy. Not SUPER happy, okay?
(He laughed again)






When we were having coffee at La Grand Cafe at the French Quarters,
Ley arrived with another car full of his gangster looking friends!
We were quite scared at this point. He is taking it so seriously?
From the 2nd floor of the cafe, we could spy on their whereabout easily.

4 of them walked to don't know where.
Half an hour later they were back.
Lina said they bought carrot, onion and cucumber!!!

They are gonna cook Happy Soup???!??!
What if they spike the Soup?
What if they put a lot a lot of M leaves?
Have we played the game too far?
I kept reminding Lina to check the balance of M Leaves in the car so that we know how much they have added into the soup.

In the end, we worried and suspected for nothing.
We discovered later that they were just going to cook themselves some dinner that night without any M leaves.
Ley and a few other friends who are also taxi drivers shared and rented a room in the city. The room serves as their resting and shower place when they are working. Of course, they will also sleep there if they party the night away and become too drunk to be presentable for their mothers at home.

Ley is always punctual.
He is either too early or he will be on the DOT.
So we found it quite strange that on the morning of Day 3, he was not at his usual spot waiting for us. Instead it was 1 of his gangster looking friends who was there waiting!

A nice guy he turned out to be.

He said, they drank beer the night before and Ley couldn't wake up.
Ley made this friend (his name is SKY - the best looking gangster friend) promised that he will pick us up at the hotel to send us to the airport.
Sky kept his promise promptly, like any true blue gangster would... :)

...the one who is waiting for the clock to strike 5.30pm