At the very beginning of the pandemic, it was simply impossible to travel anywhere, but then things became much more interesting. Yesterday it was impossible, today it is possible. However, if you buy tickets for tomorrow, it is possible that it will be impossible again. This teaches us spontaneity and immediacy. The principle of “here and now” has taken hold in tourism as never before, and the term “early booking” has been pushed far into the background.
- Logistics: how to lose $500
- Siem Reap 12 years later and another disappointment
- Phnom Penh for the first time
- Sihanoukville: the rise of the Asian Las Vegas
- Phnom Penh: how to get a taste of the city the second time around
Those who have been to Southeast Asia more than once have a chronic longing for it and need to visit the region from time to time. After my first trip in 2010 along the route Thailand – Laos – Cambodia – Thailand, I clearly realized this and tried to periodically relieve my withdrawal symptoms. In 2012 (Indonesia), in 2013 (Thailand – Laos – Indonesia – Thailand), in 2015 (Thailand – Myanmar – Thailand), in 2016 (Thailand – Philippines – Hong Kong – Thailand), in 2017 (Singapore) and in 2019 (Vietnam) – that is, with breaks of no more than two years.
And now, three years have passed since Vietnam, the itch for Southeast Asia has grown stronger, and even an autumn trip to Jamaica didn’t cure the withdrawal (Jamaica is cool, but that’s a whole other story). In mid-January, I realized that I couldn’t go on like this and went to buy tickets. So, where was it possible to go at that moment?
Thailand – tourist reservations such as Samui, Phuket, and some other regions. Which open and close again, sometimes within a month. Self-isolation is sometimes required, sometimes not, but as of February 1, it was canceled for those who have been vaccinated. Plus, you need an entry certificate, prepayment for two PCR tests and two nights in special hotels, a special mobile app to track your movements… No, we don’t need that kind of tourism.
Vietnam – a similar scenario. Indonesia – completely closed. The Philippines – only opened to vaccinated people on February 1. Malaysia is very strict, Myanmar too, and the political situation is not great. Laos is not an option, it is closed and we want the sea. And what do we have here below it? Cambodia. Let’s see: vaccinated tourists don’t even need a PCR test in advance – just a free rapid test on arrival. Visas can be obtained online a day in advance or at the airport. Traveling around the country is no problem. And so, the most tourist-friendly region in the world has shrunk in terms of hassle-free travel to just Cambodia — the only option for me at the time, and even today, with no clear alternatives if you don’t want a strict vacation.
Logistics: how to lose $500
Although PCR tests are not required for vaccinated travelers to enter the kingdom, you still have to take one — the only way to fly to Phnom Penh was via Istanbul and then Singapore.
Actually, at first I wanted to fly to Phnom Penh via Singapore and meet up with friends there who had already bought tickets. Then we would all relax together on the beaches of Sihanoukville, move on to Siem Reap, see Angkor, and fly out of Siem Reap via Singapore again. But both the search engines and the Singapore Airlines website showed prices that were far from reasonable. It wasn’t really possible to change the dates, but the option with arrival in Siem Reap was twice as cheap. However, the departure time was very inconvenient, so I had to look at other options.
For the return trip, I bought the following tickets: Phnom Penh – Singapore (Jetstar), Singapore – Dubai – Moscow (Emirates). The cost was significantly higher through the search engine, so I bought all the tickets separately on the airlines’ websites. I knew that I wouldn’t be leaving Singapore, so I would have to make do with hand luggage and electronic boarding passes in the Singapore transit zone. That was a mistake.
After buying the ticket, I ended up on the Singapore airport website for some reason. It clearly states that you can only transit through Singapore with a single booking from the same airline, and even provides a list of these airlines. In other words, if it is not Singapore Airlines, the carrier must have a code-share agreement with them. And then I realized that I would most likely not be allowed to board the flight from Phnom Penh. However, I did not buy a new ticket yet, hoping for luck and printing out my old Singapore visa with the changed dates just in case. I’ll say right away that it didn’t work out; details at the end of the story.
For now, I have a ticket via Istanbul to Singapore and then on to Siem Reap on Singapore Airlines. At check-in, they kindly accept my vaccination QR code, but ask me to get an HES code for visiting Istanbul before boarding. The fact that I have no luggage and am not planning to leave the airport doesn’t bother the girl — OK, I’ll get this code. It’s easy to do — you fill out a form on the website (https://www.istanbulsairport.com/ru/hes-code-apply?o=step1) (which, by the way, says that transit passengers don’t need it). The system did not accept the name of a familiar hotel, so I ended up entering Ataturk Boulevard 1 — such an address should exist in any city in Turkey, and it worked. But as I expected, no one asked for the code, since I did not leave the transit area.
