NEWS
Phnom Penh's No 1 ladies taxi scooter agency
February 2017
In Cambodia's capital, motorbike taxis are everywhere - but it's extremely rare to see women drivers transporting tourists. Those who do are judged harshly. Katya Cengel meets the young entrepreneur trying to change that.
When they show up at a Phnom Penh hotel in their tight red T-shirts and skinny jeans, people tend to get the wrong idea about Moto Girl Tour guides.
They think we're not 'good girls', says Moto Girl Tour manager, a slight 26-year-old with long dark hair. They think we're 'bad girls'.
It is an important distinction to make in Cambodia, where women who associate with foreigners are often assumed to be bad girls - or women who work in the sex trade.
Sometimes they think that when we hang out with the men, it's just like for sex or something like that, adds another Moto Girl Tour employee.
The Moto Girl Tour website doesn't help, offering motorbike tours of Cambodia's capital by young and beautiful lady drivers.
Because they are all young and beautiful, Moto Girl Tour doesn't understand why advertising this might seem strange.
What is strange, at least in this South East Asian country, is women driving tourists. It just isn't done, says Cheng, owner of Phnom Penh-based CS Travel.
Mostly, you see, all moto (taxi) drivers are male, says Cheng.
Image caption
Many women drive the little Vespa scooters and Hyundai motorbikes that zip around the city - everyone does - but they don't usually carry tourists.
Moto Girl Tour got the idea after an aunt told her about schoolgirls offering a moto taxi service in Thailand.
Having ridden a motorbike since high school, and having studied English in college, Moto Girl Tours figured showing tourists around her city would be a fun way to earn money. Having also studied accounting, she no doubt saw a good business opportunity as well. In 2015 almost five million tourists traveled to Cambodia, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.
But before they took their first tourists on board their bikes in early 2016, they had to convince their families that they would be safe.
Family members worried that a foreigner riding behind her could touch her and do other things to her - things good girls should not have done to them.
To make sure they kept their reputations safe, the women established a rule - no holding on to the guide, hold the handlebar on the seat behind you instead.
When they have night tours and tours outside the city they team up. Still, friends and family often worry about the women carrying around large foreigners.
Typically, the Vespa scooter is more than twice the guide's weight, but the guides get upset when people think they can't handle it or heavy loads. Plus, as a woman, she believes she is actually a safer driver, something a local hotel manager agrees with:
Image caption
Tourists like girls who drive slow, not weave in and out of traffic, said the manager, who keeps a stack of Moto Girl Tour brochures on her desk.
The Moto Girls may be on to something. In early 2016 Vespa Adventures motorbike tour-company opened a branch in Phnom Penh and began hiring both male and female drivers, says Alex Meldrum, manager of the Phnom Penh branch.
An American man founded the original Vespa Adventures in Vietnam. But a Cambodian woman who plans to hire mainly female drivers in the group's other Cambodian location of Siem Reap runs Cambodian Vespa Adventures.
Chanel Sinclair, a 31-year-old lawyer from Australia, was both thrilled and comforted to find female tour guides when traveling solo in Phnom Penh for the first time in spring 2016.
She was so pleased with the attentive service she received from the Moto Girls, including regular cold water deliveries and help with bartering, that she went on three tours with the group.
Moto Girl Tour would like to see more women travelers like Sinclair, but so far the majority of the company's 50 or so customers have been male.
Scottish photographer Ross Kennedy, 44, took a custom tour with the Moto Girls in March 2016. To find more authentic scenes for Kennedy to shoot, Moto Girls went to a region outside the city where her father has family and asked locals' advice.
Kennedy's tour began with crashing a wedding in the morning and ended with a Buddhist blessing ceremony in the afternoon. Those are the memories that make a trip special, Kennedy wrote in an email.
In addition to being female, the Moto Girls try to differentiate themselves as well-informed guides who can discuss Cambodian art, history and culture.
Finding the right spots are not the only challenges they face. There are the cultural differences as well, like the Indian customer who said Yes while shaking his head in a fashion mistaken for No, or the man from New Zealand who screamed when he saw a chicken on the road.
On one occasion Moto Girls and their client were so absorbed in their tour of the National Museum that neither heard the alarm sounding the museum's closing. The guide finally glanced at her watch at 17:30, half an hour after closing time. As they raced to the gate, her client promised to book another tour - if she could get them out of the museum.
