Two weeks have passed since we arrived in Cambodia. Hard to believe how time flies!
We arrived in Phnom Penh after an interesting trip. Took off early from Dublin Airport and when we got to London we had a weird experience. We were told that we couldn’t get on our plane because we only had a one-way ticket. As time passed and it got closer to the time for the flight to take off, a frazzled check in agent brought us and another couple of Irish guys to the boarding gate where we were told our bags had been disembarked and we weren’t on the flight. After more confusion and me consistently explaining that it didn’t matter whether we had a one-way flight, Cambodia would be happy to welcome us in, the flight staff relented and re-embarked our bags and let us on the plane.
Airbus A380-800 Taking Off
The flight itself was great; I was like a child filled with awe. We were flying on an Airbus A380-800. It’s absolutely huge! Comfortable seats (also we had two seats each as the flight was half full), a webcam view of the plane from its tail as we took off, lots of movies to choose from. Happy out.
In Kuala Lumpur we had a bit more time, which we really needed as we were told again that we couldn’t catch our flight to Phnom Penh due to a one-way ticket. The check-in clerks were suggesting that we’d have to buy a return ticket. Eventually, after I spoke to a manager we were allowed to check in if we signed a form disavowing the airline of any responsibility if we got turned away from Cambodia.
The flight to Phnom Penh wasn’t quite so luxurious but I was so sleepy it didn’t matter. At some point I vaguely recall being woken up for my vegetarian breakfast. I ate it but have literally no recollection of what it was I ate.
Adrianna at Phnom Penh Airport
So after all the hullabaloo about one-way tickets, our arrival in Phnom Penh was totally fine (as I knew it would be). No one cared about our travel arrangements. The usual quick visa processing and we were through.
After getting settled in we ended up going out three nights in a row with our wonderful hosts Warren and Dina 🙂
Me and the Baja heading to Bokkor
Our first week entailed a lot more work than I expected sadly, but once I got a few things cleared we headed down to Kampot for 4 nights. What’s more, I got to drive down on Jared’s Honda XR250 – the Baja! Kampot was blissful, staying in Marco’s excellent Green House by Kampot river. We had a trip up Bokkor mountain and a gig at Bodhi Villa where I was overjoyed to be re-united with the Grass Snake Union and I got to get up on stage with the old crew and sing some songs. Fantastic!
Since then I’ve been back in Phnom Penh working away back at Hackerspace.
So many familiar faces and friendly people, and I’ve even been surprised at how much Khmer I’ve been speaking – seems like more of it stuck than I thought.
It’s great to be back in Cambodia.
View from the top of Bokkor
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