The approach to the new airport allows you to get a good view of the Princes’ Islands if you are sitting on the left, as I was. If you are on the right, you will probably be able to admire the Bosphorus as you turn and enter the glide path.
To check in for your flight without going through security, there are special counters at the new Istanbul airport, one for several airlines (and many for Turkish Airlines). There, an employee simply photographed my passport, PCR test, and ticket printouts, sent them to Singapore Airport, and as soon as they gave the go-ahead, printed out the boarding passes. I had to wait 20-30 minutes and even got a little nervous — the transfer was only 2 hours. It was good that I was already familiar with the airport—I flew out of it to Sharm el-Sheikh in August. Keep this in mind when transferring, as the airport is truly impressive in size.
Well, here I am, sitting in a brand new Singapore Airlines A350, with two empty seats next to me — I could have saved myself the extra charge for a window seat. The captain explains that the flight will take more than 10 hours because the route will fly over Egypt and Saudi Arabia to avoid entering Afghan airspace. I checked later—we really did fly that way. Movies, books, wine, and a good night’s sleep across three seats.
The transfer in Singapore went smoothly—no one asked any questions, and we were free to move between terminals in the transit area. Sometimes they stick on a transfer bracelet for some reason, but no one looks at it. I wanted to find the check-in desks of other airlines in the transit area, like at Istanbul Airport, but I couldn’t find them—only Singapore Airlines. And there was no one there. The same was true at the information desks—instead, I was offered to contact them via video link, where a girl confirmed that I would most likely have problems with my return flight due to different reservations.
Well, worrying won’t solve the problem. The main thing is that they are letting me into Cambodia, which means I will get my long-awaited dose of Southeast Asia, and we’ll figure it out there. Because of the purchase of a new ticket, I will probably have to sacrifice Angkor Wat, but I was there in 2010 – it has been standing for almost 1000 years, I don’t think anything has fundamentally changed there in 12 years. But it will be interesting to see how Siem Reap has changed!
As we approach, Tonle Sap Lake is clearly visible, where excursions to floating villages are organized. I planned to take a boat along the lake and the river of the same name to get to Phnom Penh the next day. But today, I had to arrive, take a quick PCR test, change my pants into shorts, withdraw local currency from an ATM, take a tuk-tuk to the hotel, check in, and recover from my many trials and tribulations.
Siem Reap 12 years later and another disappointment
I could probably say how much Siem Reap has changed over the years… if I remembered it. In 2010, we arrived in the dark, checked into the first hotel we found for $5, left for Angkor in the morning, strolled through the night market in the evening, and after the second night, left early in the morning for Koh Chang. I remember that they wouldn’t let me leave the hotel because of a misunderstanding about the bill for an evening beer — it turned out that a glass of beer costs one and a half to two times more than a can.
In this regard, everything remained the same as before — the difference is really striking. Having learned from bitter experience, I drank canned beer, but in particularly cleverly designed cafes, canned beer was often simply “not available.” I also walked around the night market and bought some more T-shirts — they are just wonderful here, costing $3-5 and indestructible.
And finally, I took a walk around the city during the day. There was a lot of construction, both houses and sidewalks, empty massage parlors, rare tourists, expatriate pensioners from Europe or Australia… I went for a massage three times, tried out the local eateries, and in the evening took a walk down the aptly named Pub Street. The bars were almost completely empty, but the orchestras of musicians maimed by landmines were still there, as were the tuk-tuk drivers offering a gentleman’s set: girls, weed…
Of course, the city is only notable for Angkor, but I had to be in Phnom Penh the next morning. And I was going to get to the capital via the Tonle Sap River – on a speedboat in 6 hours. They usually operate until March, and then there is a break for the summer. As I understand it, this is due to the transition period and the shallowing of the river before the reverse flow – during the summer rains, it is not the Tonle Sap that flows into the Mekong, but the Mekong that feeds the river with its waters and carries them to Tonle Sap Lake, near Siem Reap. In autumn, the river changes its direction back. But this year there was no navigation, some said that the river had become shallow earlier than usual, others talked about the unprofitability of cruises due to the lack of tourists.
