Bali, Cambodia, and Thailand: September 17, 2009

All material including photographs are ©2009 Ronald Dunlap / Doglight Studios

The power came back on at 2 a.m., and naturally I hadn't bothered to turn off the lights last night after the power went off, so I just lay there staring up at the open-beam ceiling, going over what I had to get through today. I just hate airport security and what it says about us. It's like we're all cowards. Now that passengers know the stakes, I don't think that anyone will be able to highjack a plane without their fellow passengers beating the crap out of them. 

I kicked the covers off at 3 a.m., showered, waxed my mustache, and knocked on Ann's door to make sure she was up. The skies were still dark as I carried my bags over to the office. It had rained really hard last night, and the garden was wet and slick.

I'd purchased our tickets through priceline.com. E-tickets are always a little iffy in my mind, so I like getting to the airport early to check in and make sure that there aren't any problems and that I can get an aisle seat, which is imperative for someone of my size. We got to the airport at 6:15. There hadn't been much traffic, so we didn't need the full two hours of travel time the hotel suggested. The place was just waking up as I unloaded the van and piled the bags onto a baggage cart. Ann said her goodbyes to Dewa, they'd shared a real affinity for the Balinese world view, and I could tell she was a bit sad to be leaving. I, being ever practical, handed him envelopes for the staff and himself, as a token of our appreciation for the wonderful time they had shown us.

We waved as the van pulled out, then made our way through airport screening. Once inside we headed to the Singapore Air counter to check in. Being that it was still early we had to wait 15 minutes while the representatives set up their station. Our tickets called for us to fly Singapore Air to Singapore then change to Vietnam Air for the last two segments of our journey to Cambodia. We had a real fast change at Ho Chi Minh City of less than an hour so I was hoping the airlines would be able to check our bags all the way through to Siem Reap. Luckily they did, so we didn't have to worry about doing the luggage cha-cha in old Saigon. The boarding passes were another matter. Singapore Air could only issue boarding cards for their own flights, so we'd have to visit the transit desk in Singapore to get the Vietnam Air boarding cards. We paid our $30 exit fee (they get you coming and going), went through another customs inspection, then had to wait around in a hall-type area. The gates are scheduled really tightly and there is little time between flights, so we couldn't get into the gate until just before the flight was leaving.

Two and a half hours later we were touching down in Singapore's Changi International Airport. As I mentioned earlier, Changi International is one of the great airports of the world, and this visit was enjoyable. We arrived at Terminal 3 and had to make our way to Terminal 1. Once we had checked in at the transit desk and gotten our two farther-on boarding passes we had a good two hours to enjoy the airport. While Ann went to use the ladies' convenience, I browsed the Timberland store. I spoke with the assistant manager, Mr. Angelo Ong, and he pointed out that I was wearing the Timberland Black 6 Inch Premium Boot. He smiled and said that if the store had the stock, he could sell a pair of those boots every five minutes the store was open. He noticed that my boots were a little muddy. I said that I'd been trudging through the rice paddies in Bali. He laughed and motioned me to put my boot up on a shoe stand, and then he cleaned them for me. This kind of service is what makes a franchise. I asked for his card because I meant to write the Timberland Corporation to let them know what an exceptional person they had working for them in Singapore.

When Ann got back, we took the sky train over to Terminal 1. There was a lounge area across from our gate. I found an empty chaise lounge and lay down. No sleep was catching up with me. Ann went to look for food and came back with Cokes and Whopper Juniors. Delicious. We went through another security check at the gate, then we were winging our way to Ho Chi Minh City. (The politics of a place might change but their call letters stay the same, SGN, which was the call sign for Saigon.)

Transit at Tan Son Nhat International Airport was a breeze. Security was even a little lax. The X-ray machine guard was watching a portable television and didn't even spare us a glance. We walked right to the gate and 15 minutes later we boarded Flight 829 heading to Cambodia. A real smooth flight, landing at Siem Reap just a little over an hour later. Again we bought our entry visas, picked up our bags, and went through customs and out into the humidity of Cambodia. (Travel Tip: I always carry at least a dozen passport pictures in my passport cover. You can never predict when some official will demand a photo to get into or out of a country.) Travel Impression: The passenger services on both Singapore Air and Vietnam Air were at least two levels above any U.S. carrier I had been on in the past few years.

Outside, Mr. Poy Pines was waiting, his smiling face beaming at us. He had been my guide when I was here last year, so I was happy he'd been able to work me into his schedule. I'd used the internet to arrange a return stay at La Villa Mona Guest House, reserving two guest bungalows at 30 bucks each per night. As we drove through it, Siem Reap seemed a little less crowded than it had been last year. Siem Reap went from about 10,000 people ten years ago to over a million today, and its whole economy is based on tourism, so any downturn has a severe effect. I asked Poy about it and he mentioned that tourism was a little down. It also seemed that he wasn't as sure about the future as he had been last year, but as it is with all Buddhists, he takes adversity in stride.

When we arrived at La Villa Mona, they only had one bungalow prepared (they'd misunderstood my reservation) so it took a while to get another room ready for me, just a misunderstanding. While they worked, Ann and I sat on the veranda watching the clouds collide into one another. When my room was ready I went in, used the bathroom, and got ready to eat something. At 7 p.m., Mr. Pines drove us down to Bar Street in downtown Siem Reap where we could grab a bite of dinner. We ate spaghetti at the Soup Dragon, getting back to hotel at about 8 and going straight to bed. We needed to be ready for a long day tomorrow.