Is there anybody else in this forum that is going to Cambodia and Laos on 5th February this year, and is as upset around the many changes that just you have made as I am. I've been in contact with just you twice now trying to seek clarity and  expressing my concerns that the final documents are incorrect so it is difficult to see what is being removed and what I am getting. In the last communication they promised they would get back to me last Friday (25/01/19) but have not bothered, has anybody had a similar issue or had a response they would like to share.

One of my many disappointments, is that even though we are now spending 5 days instead of 3 in Siem Reap they have decided to remove the sunrise over Ankor Wat, the gondola ride and the viewing of the sunset - A highlight of my holiday. I also had the opportunity to see dolphins and turtles which has also been removed. However in replacement they have given me the opportunity to cook my own lunch and see a circus, neither of which I wanted to do and both of which I can do in my day to day life.

Have you read through the itinery and managed to understand what you are actually getting for your holiday and are you able to explain it to me as Just you are clearly unable to.

We apologise for a lack of clarity regarding these excursions. I can confirm that seeing the sunrise over Angkor Wat, the gondola ride and the sunset viewing, will ALL take place. None have been removed from the itinerary.

Unfortunately, due to health and safety issues, we have had to make some changes to the itinerary, which means that we are not able to see the dolphins. This is disappointing for us, but the safety of our customers is paramount. We are confident that you will have an amazing time with the itinerary we have planned.

Our customer services team will give you a call today to make sure you have all the information you need.

Many thanks,

Vickie

Our holiday advisers have also told me that your itinerary will include a visit to Phare, the Cambodian Circus. More than just a circus, Phare performers use theater, music, dance and modern circus arts to tell uniquely Cambodian stories.

Phare artists are students and graduates from Phare Ponleu Selpak’s, vocational training center in Battambang. The association was formed in 1994 by 9 young men coming home from a refugee camp after the Khmer Rouge regime. So, whilst on tour you will see some of the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge, you will also see how Cambodia has been growing and developing since.

Many thanks,

Vickie

I did this trip last November and I can assure you that Phare is no ordinary circus.  We had to pay extra to do this and it was worth every rial - in fact we said it should be included.

I am sorry you are disappointed with the itinerary.  Ours was changed as well but it was a magical holiday - one of my best.

I hope you had a great trip in spite of the changes.

regards

https://forum.justyou.co.uk/thread-87549.html 

Before we went there were changes to the published itinerary but looking at the current tour details on the JY site these seem to be for the itinerary before our changes!! All a bit confusing!

https://pharecircus.org/ 

The sunrise at Angkor Wat was included & Vickie has confirmed you will be doing this. I'm not sure which sunset you are referring to but if it is at Angkor Wat then the sun rises behind the temple so you across the moat ant the temple is largely in silhouette  If you are looking to see the sunset at Angkor Wat then if you go to the same spot as you were at for sunrise the sun is behind you & you get nice light on the front of the temple. The sunset was not included in our visit but several of us stayed on and made our own way back. You are viewing the temple very close to a coach park and there are any number of tuk tuk drivers who will take you back to the hotel.

No idea what the gondala bit is about - not on our trip!

Anything more specific then there are a couple of forum users who did the trip with me so I am sure one or other of us can help.

Ian

Someone else may have already posted before me but just wanted to say I did this trip in November and we too had all the changes, (There is an extremely long forum chain regarding this) I was disappointed at missing the chance to see the dolphins and turtles but even though the changes the trip on a whole was amazing. Sunrise at Angkor Wat was unbelievable to see. Cambodia has some amazing places to see and hopefully like us you won't be disappointed. We were unsure about the Circus but it surpassed expectations, a thoroughly enjoyable night. Laos was the hidden gem of this trip, we all fell in love with the place and could have quite happily stayed longer.

I really do hope you enjoy this trip as much as I did.

Paula

I'm not sure about your day to day itinerary but so far as the sunrise/sunset were concerned we drove up to Siem Reap on 10 November. A leisurely day watching the countryside roll past.

You need a photo pass to enter the temples & we stopped en-route to the hotel to do this. They take your pic & the cost is covered in the cost of the trip.

Next morning, 11t November, it was awake at 4.15am for a 5.00am departure for the sunrise. Well worth it. Times might vary depending on the time of the sunrise.

Then back to the hotel for breakfast.

Then we headed out again firstly to Angkor Thom & then on to Ta Prohm.

A break for lunch & then to Angkor Wat. The group split up a bit after the main tour here with some going back to the hotel using the coach & the rest doing the sunset and making our own way back using tuk tuks.

The temple passes are valid for 3 days so you need to do all temples within that time scale.

They might change things on a day to day basis but that was how it was for us.

Best, Ian

However I thank you all for your reassurances and am looking forward to the holiday experiences a little more, but would be a lot happier if I knew when I would be doing them.

My current itinerary says that I have a 2 day flight home - just you assure me that isn't the case but I have no paper work to say different. Just You assure me that I will see sunrise, sunset and get a gondola ride but then I have no paperwork to say that I am, so I am sure you can understand my frustrations.

I'm sorry to say just you are more like just poo and I regret booking with them.

I’m on this departure. I have already given vent to my feelings in another post. Like you, I’m bitterly disappointed at the changes. I asked to cancel, but was told as it amounts to less than fifty percent of the itinerary no refund would be given. I’ve already been to Siem Reap, so, for  me this tour would have been to see more of rural Cambodia.  Not happy either with such a long road journey between Phnom Pengh and Siem Reap.  What’s left of the tour had better be good, but after recent events, I’m not holding my breath.