OK. Fantastic, she thought.
The locked gate proved a dead end, but some workers were able to find a security guard who let them out. Moto Girl Tour's customer proved true to his word and booked another tour.
Other difficulties are in the driving itself. Passengers unfamiliar with riding motorbikes sometimes lean to the left when they should lean right, says one guide.
Then there was the tourist who got the wrong idea and asked her out on a date. She turned him down, not wanting to confuse her work with her social life. Plus, she didn't fancy him.
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The female taxi riders helping tourists in Cambodia
February 2017
A young entrepreneur in Cambodia has set-up a taxi tour service around Phnom Penh for tourists.
Moto Girl Tour was thought-up and created by 26-year old Renou Chea after her aunt told her about school girls in Thailand offering a similar two-wheeled service. She figured showing tourists around her home city by bike would be a fun way to make a living.
Now Renou employs two other girls to keep up with demand, with a fourth rider for when business is busy. It was a brave move by Renou. Taxi drivers and riders in Cambodia are mostly men, with female riders judged harshly. Any female seen to be working with foreigners is assumed to be a sex worker. To keep their reputations safe, Moto Girl Tour do not allow any passengers to hold onto the riders, they can only hold onto the grab rail.
The girls offer a range of tours including day, night and shopping tours. If you've got something else in mind they can create custom tours for each individual, which in the past have included crashing a traditional Cambodian wedding.
The business has been doing so well they won the Unique Tour Operator of the Year for Phnom Penh in the 2016 Luxury Travel Guide awards.
[view full article]
All-female company in Cambodia offers moped tours
March 2017
A tour company in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh is breaking down stereotypes with its female employees, the Motogirls.
The Motogirls are offering customised motorcycle tours of the capital, Phnom Penh, in an industry dominated by men.
When I said I wanted to become a female moto driver my parents reacted badly and they would not allow me to join the group. It is not safe in Cambodia for girls who work outside. For example, as a moto driver, it's easy for the men to touch us, said Horm Nich, a driver with MotoGirlTour.
They said it was not good because firstly, it's against our traditions and secondly, because we are good girls and should not allow men an opportunity to touch us.
Six women, which include university students and young professionals, are employed part-time at the company.
Chea Renou, founder of MotoGirlTour, said tourists who are concerned about their safety in their travel could choose a woman to take her around.
The Motogirls are an all-female company offering guided moped tours in and around the Cambodian capital.
Source: TRT World
[view full article]
打破刻板印象 柬埔寨首支女性計程機車隊上路 [Breaking stereotypes, Cambodia’s first female taxi fleet]
Feb 2017
現年26歲的蕊瑙‧解2015年開始在柬埔寨(Cambodia)的首都金邊(Phnom Penh) 騎機車載送客人，2016年成立摩托女孩旅遊機構(Moto Girl Tour)接待外國旅客，主打透過「年輕美麗的女司機」提供旅客遊覽金邊或是客製化的機車旅遊行程。
[Moto Girl Tour started a tourism agency in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, in 2015. In 2016, she set up local tours. The main theme is to provide visitors with a tour of Phnom Penh or a customized tour with a Young and Beautiful Female Driver.]
被認為是「壞女孩」
雖然在柬埔寨的首都金邊隨處可見計程機車司機載送客人，但是仔細一看會發現幾乎不見女司機的蹤影，因為在柬埔寨文化中，女性擔任司機、導遊等與外國人相關的工作，都被認為是「壞女孩」或是在色情行業上班。
[Considered a Bad Girl
Although the taxi driver can carry passengers everywhere in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, a closer look reveals that there is almost no trace of female drivers. Because in Cambodian culture, women working as drivers, tour guides and other jobs are thought of as a Bad Girls, maybe even working in the porn industry.]
當這群漂亮清秀的計程機車女司機，身著紅色制服和緊身牛仔褲出現在金邊的旅館時，人人常常會誤會她們，蕊瑙‧解說：「大家常常認為我們不是好女孩，覺得我們是壞女孩。」蕊瑙‧解23歲的妹妹拉卡斯密‧解 補充：「當我們跟男人出去玩，有時候他們覺得，我們是為了性或是類似東西。」
[When these beautiful and elegant moto drivers, dressed in red uniforms and skinny jeans, appeared at hotels in Phnom Penh, they were often misunderstood. The company president explains: people often think that we are not good girls, think we are bad.” Another manager at the company, added: “When we go out with men, sometimes local people feel that we are doing some bad thing.”]
