Hoi An to Siem Reap

Mercifully light on photos for this one.

Spoiler Warning: I do make it to Siem Reap.

My flight was at 1430, so it wasn’t a rushed morning. Instead, I packed up the bags, checked out, & went out for breakfast. Khoa the Homestay Owner, who I think is one of those people who are just born for hospitality, had arranged a car to get me to the airport. Also gave me a box of coconut crackers.

The delayed flight actually benefited me, as it bought a little more time to get between the terminals in Hanoi.

There was a period of utter horror upon check-in, when they asked for my Cambodian e-arrival card. Which I knew absolutely nothing about.

Turns out you can do them on the day, thankfully, or even on tablets at the airport in Cambodia just before you go to the immigration booths, but I did mine on my phone sitting cross-legged on the floor in the departures area at Da Nang airport, swearing under my breath.

The first flight, back to Hanoi, was uneventful. My bag was checked through to Siem Reap, so all I had to do between flights was to get myself from Hanoi Domestic Terminal to Hanoi International Terminal. In the end I think it took an hour from landing to the next gate.

Something I saw at Bangkok with the delayed flight, and even more here, is that the airports aren’t good at coping when things go wrong. For the delayed flight, there was no announcement that boarding would start or anything like that, they just suddenly started letting people through into the next area.

Again, not a bad flight. The immigration bit also wasn’t bad; I was concerned that I’d messed something else up, or forgotten another step, but it all went fine. I think the second flight was the only one that used the jet bridge, and then only in landing; All the Vietnamese bits were bus-to-plane situations.

The hostel had arranged a car for me, and conveniently the name sign had the hostel on it too, so it was really easy to spot.

A young woman had also seen the sign, was staying at the same place, and asked if she could ride in the car too; It was fine with the driver, because I don’t think he cared, and at 9pm I’m not going to leave someone at the airport. Apparently she’d already had two different people try to scam her over taxis & buses.

Siem Reap Angkor airport is a long-ass way from anything, and there’s very little around on the drive, so for a long time it’s this one road with street lamps, punching through the darkness.

But, eventually, we got there. I got my room card, found my room, and kind of collapsed.