In any case, the only alternative was the bus—there are no flights to Phnom Penh, a five-hour taxi ride is prohibitively expensive, and it is not faster than a $10 minivan. You can choose any agency along the road, preferably closer to the hotel—either the minivan will come there, or you will be taken to the boarding point by tuk-tuk. In some cases, the minivan can pick you up at your hotel if the driver knows it. There is also a large bus, but it is almost the only one during the day. The journey takes just over 5 hours, with a stop for lunch and a toilet break halfway. Leaving the hotel at 7 a.m., I was in Phnom Penh by 1 p.m., for the first time in my life.
Phnom Penh for the first time
The minibus dropped me off not far from the center, but not exactly close either — about a kilometer from Wat Phnom temple, at this location (https://goo.gl/maps/CJq5bQe6GVhL6Qhr5). (if you travel with Seila Angkor Khmer Express, they will drop you off here, keep that in mind). It was scorching hot outside, so I put my shorts and sweatshirt (air conditioning is traditionally not spared in Southeast Asia) in my bag, slung the bag over my shoulder, and headed towards the pagoda and the city center in general.
On the way, near the park with the pagoda, I saw people looking up—a giant bird was sitting in the branches of a giant tree, with a beak like a toucan’s, but not quite the same color.
But I never saw the pagoda itself. I walked around it and came up against a closed gate. There were people inside, which meant that the entrance from the river side was open, but for some reason I decided to come back the next time, on my way back in a few days, and for now I would head towards the palace so that it wouldn’t close. I remembered how I had twice failed to get into the Royal Palace in Bangkok, which closes at three in the afternoon.
The distance from the pagoda to the palace is a couple of kilometers, which is a great distance to take in the capital. Classic Southeast Asia with motorbikes and wires. The pompous buildings of the ministries are interspersed with flimsy shacks and ornate temples, and construction is underway everywhere.
All approaches to the Royal Palace were blocked by fences, with police officers on duty for added credibility. No one could explain anything to me clearly (in Cambodia, if a person does not work in tourism or trade, they do not know English at any level), so I decided to postpone the palace for a second, longer visit to the city.
But I needed to do something cultural, and besides, walking around with a bag on my shoulder in +30 heat was getting pretty tiresome. That’s when the National Museum of Cambodia, located right next to the palace, came to my rescue. The ticket costs $10 (US currency is really accepted everywhere, even in government institutions, where they can easily give change in dollars), and you have to leave your bag with the security guard — I didn’t even have to ask about a storage room, they just wouldn’t let me in with it.
This museum houses everything that was found in the temples of Angkor and other ancient structures in the country. There are also monuments from the pre-Khmer period; I saw exhibits from the 7th century. The spearheads are probably even older. There are many statues of Buddha and other deities, thrones of lamas, ritual drums, crafts, and decorations from different centuries. In short, there is a lot to see, and you can easily spend 2-3 hours at the museum.
I think this was the first time in my life that I saw museum exhibits being transported—either they were being prepared for shipment or brought from some exhibition: many statues were not in their places, some were in transport straps, others in wooden boxes—in general, an interesting addition to what I saw!
After the museum, you can finally take a walk along the embankment. I love embankments in any city; there is always something interesting happening there. Here, I came across a procession with music at the temple and offerings, as well as all kinds of trade.
The embankment is well-maintained and pleasant to walk along. Before I knew it, I had reached the ferry crossing. I have used this thing many times as a budget, or even free, cruise, so I decided to try my luck here too — it seems that cars and bikes can just drive on. At the entrance, the guys who regulate the arrival and departure of the ferry stopped me and demanded money, though it was only a few cents — 1,000 riels, which is about 20 cents.
The ferry crosses both the Mekong and the Tonle Sap, which flows into it, and as it moves, you can see the arrow with the towering Sokha Hotel – I will be staying in the same chain in Sihanoukville. But the coolest thing is that you can see how the two rivers connect – the water in them is different in color and mixes somewhere downstream.
On the other side, I was suddenly greeted by a Christian church, but I realized there was nothing interesting there, and time was running out, so I was going to take the same ferry back. However, as soon as mine docked, the neighboring ferry was already being loaded with cars, motorbikes, and even tuk-tuks, so I migrated to it, free of charge — apparently, 1,000 riels is a round-trip ticket!
After the impromptu cruise, there was only time to eat and then head to the airport, and as I was thinking about this, a tuk-tuk driver caught up with me.