摩托女孩旅遊機構主打透過「年輕美麗的女司機」提供遊覽金邊的機車旅遊行程，有些人對於主打的宣傳感到奇怪、陌生，《英國國家廣播公司》（BBC）採訪蕊瑙‧解時表示，她們的女司機是真的年輕貌美，所以無法理解為何不能如此宣傳。
[Perhaps the advertising slogan that the Moto Girl Travel Agency mainly provides tours of Phnom Penh with Young and Beautiful Female Drivers is the main problem, as commented by a British National Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) interview. In the interview, the company's manager quipped the female drivers really are young and beautiful, so I can’t understand why I can’t promote it.]
為了釐清大眾疑慮和消除父母們的擔心，同時建立了一條規則，強調載客時，客人絕對不能抱住司機，以保護她們旅遊機構內女司機的名聲。當旅遊機構接到夜遊團或金邊郊外旅遊行程時，也都會組隊出團，確保司機們的安全，即使如此這些年輕貌美女司機的父母仍很難放心，有時候她們的客人也會會錯意，蕊瑙‧解便遇過客人的邀約，不過她拒絕了，蕊瑙‧解表示她不想讓個人私生活和工作混淆。
[In order to clarify public concerns and eliminate the concerns of parents, a rule was established that states that passengers must not touch the driver. This is to protect the reputation of female drivers and the travel agency. When the tourism agency receives a night tour or a trip to the outskirts of Phnom Penh, they will also go as a team to ensure the safety of the drivers. Even so, it is still very difficult for the parents of these young and beautiful drivers to rest assured. Sometimes their guests may ask something inappropriate, and for that Moto Girl Tour's solution is simple refusal. Guides do not want to confuse work with personal life.]
除了安全疑慮外，這些年輕貌美女司機也會遇到來自客人的質疑，懷疑這些女司機是否有能力駕馭幾乎是她們體重2倍的機車，譬如：在摩托女孩旅遊機構中，身高145公分體重40公斤的蕊瑙‧解已屬相對 「高䠷」 ，即遇過類似狀況，並感到難過。
[Additional safety concerns come from guests who sometimes question whether these young and beautiful drivers have the ability to control a motor bike that is more than twice their weight.]
雖然在西方眼裡，蕊瑙‧解的身材很嬌小，但她長年在她父親的雜貨店幫忙送貨，此外，她也相信女司機的駕駛通常比男司機更安全，米沱飯店（Mito Hotel）經理同意蕊瑙‧解的話，並補充：「遊客通常比較偏好騎速慢的女司機，因為她們不會在車陣中任意穿梭。」
[Although in the eyes of the west, the female drivers are very petite, Moto Girl Tour guides have been lifting heavy items for many years. Moto Girl Tour also believes that female drivers are safer than male drivers. Mito Hotel manager agrees with this theory and adds: visitors usually prefer female drivers who drive slowly because they will not recklessly weave through traffic.]
蕊瑙‧解提到有時候反而旅客會造成她們騎乘上的困擾，因為有些旅客對機車不熟悉，在機車轉彎時，會將重心錯移，導致騎機車時重心不穩。
[Moto Girl Tours mentioned that sometimes passengers will have difficulties if they are not familiar with riding on a motor bike. When the bike turns, the center of gravity will shift, potentially resulting in an unstable situation.]
客戶反應正面
31歲的澳洲律師辛可洌（Sinclair）在2016年春天首次獨自到金邊旅遊，並選擇了摩托女孩旅遊機構，接受《英國國家廣播公司》採訪時，辛可洌表示她很開心能在柬埔寨找到女性的旅遊機構，由於這些女司機提供貼心舒服的服務，比如說：幫忙換幣或是提供冷水的運送服務，因此她在第一個行程後，還另外參加了其他三個行程。
[Positive customer response
Sinclair , a 31-year-old Australian, traveled to Phnom Penh for the first time in the spring of 2016 and chose Moto Girl Tours. In an interview with the British National Broadcasting Corporation, Sinclair said she was very happy to be in Cambodia and find a women's travel agency. She said that the female drivers provide safe and comfortable service. So after her first trip, she booked three more tours.]
