Siem Reap trip: Day 1 (11-12 Nov)

Hey there friends, family and loyal readers! No, it is not that I haven’t traveled at all since March, but I did not feel that those were really “tourist trips”. This last one however was an unabashed tourist extravaganza.

As is normal in Bengaluru, the trip started at night, in this case the evening of Nov 11, 2023. Having seen them as an option while making a quick work-related trip to Bangkok in September, I decided to try a new all-electric car service call BluSmart in order to get to and from the airport. I had booked ahead with a special introductory offer, so my 25 km trip only costed 454 INR ($5.45 USD). The care arrived ahead of when it had been scheduled, and I entered at 6:51 PM.

My first impression was that it was a very comfortable car with an extremely professional driver who even tried to open the door for me. Upon sitting down in the back, I noticed right off that there were SOS buttons strategically placed throughout the car, not only for the passengers, but also for the driver. Happily, the ride itself was also smooth, which was good since traffic was horrendous and it took us 61 minutes to arrive.

My AirAsia flight was scheduled to depart from terminal 2 which only just recently started to be the main airport for international flights out of Bengaluru. However, there are also, quite a few domestic flights, so to save yourself time, remember that international departures need to enter from the right.

As my AirAsia app said that I could head straight to security, that was what I did at 8:00 PM, but was promptly turned away, being told that I needed to have a physical boarding pass. I really shouldn’t have been surprised, as that is quite common in India. The line for AirAsia was long, but as I had arrived with plenty of advance time, I was not concerned.

I had read ahead of time that they were VERY strict with the 7 kg luggage allowance and while waiting I noticed that several people ended up having to check their carry-on bags and also pay a hefty fee for the privilege. While I had weighed my bag several times ahead of time, I started to get worried, so I stuck my heavy-duty umbrella in my pocket (covered by my shirt) and my power bank in another pocket. Oddly enough, when my turn at the check-in counter came at 8:31 PM, my bag didn’t even get weighed, so all my subterfuge was for nothing, but I resolved to do the same on the return flight just in case.

Having read that U.S. dollars were almost a default currency in Cambodia, I tried to buy some using my Indian bank card before heading through security, but I was told that this facility was only available for Indian citizens. However, I could have changed Indian Rupees in cash, but I had few of those on hand so didn’t bother. By 8:44 PM I was through immigration and by 9:02 PM was also through security. As is the norm, my bag was selected for an additional check, but things went quickly so I didn’t really care.

As mentioned earlier, I had been through this same airport on an international flight in September and had already ascertained that there were very few food options, and those that are available tend to be on the expensive side from the Indian viewpoint. I did check just in case to see if I could get into the lounge, but none of my cards were accepted, and I definitely wasn’t interested in separately paying for access. Thus, just like last time I was here, I ended up at the La Madeline restaurant.

I ordered the chicken Madeline with an add-on Caesar salad for a cost of 943 INR ($11.32 USD). While the food was nicely presented, the chicken was a bit dry but the broccoli was pleasantly crunchy. I took my time here and did not leave the restaurant until 10:23 PM.

At 10:37 I was boarding the plane. There were no entertainment screens, and the seats also lacked the adjustable headrests which I had become accustomed to which make sleeping much easier on the flight. Furthermore, it might have been my imagination, but the seat space itself seemed a bit more cramped than the norm. Thankfully though there was an adjustable air vent, since it was a bit too warm for my taste. My goal had been to attempt to sleep the whole four-hour flight to Bangkok, but as I realized at 11:30 PM, it was just too uncomfortable. I did still try to rest as much as possible; however, I was very thankful when we touched down in Bangkok at 4:00 AM Bangkok time on November 12th.

By 4:38 AM I was already through security in Bangkok and out in the terminal area. It was pleasant enough here with ample food options, but there was little else to do.

