People in the know, who love the place they call home, and passionate about supporting micro businesses and want to give back to the community.
Dara’s early childhood experiences involved lots of road travels between his native Siem Reap and adopted homes in different districts and villages in Battambang Province thanks to his parents’ business locations. He remembers the traveling experiences in big military trucks or on his fathers’ motorcycle that took multiple nights of stay sometimes just between the two neighboring provinces because of the road conditions and military barricades along the roads. The vivid images of scenery, activities, faces, smiles, or sorrow that he encountered on the road trips as a child never cease to amaze him and give him a lot of questions and curiosity.
Compared to many other young Cambodians, Dara is fortunate to start and continue his career in travel, transport, hospitality, tourism, events & now in cultural and creative industries for over 20 years.
First because at the age of 17, he has met many people from all over the world allowing him to appreciate all cultures and people coming from different walks of life while working at Siem Reap International Airport. Second, with his airline career, he has seen the outside world at an early age which opened up his world views and his dreams for Cambodia. Third, with the world-renowned GUINNESS World Record setter, Phare Circus, he has been traveling around the world with Cambodian artists frequently and speaking about his experiences in travel, social entrepreneurship, and the creative industry.
He knows the beauty of his own country and of others. He knows what little things Cambodia can learn from others to adopt and showcase Cambodia as a full, sustainable, and dream travel destination for everyone of all kinds of travel interests and budgets. He understands what makes travelers cherish local experiences when they venture out of their daily environments.
Dara seeks his own calmness and peace. He helps others also find their souls, their raison d’etre, who they are, and what they are meant to be, and do through their travels to the spiritual, sacred, respectful, and relaxing places and local experiences in Cambodia.
Geok Ling’s love for travel and Penang was planted very early on. Her father was one of the island’s Japanese-speaking tour guides who sat on the Committee of the Penang Tourist Guides’ Assocation. Often, he would bring his customers home for “kopi” and she’d sit and listen to their conversations. Sometimes, she’d accompany him on his tours. At the age of sixteen, she travelled by air for the first time when she was selected for a Youth Exchange Programme orgainsed by a Lion’s Club. She spent two weeks living with a Thai family in Phuket, which was very different in the 70’s from what it is today. That early love would bring her home to Penang when she became the Managing Director of a newly set-up Penang Global Tourism and between 2009 and 2014, she had the opportunity to showcase the island as a destination for all kinds of travellers. But at heart, she remained an “indie” spirit. She loved to discover hidden gems on her island and share them with friends. She loved the stories behind how these gems were created – the founder’s love, their passion and their purpose. As the Penang curator of My Indie World, Geok Ling brings her love for her hometown, her knowledge of the island’s secrets, and her deep, rooted connections with local communities to her list of handpicked experiences.
Most of all, it brings her back to her father’s love.
