Meet Borith, the Siem Reaper Tour Leader and His Journey

Meet Borith – otherwise known as Bo – one of Siem Reaper’s tour guides and a cycling enthusiast. Originally from Battambang Province, Borith started his career as a tour guide in 2014 – whilst at university studying Korean.

Since then, Borith has continued developing his skills as a guide, where he has spent time in Kampot and is currently based in Siem Reap. With his wealth of experience and passion, Borith joined Siem Reaper tour guide since 2017, set up to share the wonders of his beautiful country and connect people from all over the world. As a result of Borith’s interest in languages, he wanted to be an English teacher, to provide necessary skills and support to the youth in his community. However, during his time at university, he discovered that being a tour guide is an alternative way to encourage the exchange of information. In his own words, “Guiding lets you be a teacher and a student. As guides, we are able to teach people about our local ways, but it also allows us to be students and learn from people”. Thus, guiding offers the opportunity to meet new people from all corners of the world and provides a platform for cultural exchange. Additionally, an important aspect of guiding for Borith is the way it can support and sustain communities.

Siem Reap is a tourist hotspot in Cambodia thus; there are more opportunities and room for personal development. Borith moved to Siem Reap in order to pursue his career and expand his knowledge of the tourist industry. As of 2017, Siem Reaper was born, to bring to light their vision of bridging the gap between travellers and locals. Whilst there are numerous tour companies in the area, Siem Reaper stands out due to its ethos of benefiting the local way of life through educational tours that connect people. To no surprise, bike tours are Borith’s favourite – not only because he loves cycling but it gives freedom to explore an area the way he wants to.

Since he was 5 years old, Borith has been riding a bike in order to attend school and continue on to university. Cycling is important to him, mainly because it motivates him to keep pushing forward, but it has additional benefits such as keeping healthy and has less impact on the environment. Whether it is long-distance, cross-country or single dirt track, you will always find Borith on a bike. To him, “Cycling is my meditation”. As a result of this passion, Borith has started to compete in the Cambodia MTB series by Flyingbikes 2.

He recently completed the 3rd MTB round in Phnom Cheal (outskirts of Phnom Penh), where he achieved 2nd place in the C category. Congratulations Borith! Joining the race provides the opportunity to join other enthusiasts and learn from the best. Borith hopes to continue racing, as his aim is to increase the sport’s recognition in order to inspire more people in Cambodia to use bikes – due to the health and environmental benefits.

Borith’s love for cycling and desire to share stories of his country make him an outstanding tour guide. If you have a similar bike passion or want to discover Siem Reap in a fun and engaging way, be sure to check out Siem Reaper!