Nothing else particularly got my attention, so I went ahead and used my Priority Pass at 5:00 AM to enter the Miracle lounge. This lounge is not especially nice, but since I already had the benefit as part of my credit card package, I figured I might as well go ahead and eat and hang out in this space. Note that Priority Pass members can only use the lounge for a maximum of two hours.

I stayed till the absolute last minute, exiting the lounge at 7:00 AM and going to wait near the gate with a projected departure time of 9:55 AM. At 8:00 AM they announced that the flight departure had been rescheduled to 10:32 AM. While I was tired, sleeping was not really an option, so I used my waiting time to watch series which I had downloaded to my phone before departure. Finally, at 10:30 AM we started the boarding process.

In contrast to the first flight, this one was too chilly, but shutting off the air vent helped. Furthermore, as this only a 60-minute flight, I figured it would be bearable. Once on the plane, I had to fill out both an immigration and a customs form, in addition to the $36 USD e-visa which I had processed ahead of time rather than waiting to do visa on arrival upon touching down in Siem Reap. The flight touched down at 11:43 AM, and my Airalo e-sim which I had bought and installed ahead of time for $13.50 USD (30 day validity with 5 gb of data), connected right away. By 11:54 AM I was already off the gangway and into the recently opened new Siem Reap airport.

It was a quick walk to immigration, and at 11:58 AM I was in line with only 5 people in front of me. I noticed that they had 24 counters, but only 5 were open. In a different area there was a long line of people waiting to process their visas on arrival. Once I was finally up to the counter, the whole process took only three minutes; note, they required me to show BOTH of my boarding passes, so I was glad that I had not thrown away the first one. It then only took me two more minutes to get out of the airport and be in line at 2:14 PM for the bus which goes into Siem Reap city at 12:30 PM.

When it was my turn to board, the driver told me that I needed to go get a ticket, but the ticket counter was nearby; so, it was not a problem. Finally, at 12:35 PM I was in the bus and on my way to Siem Reap City!

At 1:25 PM we arrived at the CDF market. Supposedly there are three separate stops in Siem Reap city, but it looks like there is actually only one. My AirBnB host suggested that I take a Rickshaw for a cost of $1 USD to the apartment, but I figured I would be happier walking and seeing a bit of the city.

I arrived at the Airbnb apartment, near Kesararam school, for which I had paid $116 USD for six nights at 2:04 PM. The check-in process was fairly simple, and I am happy to report that the apartment was just amazing, exactly as it had been reported in the listing. The location was also great, reasonable walking distance to restaurants and places of interest within the city itself. Should I return to Siem Reap, I will definitely book here again.

Before arriving, I had the idea that I would visit a museum my first actual day in Siem Reap, but I was just too tired, so I turned on the blessedly quiet air conditioner and slept until 5:00 PM. At 5:00 PM I headed out walking towards the Made in Cambia market, where I found a random eatery where I ordered food by pointing at what was in different pots. The total for my food was $3 USD, but I only had two USD in good condition, so surprisingly the older woman who ran the place told me to just come back another day with the other dollar!

After eating, I went ahead and checked out the Made in Cambodia market which was just around the corner. It was rather small, and also pleasant. However, it was also a bit expensive. Still, if I had been in the mood to buy anything, I probably would have bought here, since most of the stalls were intentionally run by people with some sort of a special need. Another nice thing about the market was that nobody hassled me constantly to buy; browsers were welcome. Still, by 6:30 PM I was heading back to the apartment, because the next day I would have to be up by 3:00 AM.

I took a rather leisurely stroll back, and by 7:16 PM was back in the apartment, and by 8:00 PM was in bed. I had my doubts about going to such a hyped-up tourist destination as Angor Wat, but I was hoping that the two-day tour I had booked to start the next day would be worth it.

For those of you who have followed along before with my travels, I apologize for this rather boring entry, but getting there is also half the battle whenever you take a trip, so it’s important to not leave out that part. Regardless, I promise that days 2-3 will be much more in line with what you were expecting from this trip. As always, thank you for reading along and feel free to leave any questions or comments below. See you next day at 3:00 AM!