03.02.20
With just three more flights to go, it looks like we will be able to safely leave Southeast Asia and return to the US.
We were never worried, but we were worried…
Not about getting sick, but about flight cancellations and increasing levels of threat protection in different countries from the growing Coronavirus Pandemic. I’ll get to that in a moment, meanwhile there’s Cambodia and Angkor Wat!
Angkor Wat was not what we expected, and it was not disappointing. Just the opposite. It is the largest religious structure on Earth, and just one of the temples encompasses almost 500 acres. Initially we thought it was just one temple, but found out that there are over 70 different ones of various sizes.
We had a room a little bit outside of the downtown Siem Reap area and it was a bit of an oasis among chaos. We had a nice room, with bath, swimming pool and a well-equipped cafe. But as soon as we left the front door, there was massive traffic, vendors, and tuk-tuk drivers waiting at our beck and call. Not traffic like we saw in Bangkok, since this is much, much smaller. But just hundreds and hundreds of small scooters flittering around everywhere, many of them with little children, less than 5 years old, sitting on the seat or held in the driver’s arms. I never quite got used to that!
I will be putting together a special report on Angkor Wat since there is much to share. We were very lucky that we met some Americans who had been there for a few days and they taught us what shortcuts to take. They suggested hiring a driver for the day and the frugal me initially balked at that, but I realized that there was great value in saving time, and convenience, and not walking around aimlessly. Make a note of that folks!
Cambodia is an impoverished country. You can see that the people struggle to get by, and without Angkor Wat, Siem Reap would be in the middle of nowhere with no reason to visit. Like most of Cambodia. But the people are genuinely kind and friendly and they try to communicate in English. American dollars or Euros go a long, long way and they deal in US dollars more than their native currency. For what we paid for a room and food you could stay here for a month on less than about $800 I think.
I will be doing a recap on our entire visit to Southeast Asia, but considering that we stayed in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia over a 2-month period, my overall impression is very positive. Aside from Bangkok being too smoggy and too crowded, most of this area is really quite lovely. The heat can be oppressive and the bugs and mosquitoes can be a nuisance, but overall, I give it a big thumbs up.
As for the Coronavirus, that has made traveling unpredictable. If we had a transfer in Rome, a common spot, who knows what might have happened? Some airlines are cutting flights up to 80% and I think our flight to Singapore tomorrow morning might be one of them.
We cannot get any information online so will get to the Bangkok airport tomorrow five hours early in case we need to book another flight. The good news is that our original $70 flight is now under $40 due to less demand.
Travel Younger will continue and this new paradigm (which will pass) will teach you how to make lemonade from this lemon.
Catch you in the US of A.
#bangkok, #travel, #traveler, #covid19, #coronavirus, #Thailand, #cheapflights, #singapore