Hi Sarah, I have never been so disappointed with a tour company, I told them of their errors last Thursday and was promised a new itinerary but nothing forthcoming.

I look forward to meeting you on Tuesday.

Hi kdgay

I did this trip last November and I can assure you that Phare is no ordinary circus.  We had to pay extra to do this and it was worth every rial - in fact we said it should be included.

I am sorry you are disappointed with the itinerary.  Ours was changed as well but it was a magical holiday - one of my best.

I hope you had a great trip in spite of the changes.

regards

Thank you Jonah for your reassuring response

Hi Kdgay,

https://forum.justyou.co.uk/thread-87549.html 

Before we went there were changes to the published itinerary but looking at the current tour details on the JY site these seem to be for the itinerary before our changes!! All a bit confusing!

https://pharecircus.org/ 

The sunrise at Angkor Wat was included & Vickie has confirmed you will be doing this. I'm not sure which sunset you are referring to but if it is at Angkor Wat then the sun rises behind the temple so you across the moat ant the temple is largely in silhouette  If you are looking to see the sunset at Angkor Wat then if you go to the same spot as you were at for sunrise the sun is behind you & you get nice light on the front of the temple. The sunset was not included in our visit but several of us stayed on and made our own way back. You are viewing the temple very close to a coach park and there are any number of tuk tuk drivers who will take you back to the hotel.

No idea what the gondala bit is about - not on our trip!

Anything more specific then there are a couple of forum users who did the trip with me so I am sure one or other of us can help.

Ian

Hi Ian - thank you so much for your comprehensive reply. I would hope our changes were not the same as yours as we only found out after xmas that these changes had been made, and maybe just you could have told us as early as October! but ha ho. Thank you for the links and the advice on the sunset at Ankor Wat, if nothing else that's something I can do myself to make my holiday more memorable. Thanks again for you kind reassurance.

Hi Kdgay

Phare is misnamed as a 'circus'

I hate circus and  I almost didn't go, in fact a lot of us asked if animals were involved before we agreed to go when told there were no animals.

And it was well worth going to see, those young people tell the story of Cambodia through dance, acrobatics, acting and art (painting). It's amazing. It's breathtaking and poignant, it's theatre not circus. You'll be glad you went!

Rose

Thank you Rose for painting such a lovely picture of the 'circus' from the replies I have had on this I will not give it a miss as I first thought.

Hi

Someone else may have already posted before me but just wanted to say I did this trip in November and we too had all the changes, (There is an extremely long forum chain regarding this)  I was disappointed at missing the chance to see the dolphins and turtles but even though the changes the trip on a whole was amazing. Sunrise at Angkor Wat was unbelievable to see. Cambodia has some amazing places to see and hopefully like us you won't be disappointed. We were unsure about the Circus but it surpassed expectations, a thoroughly enjoyable night. Laos was the hidden gem of this trip, we all fell in love with the place and could have quite happily stayed longer.

I really do hope you enjoy this trip as much as I did.

Paula

Thank you Paula for a reassuring response, I hope our holiday is as good as the one you all had.

Hi Kdgay,

https://forum.justyou.co.uk/thread-87549.html 

Before we went there were changes to the published itinerary but looking at the current tour details on the JY site these seem to be for the itinerary before our changes!! All a bit confusing!

https://pharecircus.org/ 

The sunrise at Angkor Wat was included & Vickie has confirmed you will be doing this. I'm not sure which sunset you are referring to but if it is at Angkor Wat then the sun rises behind the temple so you across the moat ant the temple is largely in silhouette  If you are looking to see the sunset at Angkor Wat then if you go to the same spot as you were at for sunrise the sun is behind you & you get nice light on the front of the temple. The sunset was not included in our visit but several of us stayed on and made our own way back. You are viewing the temple very close to a coach park and there are any number of tuk tuk drivers who will take you back to the hotel.

No idea what the gondala bit is about - not on our trip!

Anything more specific then there are a couple of forum users who did the trip with me so I am sure one or other of us can help.

Ian

Hi Ian - thank you so much for your comprehensive reply. I would hope our changes were not the same as yours as we only found out after xmas that these changes had been made, and maybe just you could have told us as early as October! but ha ho. Thank you for the links and the advice on the sunset at Ankor Wat, if nothing else that's something I can do myself to make my holiday more memorable. Thanks again for you kind reassurance.

Hi Kdgay,

We were the guinea pigs for the new itinerary & I am sure you will have a great time. The website seems to have kicked back to the originally advertised itinerary - I was at the Destinations Travel Show in London yesterday & took this up with Vickie who said there seemed to be a glitch in the system & that the IT people were actively looking into this.

If you decided to do Angkor Wat under your own steam your tuk tuk driver will be happy to wait for you for the return journey.

Ian

My confidence in JY getting through this tour in a professional manner is now at rock bottom. To be told the itinerary has been “improved” is beside the point. This is not the tour I booked.  It would be something if all the changes had been accompanied by an apology and a proper explanation.

Sorry to hear that the phone call did not reassure you. We wanted to give all passengers a call just to make sure they were completely clear on the itinerary and they felt reassured before the trip.

As we have explained, these changes have been made due to health and safety issues at the hotel. However, we are looking into why the incorrect itinerary was sent to customers, and we would like to apologise for any confusion caused before the trip.

We hope you enjoy the trip and look forward to your feedback.

Many thanks,

Vickie