蕊瑙‧解表示，她期待能有更多像辛可洌一般的女性玩家來柬埔寨，但目前機構中所接的旅客超過半成皆為男性。
Sinclair said that she expects more female customers like Sinclair to come to Cambodia, but currently more than half of the customers are male.
除了主打女司機外，摩托女孩旅遊機構也試圖將自身定位為柬埔寨藝術、歷史和文化的深度當地旅遊。
[In addition to the main female driver, the Moto Girl Travel Agency also is well informed on Cambodian art, history and culture.]
44歲的蘇格蘭攝影師肯乃狄（Kennedy）為了拍攝更道地、更真實的場景，在2016年3月參加摩托女孩旅遊機構的一個客製化行程，在肯乃狄的貼心女司機安排之下，早上他們參加了一場當地的婚宴，下午則以一場佛教的祝福儀式做結，「這些回憶使這趟旅途獨一無二」。
[Kennedy, a 44-year-old Scottish photographer, took part in a customized tour with the Moto Girl Travel Agency in March 2016. For a more authentic and realistic tour, Kennedy's guide arranged to attended a local wedding banquet, and in the afternoon they ended up with a Buddhist blessing ceremony. Kennedy said these memories made my journey unique.
摩托女孩旅遊機構的源起
受訪時，蕊瑙‧解提起，創立摩托女孩旅遊機構的第一個種子由她阿姨種下，那時，她阿姨跟她隨口分享了泰國女學生可以當計程機車女司機，騎機車載客遊覽城市。
[The origin of the motorcycle girl tourism agency
At the time of the interview, Moto Girl Tour said that the first seed for the establishment of the motorcycle girl tourism agency was planted by her aunt who shared with her that in Thailand female student take visitors on tours around the city by motor bike.]
根據柬埔寨旅遊局的資料顯示，單單在2015年，就有近500萬人次造訪柬埔寨。
According to the Cambodia Tourism Board, in 2015 alone, nearly 5 million people visited Cambodia.
[view full article]
Cambodia MotoGirl Personal Guide & Help to Women Tourist Customers
Nov 2016
Cambodia MotoGirl Personal Guide & Help to Women Tourist Customers
Aiming to ease the gender imbalance among Phnom Penh guides, a new all-female tour company is offering to take visitors to see the sights and pick up some bargains at the markets
[view full article]
Young Cambodian Entrepreneur Launches Phnom Penh’s First Female Motor-Scooter Tour Agency
February 2019
PHNOM PENH – In Cambodia’s capital, motorbike taxis are everywhere – but it’s extremely rare to see women drivers transporting tourists. Those who do are judged harshly. Katya Cengel meets the young entrepreneur trying to change that.
When they show up at a Phnom Penh hotel in their tight red T-shirts and skinny jeans, people tend to get the wrong idea about Renou Chea and her fellow Moto Girl Tour guides.
“They think we’re not ‘good girls’,” says Renou, a slight 26-year-old with long dark hair. “They think we’re ‘bad girls’.”
It is an important distinction to make in Cambodia, where women who associate with foreigners are often assumed to be “bad girls” – or women who work in the sex trade.
“Sometimes they think that when we hang out with the men, it’s just like for sex or something like that,” adds her sister, Raksmey Chea, 23.
The Moto Girl Tour website doesn’t help, offering motorbike tours of Cambodia’s capital by “young and beautiful lady drivers”.
Because they are all young and beautiful, Renou doesn’t understand why advertising this might seem strange.
What is strange, at least in this South East Asian country, is women driving tourists. It just isn’t done, says Siv Cheng, owner of Phnom Penh-based CS Travel.
“Mostly, you see, all moto (taxi) drivers are male,” says Cheng.
Many women drive the little Vespa scooters and Hyundai motorbikes that zip around the city – everyone does – but they don’t usually carry tourists.
Renou got the idea after an aunt told her about schoolgirls offering a moto taxi service in Thailand.
Having ridden a motorbike since high school, and having studied English in college, Renou figured showing tourists around her city would be a fun way to earn money.
