Cambodia - The journey there

(Pictures will be added later)

The morning we left I was a bit slow. The kerosine heaters they use here and my lungs don`t always get along so I had a rough start to the day. But I got everything I needed packed, left the stuff Ryan would need for Thomas Notacat out, and hoisted my bag down to the car. I got to Keith and Yumiko`s just in time to move myself and stuff into their car, rush to the station, and at a quick trot we caught the train we`d originally wanted.

The ride to the station and the flights themselves were uneventful, which is a good thing, and we were able to spend our Bangkok layover in our airline`s lounge where they`ve got comfy chairs, free internet, and free snacks. Finally we arrived at the Siem Reap airport, a very small airport that looks more like a large, stylized hotel. There we had to wait to get through customs and pay the $20 for our visas. After waiting in the two long lines (I`m getting the online one next time I go to a country that offers them) we finally got through to grab our suitcases, submitted our customs slips, and walked out into the humid hot air where a large number of tuk-tuk drivers were waiting. Luckily our guesthouse provides a free pick-up from the airport and our driver had my name on his sign.

On the way into town we had a stranger from Portugal who thought he was going to the same place accompany us by tuk-tuk. But since he just sandwiched himself in beside our luggage on the other side it wasn`t too bad. The drive was really cool because everything was dark and Siem Reap isn`t a big city by most standards. There are lots of fields and large trees and small houses in amongst the huge ritzy hotels for tourists who want to spend more than $100 instead of $10/night (including the hot water and air conditioner upgrade) on a hotel. I have to say I was very, very happy with The Rosy Guesthouse where we stayed. Nice clean rooms, good service, and a well-run bar/restaurant downstairs. Plus the free pickup. The stranger turned out to be staying somewhere else so he ran away with the tuk-tuk driver while we were checking in.