- Where should we go?
- To the airport, but first, let’s eat.
- I’ll take you to a cafe, wait for you, and then take you to the airport for $10!
- No, damn it, taxis are cheaper in the city, and the airport is 12 km away (it’s actually in Phnom Penh), how about 10,000 riels ($5)?
- Get in!
As it turned out at the airport, we didn’t quite understand each other, but for now he took me to his friends at a cafe, where I ate some kind of river fish soup full of bones. Not particularly tasty, but quite nutritious, especially when you last ate 7 hours ago.
The airport is close by, but the traffic on Russian Federation Boulevard (yes, the one that leads through the city to Phnom Penh’s air harbor) is terrible, with traffic jams even among the motorbikes. As a result, even though we left with plenty of time to spare, we arrived 20 minutes before the end of check-in. And then the tuk-tuk driver tells me he wants $10. He understood 10,000 riels as $10. I was ready to give him 10 for his troubles in the traffic jams, but counting on the agreed amount, I spent all my cash in a cafe on extra water and other goodies, and there was too little time to run to an ATM. So he left feeling upset, and I felt bad, but as I later realized, it was a fair price.
Sihanoukville: the rise of the Asian Las Vegas
Sihanoukville seemed to me to be a village by the sea, with perfect southeast beaches surrounded by greenery and small houses. But when we entered the city, I saw skyscrapers, casino lights, expensive cars, and generally not what I had imagined at all.
Fortunately, the beaches really were perfect and green. But around them were a huge number of high-rise buildings, hotels, and apartments, most of which were unfinished: Chinese investors had eagerly taken on the city before the pandemic, but now all construction has been frozen. It looks quite unusual, and I will definitely have to come back here when the construction is finished.
Our hotel, Sokha Beach Resort, was quite large but not multi-story and cozy, with a large green area and a beautiful beach where it was pleasant to bask in the sun and swim in the waters of the Gulf of Siam.
In general, the sea is the main attraction here, but there are also many interesting places in the surrounding area. For example, there are various waterfalls, caves, the city of Kampot, famous for its pepper of the same name, and even Bokor National Park with its Elephant Mountains.
But all this requires a more thoughtful trip, so I limited myself to a trip on a speedboat across Chak Kampong Som Bay to the golf course – there will soon be a resort there, and there is even an airport, even though all this is part of Botum Sakor National Park, the largest in the country.
One day, I also rented a motorbike. My goal was to visit Bokor Park and Kampot, but I was only able to get the moped closer to noon, and the rental office was open until 5 p.m. So I just rode around the city wherever my eyes took me.
My eyes wandered towards the embankment, a fishing village with a bay where you can see the water flowing in from the sea, and mountains with a giant tree.
According to the map, there were some dolmens not far from the giant tree, so I decided to ride there. But at the turn, there was an open barrier and a local soldier who refused to let me pass, couldn’t explain anything, and seemed to know no English except “no.” In the end, he closed the barrier in front of me.
Not having had much luck, I drove back to Sihanoukville – my plan was to take a look at Independence Beach, famous for the hotel of the same name, where Jacqueline Kennedy stayed. Of course, people from the street are not allowed into the hotel either, but there is a park and a pier nearby on the embankment, which offers gorgeous views of the beach. The territory itself is separated from the road by a wooded mountain, which is home to many monkeys.
I returned the bike on time and spent the rest of the evening, while it was still light, on the beach. When it got dark, I walked along the promenade to the city’s main beach and found an excellent eatery right on the shore, with reasonable prices, a host who spoke good English, delicious large portions, and cold beer…
The next morning, I took a 20-minute flight back to Phnom Penh, where I had to take a PCR test and fly via Singapore. Well, at least that’s what I thought…
Phnom Penh: how to get a taste of the city the second time around
So, I arrived in Phnom Penh for the second time on this trip, and for the first time by plane. Airport staff tried to drag me in for a coronavirus test, but I said I had arrived on a domestic flight.
- Do we have domestic flights?
- Yes!
- Where they are from?
- From Sihanoukville.
- And how many of you are there?
- About 20 people.
Yes, the A230 was barely 10 percent full, the flight had just started, and the staff was genuinely surprised. In general, I dodged the stick in my nose and hurried out into the street, into the arms of the tuk-tuk drivers. If you think that the capital’s airport is the domain of taxi drivers, this is not the case in Phnom Penh — official (!) tuk-tuks stand in a neat row, the dispatcher sends drivers to passengers, issuing a receipt for $9 (which allows tuk-tuk drivers not to haggle, but I still knocked a dollar off), while the lonely taxi drivers stand aside with their small fleet of cars.