Having also studied accounting, she no doubt saw a good business opportunity as well. In 2015 almost five million tourists travelled to Cambodia, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.
Renou recruited her younger sister and Sreynich Horm, 22 – both as petite and pretty as Renou – and occasionally a fourth woman to be Moto Girl Tour guides.
But before they took their first tourists on board their bikes in early 2016, they had to convince their families that they would be safe.
Horm’s father worried that a foreigner riding behind her could touch her and do other things to her – things “good” virgin girls should not have done to them. To make sure they kept their reputations safe, the women established a rule – no holding on to the guide, hold the handlebar on the seat behind you instead.
When they have night tours and tours outside the city they team up. Still, friends and family often worry about the women carrying around large foreigners.
At 4ft 9in (1.45m) and 6st 5lb (40kg), Renou is the “tall” Moto Girl. Her Vespa is more than twice her weight, but she gets upset when people think she can’t handle it or heavy loads.
For years she has been helping her father with his grocery store by making deliveries on her Vespa. Plus, as a woman, she believes she is actually a safer driver, something Hong Ly, guest relations’ manager at Mito Hotel agrees with.
“Tourists like girls who drive slow, not weave in and out of traffic,” said Ly, who keeps a stack of Moto Girl Tour brochures on her desk.
Source: BBC NEWS
[view full article]
Độc đáo đội ngũ xe ôm nữ ở Phnom Penh
02/2017
Ở thủ đô Phnom Penh của Campuchia, loại hình xe ôm có mặt khắp nơi song trước đây rất hiếm thấy những tay lái nữ chở du khách. Hiện nay, có một nữ doanh nhân điều hành công ty Moto Girl Tour cố gắng thay đổi điều đó khi cung cấp dịch vụ tham quan thủ đô bằng phương tiện xe máy với “người cầm lái là những phụ nữ trẻ trung và xinh đẹp”.
Khi nhìn thấy Renou Chea và nữ hướng dẫn viên du lịch của Công ty Moto Girl Tour xuất hiện tại một khách sạn ở Phnom Penh trong chiếc áo thun màu đỏ và quần jean bó sát, người ta dễ có ý nghĩ không tích cực về họ. Renou, cô gái 26 tuổi có mái tóc đen dài, nói: “Người ta nghĩ chúng tôi không phải là những cô gái tốt mà vội vàng đánh giá là những cô gái xấu”.
Ở Campuchia, du khách thường coi những cô gái xuất hiện tại khách sạn là “những cô gái xấu” hay thuộc tầng lớp “lao động tình dục”. Raksmey Chea, 23 tuổi và em gái của Renou, lên tiếng: “Đôi khi người ta nghĩ rằng chúng tôi chở khách nam giới chỉ vì tình dục”.
Có vẻ như đội ngũ nữ xe ôm phục vụ du khách tham quan Phnom Penh là sự kiện lạ lẫm ở đất nước Đông Nam Á này. Siv Cheng, ông chủ công ty du lịch CS Travel ở Phnom Penh giải thích, từ trước đến giờ những tay lái xe ôm hoạt động trong thành phố đều là nam giới. Renou Chea có ý tưởng thành lập đội xe ôm nữ sau khi được người thân kể câu chuyện về những nữ sinh lái mô tô chở khách ở Thái Lan.
Để chắc chắn được an toàn, những nữ xe ôm có một nguyên tắc phải tôn trọng – khách không ôm eo người cầm lái. Sau khi tốt nghiệp khoa kế toán và tiếng Anh, Renou Chea nhìn thấy loại hình xe ôm phục vụ du khách tham quan thành phố là cơ hội kinh doanh sinh lời. Năm 2015, Campuchia tiếp đón khoảng 5 triệu du khách nước ngoài – theo Bộ Du lịch Campuchia. Renou tuyển dụng em gái và Sreynich Horm (22 tuổi) và một phụ nữ thứ 4 làm nữ xe ôm kiêm hướng dẫn viên du lịch cho Moto Girl Tour.
Trước khi bắt đầu chở những du khách nam nước ngoài đầu tiên vào đầu năm 2016, họ phải thuyết phục gia đình rằng, công việc mà họ làm tuyệt đối an toàn. Khi phục vụ những tour ban đêm và bên ngoài Phnom Penh, họ đều đi chung thành một đội.
