Our trip into Cambodia was actually the easiest part of the vacation. We flew into Angkor International Airport in Siem Reap, which is not served by any one major carrier more than once a day, so it made traveling on a staff ticket (and thus standby) a challenge. My pal Carla was a great resource as she and her husband and parents had traveled their last year, so so suggested Air Asia, a Southwest Airlines low cost model type carrier. So we flew as revenue passengers into and out of Siem Reap. The nicest part of this was that we did not have to observe the business casual dress code that is required when on staff tickets, so I could dress like most passengers these day, a bum. Shorts and a ball cap on an airplane? Surely you jest! All that was missing a wife beater shirt.
We had a 7am departure out of Kuala Lumpur, so we arranged for a cab from the hotel at 4am, so we could make the two hour check-in suggestion. We flew out of the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) which is more like a refugee center..... very spartan, and packed with people who had more luggage than you can shake a stick at.
You have to pay to check luggage (kind of like here in the states) and we pre-paid for that service, but Marty still got a little testy when her suitcase was over 15kg and had to pay the extra Ringit for over sized baggage.
There is no assigned seating, so it is like a stampede of cattle as we lined up to board and then make the mad dash across the tarmac to our plane. Of course there was this one gal who had a bag full of what appeared to be concrete, who kept smiling at me, implying that I carry it up the air stairs for her (but she didn't know that I am a union worker and we don't lift passenger's bags) so I just smiled back and went on my way. :)
Stu, Marty, and I were able to get an open row for ourselves and we settled in for our two hour flight to Siem Reap. You have to pay for everything onboard. I made the mistake of ordering something called Nasi Goreng. It looked good on the little menu card, but when I opened the package it had little minnow like fish heads in it. Of course I still ate because I paid for it after all.
Stuart had what we jokingly referred to has a Halal dog. It was a chicken hot dog, but the main condiment looked more like guacamole than relish. The label on the package was "Food for Friendship" but it was mainly food for indigestion. Marty commented that in her 25 years of flying, this was the nastiest airline food she had ever seen (but one should note in case I forget, that Stu ordered the infamous Halal dog on our return flight as well).
After our inflight gourmet experience, it was time to land, and we touched down in Siem Reap around 8:15am (one hour time change behind KL). Cambodia requires a VISA to enter, but thankfully, the government offers a "VISA on Arrival" . You fill out your VISA application, submit a passport sized photograph, and $20 USD, and 10 minutes later you have a VISA. Sure beats trying to go thru an embassy and arranging it before you leave on your trip. Plus they had like 10 people working on it, so it provides jobs, so I am all for that.
While my VISA was being processed, I used the Men's Room, but they had a female bathroom attendant, so it was hard to use the urinal with a woman mopping the floor behind me.
By the time I managed to take a leak and wash my hands, my VISA was ready, however it looked like the man who signed it was named "Howdy", or was this just his way of giving me a warm Cambodian welcome?
We passed thru customs and immigration and got our bags. The hotel we stayed at offered a pick up/drop off service, so there was a bellman waiting for us outside the airport with a sign with our names.
The hotel was about 7km from the airport, so we got to see a bit of Siem Reap on our way. It reminded me of Vietnam, with lots of folks on motorbikes, bicycles, and tuk tuks weaving thru cars and trucks.
We stayed at the Angkor Palace Resort (http://www.angkorpalaceresort.com/) based on Carla's suggestion, and it was incredible. When we arrived we got little welcome scarves and a "mocktail" and a cold towel scented with eucalyptus. Stuart looked like he was being Bar Mitzvah'd.
It was low season, so we were able to check in right away as rooms were available. Since we had gotten up in the middle of the night, we took advantage of our free time and relaxed for a bit. We would have a pretty packed itinerary, so it was some much appreciated down time.
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