I chose the hotel on the fly using an app and based on daytime photos. So it turned out to be not in the center, and I underestimated the size of the city, and at night, illuminated by the light from a nearby lamp on the adjacent dormitory, it looked like a den for opium smokers. However, the room itself was quite nice.
It was quite far from the center, but only a kilometer from the medical center where I had to take a coronavirus test before departure. So I walked there right away, paying $130 for the procedure! However! But they promised me a document in a nice folder with a blue stamp tomorrow morning, which is very convenient if you have a flight in the afternoon. I still thought I would have a flight…
My goal for the rest of the day was the Russian Market – during the times of cooperation with the USSR, goods from our country were sold here, and the name stuck. The location was about five kilometers from the hotel and not towards the center – a great way to see the non-central part of the city. The 30-degree heat didn’t sit well on my skin, which was burnt after riding a bike, but cold beer was just perfect.
So, among the street vendors, cafes with delicious local soup similar to Vietnamese pho, mopeds darting everywhere, and Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, and Maybachs regularly floating through the traffic (I have never seen such a stratification of the automotive industry as in Cambodia), I reached my destination. It was a large, stuffy, covered space with everything you could imagine. I recommend it for buying souvenirs — you can buy many different things in one colorful place.
From the market, I made my way to the local downtown area, Phnom Penh City, if you will, which is located on a separate island, separated from the common people by a canal. But on the way, I stumbled upon a wine festival in some park with live music and a bunch of Europeans and Australians. I didn’t feel like wine at all, but I tried some local craft beer. However, I couldn’t stay long, as it would soon get dark.
Downtown is spacious, with bike paths, parks, elite residential complexes, repair shops for luxury cars, and a bunch of construction work everywhere. Near the island area is the Russian Embassy, behind the largest fence I’ve seen in Cambodia.
Already in the dark, I came out onto the familiar embankment — at night it looks more interesting, cruise ships lit up with hundreds of lights depart from the piers, locals and tourists go out for a walk, old ladies sell all kinds of food…
I reached the streets running along the embankment with lots of hotels and European faces. Damn, this is where I should have stayed, I thought, not yet knowing that tomorrow I would do just that. But for now, it was time for dinner and a few kilometers on foot to the hotel.
In the morning, I received the coveted PCR test result, packed my things, and headed to the airport, of course by tuk-tuk, for $7. I didn’t check in online in advance so that I could change my ticket if necessary, which is exactly what happened. They refused to put me on a flight to Singapore because of different ticket reservations, even though I had no luggage. They didn’t even look at my fake visa because, in addition to it, I needed to obtain some other document to enter the country.
In short, my Jetstar ticket from Phnom Penh to Singapore was wasted, I postponed my Singapore-Moscow ticket until the end of 2022 (it was impossible to cancel it through the app), booked a hotel in the area I had noticed yesterday, and again took a tuk-tuk from the airport to the city, which cost me $9.
After checking into the hotel, I went to the bar there, where some older Europeans were already sitting and drinking beer. With them was a local woman, apparently a girl who accompanies tourists for money and provides various services, from translation to sexual. I ordered a beer and caught that Asian vibe — I immediately wanted to sit around, do nothing, sip beer, and stare around, or even stay here for a month or two.
But I had to do something, get out of there as soon as possible — the cost of a PCR test at $130, for example, spoke in favor of this. Delving into the depths of forums, I began to explore options. I found out that transit in Bangkok had become more humane, and that a 72-hour test and insurance covering coronavirus treatment for the duration of the stay in the country were sufficient. That is, one day without a night transfer and two days with a night transfer. There was also a requirement that the layover not exceed 12 hours. Tomorrow’s flight from Phnom Penh to Bangkok to Irkutsk met these criteria. I never thought that I would end up in Russia this way, via Siberia!
I spent the rest of the day happily strolling around the city center, sampling local specialties in cafes, gazing at the people and sights, without any particular plans. In the morning, I took a tuk-tuk (already for $6!) and went to Phnom Penh airport for the third time. I was still nervously anxious at check-in, but everything went well. They asked for insurance and a test, and were satisfied with these documents.
Well, cheers for the valuable experience!