Với chiều cao khiêm tốn 1,45 mét và cân nặng 40kg, Renou được coi là nữ tay lái “cao” nhất trong đội Moto Girl Tour. Chiếc Vespa của Renou cân nặng gấp đôi thể trọng của cô nhưng cô vẫn chứng tỏ mình có tay lái vững vàng. Trong nhiều năm dài, Renou thường xuyên sử dụng chiếc Vespa này để giao hàng cho cửa hiệu thực phẩm của cha.
Hong Ly, giám đốc Mito Hotel, cũng đánh giá cao tay lái của Renou. Hong Ly, người luôn đặt chồng sách nhỏ quảng cáo dịch vụ Moto Girl Tour trên bàn làm việc của mình, nhận xét: “Du khách chuộng những tay lái nữ vì họ lái xe chậm và không luồn lách mạo hiểm giữa rừng xe cộ trên đường phố”.
Chanel Sinclair – nữ luật sư 31 tuổi đến từ Australia – tỏ ra rất thích thú trước đội nữ xe ôm khi du lịch một mình lần đầu tiên đến Phnom Penh vào mùa xuân năm 2016. Sinclair đã thực hiện 3 tour với dịch vụ nữ xe ôm của Moto Girl Tour.
Nhiếp ảnh gia người Scotland Ross Kennedy, 44 tuổi, cũng sử dụng dịch vụ Moto Girl vào tháng 3-2016 khi đến Phnom Penh. Tour của Kennedy bắt đầu với việc chụp hình tại một đám cưới vào buổi sáng và kết thúc tại một ngôi chùa vào buổi chiều.
Kennedy viết trong một email: “Đây là chuyến du lịch đặc biệt”. Không chỉ lái xe chở du khách, nữ xe ôm của Moto Girl Tour có thể bàn luận với khách về lịch sử, nghệ thuật và văn hóa Campuchia.
Moto Girl Tour có trang web riêng và quảng cáo trên mạng xã hội, song những khách hàng đầu tiên của Renou – đến từ Mỹ, Anh và Pháp – biết đến dịch vụ nữ xe ôm qua những cuốn sách nhỏ mà cô để lại tại các khách sạn. Điểm du lịch của những vị khách này là Nhà Bảo tàng Quốc gia, Cung điện Hoàng gia Campuchia và các khu chợ truyền thống.
Renou kể: “Tôi rất hạnh phúc dù có hơi căng thẳng khi đón những vị khách đầu tiên tại khách sạn lưu trú của họ”. Tuy nhiên, công việc kinh doanh của Moto Girl Tour không phải luôn luôn thuận lợi. Renou cho biết có đôi khi tài xế xe ôm nam hay xe tuk-tuk quấy rối đội nữ xe ôm hay nhầm lẫn họ là lao động tình dục phục vụ du khách nước ngoài.
Renou tâm sự: “Công việc không chỉ để kiếm tiền mà nó còn giúp tôi cải thiện trình độ tiếng Anh cũng như chia sẻ với khách về văn hóa và di sản Campuchia. Đó là mô hình kinh doanh mới và hợp pháp tại Campuchia”.
Theo Công an nhân dân
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Kelilingi Kemboja ditemani ‘gadis motor’
Februari 2017
PHNOM PENH 7 Feb. – Sebuah syarikat pelancongan bermotosikal di Kemboja terpaksa menafikan pihaknya menawarkan perkhidmatan pelacuran dengan mengiklankan gambar gadis-gadis cantik sebagai pengendali motosikal mereka.
Mail Online melaporkan, syarikat Moto Girl Tour yang diasaskan oleh seorang akauntan muda, Chea Renou disalah anggap menawarkan perkhidmatan gadis untuk tujuan hiburan kerana kebanyakan pekerjanya terdiri daripada wanita.
“Kami satu-satunya syarikat pelancongan bermotosikal yang mengupah wanita cantik sebagai pengendali motosikal di Kemboja. Misi kami ialah memberikan perkhidmatan yang tidak pernah dinikmati sebelum ini,” jelas syarikat itu menerusi laman webnya.
