Day-11: Cambodia Arrival & Travel To Siem Reap

Day-11: Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Beginning Location: Bay of Thailand, En-Route to Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Interim Location: Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Interim Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Final Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia

Sunrise was observed.











We arrived at the breakwater into the port of Sihanoukville around 0900. The sea detail was relatively simple and within a few minutes the ship was moored pier side.






From here along with about 90 others we would leave the ship for a side trip to Angkor Wat. By 1100 we had boarded buses but quickly stopped for lunch before leaving Sihanoukville. That was a good move as for the next four hours of the bus ride to Phnom Penh there were no places that this group would have found to be suitable dining.

Still using bamboo scaffolding in Cambodia.





Though Sihanoukville has an international airport, the Cambodia tourist "regulators" want tourists to experience Phnom Penh, thus we bypassed the local airport and moved on for a 4-hour bus ride. Actually the ride provided a good opportunity to see the country side of Cambodia for better or worse. Clearly Cambodia still suffers from the ages of political and civil conflict that continued into the 1990's.

As with any bus load of passengers with an average age bumping the 70 mark there will be a need for "pit stops". Here the word "pit" is quite appropriate as someone suggested that the rest facilities rated a 2 on a scale of 10. In any case those that needed the relief were relieved and the second 2-hour leg of the bus ride began.













By 1630 we had arrived at the Phnom Penh International Airport. Check-in for the domestic flight was not so different than for any U.S. flight but security was relatively lax. For our comfort we were booked on a Cambodia/Angkor Airlines flight covered by code share partner Vietnam Airlines flying the short hop to Siem Reap on an ATR-72.



Even on this short 45 minute flight there was a food service of sorts, in our case bread and water, okay so it was banana bread, but the bread & water thing on Vietnam Airlines sounded clever.

As can be seen, Sheila had a restful flight to Siem Reap.











We were running a little late so after a quick check-in at the Le Meridien Hotel in Siem Reap we were back on the bus en-route to the Sokha Hotel for a poolside dinner and cultural dance show.

The town of Siem Reap has boomed in the past 10-15 years as the Angkor Wat tourist trade has exploded. There are over 10,000 hotel rooms in Siem Reap many of which are located in 4 & 5 star hotels.

Well it was late and tomorrow was to be a long day at the temples of Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. By 10 PM we were back in our room and soon asleep.