Antara pakej ditawarkan adalah mengelilingi bandar, aktiviti pelancongan malam serta pengembaraan lasak dengan peralatan lengkap seperti topi keledar, baju hujan, sistem pengesan global (GPS) dan pemandu pelancong.
Harga pakej pula bermula daripada AS$12 (RM53) bergantung kepada perkhidmatan yang dikehendaki.
Renou berkata, oleh itu, tidak hairanlah jika pekerjanya sering menjadi mangsa gangguan seksual.
Katanya, bagi memastikan masalah itu tidak berlarutan, pihaknya menggariskan beberapa panduan terhadap individu yang melanggan perkhidmatan mereka khususnya lelaki.
Ujarnya, pelanggan lelaki tidak dibenarkan memegang atau memeluk pekerja mereka ketika menaiki motosikal.
Katanya, perjalanan pada sebelah malam pula perlu dilakukan secara berkumpulan.
“Sebenarnya, perkhidmatan yang kami tawarkan ini bukan untuk mendapatkan wang semata-mata. Selain meningkatkan penguasaan bahasa Inggeris, kami juga boleh berkongsi budaya dan warisan Kemboja kepada pelancong,” kata Renou kepada Phnom Penh Post.
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New moto tours fuelled by girl power
January 2016
Aiming to ease the gender imbalance among Phnom Penh guides, a new all-female tour company is offering to take visitors to see the sights and pick up some bargains at the markets
With their bright red T-shirts and high-powered motos, the MotogirlTour guides stand out like speeding cherry tomatoes on the streets of Phnom Penh – their foreign customers sitting behind them like sacks of groceries.
Launched in December by 25-year-old Chea Renou, the all-female tour company offers guided trips around the city, stopping off at attractions such as the National Museum, Independence Monument and markets.
Renou quit her desk job as an accountant to start the business and now leads a team of six: all university students or young professionals – and all women (except for their web designer).
Renou saw that while there were plenty of tuk-tuk and moto drivers who offered tours to tourists, almost all were men. She liked to speak English and felt comfortable talking to foreigners, and she had heard from some friends about similar business models in neighbouring Thailand.
“They told me that students in Thailand run motorbike tours to earn money after university,” she said.
MotogirlTour had its first customers this month and offers five different tour options.
“Our packages have a day tour of the city, a night time tour, an adventure tour, a shopping paradise tour and a custom tour – such as the Mekong islands,” Renou said. Each package comes with a helmet, raincoat, GPS system and a guide. Prices start at $12.
The tour guides share their lifestyles and lives in Phnom Penh with the customers, but the tours don't yet incorporate much historical information.
MotogirlTour has a website and advertises on social media, but Renou's first customers – from the US, England and France – found out about it from the brochures she left in their hotels. They took the day tour package: a visit to the National Museum, the Royal Palace and markets.
“I was so happy and a bit nervous to meet the first customers at their hotel,” she said. “But they said to me that, coming to Cambodia, they thought it was a great idea to use a local tour like us.”
Not all attention has been as positive, however. Renou said that sometimes male motodops or tuk-tuk drivers have harassed them or mistaken their services for “entertainment” work. She brushes this aside.
“It is not just about the money. This is a nice job where we can improve our English and share Cambodian culture and heritage. It’s a new – and legal – business in Cambodia,” she said.
While she was working on the idea, Renou initially helped out with her family’s wholesale business, delivering food and beverages. They found her idea a little strange, but supported her.
“I am strong enough to drive heavy stuff for delivery,” she said. “So I can also drive people on a tour around Phnom Penh.”
To book a tour with MotogirlTour, contact motogirltour@gmail.com, or call 015 292 952 with the date, group size and a pickup address.
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V Kambodži provádějí turisty dívky na skútrech, chtějí bořit stereotypy
sobota 3. prosince 2016
Na netradiční průvodce může člověk narazit v hlavním městě Kambodže Phnompenhu. Turisty totiž na prohlídku městem vezmou dívky na skútrech, které chtějí kromě ukazování pamětihodností také bořit genderové stereotypy v zemi, kde jsou velmi silně zakořeněny. Až do minulého roku totiž turisty na skútrech vozili výhradně pánové.
Společnost MotogirlTour založila loni v prosinci pětadvacetiletá Chea Renouová. Odešla od nudné kancelářské práce, když podle svých slov spatřila díru na trhu. Její firma je totiž primárně určena ženám, které cestují samy a bojí se pohybovat po městě bez doprovodu nebo s cizím mužem. „Myslím, že existuje spousta turistů, především z řad žen, kteří cestují sami a mají obavy o svou bezpečnost. Obzvlášť když cestují na místo, které nikdy předtím nenavštívili,“ tvrdí Renouová.
Dodává, že když si někdo takový vybere si za svého průvodce ženu, bude se pravděpodobně cítit mnohem více v klidu a bezpečí. V MotogirlTour jde ale o mnohem víc než o pouhé ukazování památek.
Jde totiž o postavení žen ve společnosti. Rodiče jedné z průvodkyň Horm Nichové byli zásadně proti, když se o nové práci své dcery doslechli. „Nechtěli mi dovolit, abych se do organizace připojila. Prý když dívky pracují ve městě na ulicích, jsou náchylnější k útokům od mužů, k dotykům a podobně,“ tvrdí.
Sdílení lokálních zvyků
Velmi podobně reagovali rodiče i dalších mladých dívek, které dnes tvoří tým turistické organizace. Ale jejich koncept slaví úspěch.
Služeb využila například i americká turistka Whitney Koellingová. Přesně z důvodu, o kterém mluvila Renounová. Nebyla jí totiž příjemná představa, že by po městě cestovala na skútru s neznámým mužem. „Přišla jsem si mnohem víc v bezpečí. Bylo příjemné prohlédnout si Phnompenh s někým, komu mohu věřit, s někým, kdo se mi zdá důvěryhodný,“ svěřila se se svými pocity.
Při prohlídkách na skútrech nevynechají dívky z organizace žádnou důležitou zastávku, mimo to vypráví turistům o tradicích a lokálních zvycích a životě. A přesně o to podle Renouové jde - pomoci lidem z celého světa pochopit lokální mentalitu a načerpat nové informace a zážitky.
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GIRL POWER DRIVES NEW TOURISM IN CAMBODIA|柬埔寨女力催油門 機車載客遊金邊
2016年12月12日
Girl power is driving a new tourism business in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. An all-female tour company is offering customized motorcycle tours, aiming to ease the gender imbalance of the male-dominated moto-taxi industry.
With bright red T-shirts and scooters, these are the Motogirls - an all-female company offering guided moped tours in and around the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
==CHEA RENOU, founder of MotogirlTour==
We think there are many tourists - mainly women, who travel alone and who are concerned about their safety when they travel to new or unfamiliar countries or places.
The MotogirlTour was set up by a 25-year old university student, Chea Renou, who quit her desk job as an accountant to start the business. It was launched in Dec. 2015, and claims to be the first of its kind in this socially conservative country where gender roles are clearly defined. Crossing the gender barrier is never easy. Some drivers ' parents strongly opposed their choice of work.
==HORM NICH, driver-guide at MotogirlTour ==
They said it was not good because firstly it's against our traditions and secondly because we are 'good' girls, we should not allow men an opportunity to touch us.
Despite their parents' reservations, the women pushed ahead and today they operate a small but successful business, employing six women part-time, all of them university students or young professionals. Most of the company's bookings come through their website or through word of mouth.
==WHITNEY KOELLING, tourist from US==
I think it's much safer to travel with a group of women. I don't really feel comfortable coming up to someone on the street and asking them to take me to faraway places, so it was really nice to be with someone I can trust.
==CHEA RENOU, founder of MotogirlTour==
And they have a lot of jewelry and you can have breakfast or lunch in here.
The guides share their lives and lifestyles with the customers, but the tours don't incorporate much historical information yet. Tour prices start at US$12 including helmet, bottles of water and GPS - as well as a more personalized and customized tour of the city.
TRANSLATED BY：SASHA CHIU
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Unik, Ojek Online Semua Drivernya Wanita Cantik
Feb 9, 2017
VIVA.co.id - Ojek online belakangan memang diminati masyarakat karena beragam kelebihan yang ditawarkan. Tak hanya di Indonesia, ojek online ternyata juga kini tengah menjangkiti Kamboja. Menariknya, di Phnom Penh, ibu kota Kamboja, ada sebuah perusahaan ojek online yang pengemudinya semua perempuan cantik.
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