Day 12 Friday 3rd April, Flight to Phnom Penh

Just a little bit to add to yesterday’s excitement. Rob and I were going to head out to find a place for drinks and then dinner. Rob called Trevor and he said he desperately needed a beer too and so joined us. Marilyn had told us about a lovely open courtyard, not far from our hotel that had a little French restaurant in it and that she had eaten there and the food was great. On our short walk to the restaurant, we were approached by a shoe-shiner/repairer and given what had happened to Trevor previously, we all gave him a wide berth and told him to go away. We found the small laneway that led us to the restaurant and were surprised to see that the whole area opened out into a large courtyard with several different eateries all around. It was delightful and the boys were soon enjoying beers at the French Restaurant. After quite a few beers, I realised that rather than trying to go somewhere else for a meal we may as well stay and eat here, which is what we did! The food was good, although Trevor ordered a toasted ham and cheese sandwich which came with salad and chips but was brought a bowl of carrots and broccoli so some wires were crossed with the communication! Anyway, it was all sorted.  Rob and I were up very early this morning because we were flying to Cambodia. The rest of our group had nominated to travel by coach. We were picked up from the hotel just after 6am. The hotel had prepared breakfast boxes for us both to take which was much appreciated. The ride to the airport was quick and uneventful. We were a little concerned but managed to find the check-in for our flight and off loaded our luggage before tackling the huge lines at immigration. We probably stood there for at least 30 minutes. Getting through security, was much quicker. We were doing well and soon found our gate. We had plenty of time to enjoy the goodies from our breakfast boxes and relax. About 10 minutes before our boarding time when noticed airline staff writing on a white board and Rob went to investigate. Our gate had been changed, and we had to do a mad dash up three levels to find our new gate. We had a very short and pleasant flight to Phnom Pehn in an aircraft that was only half full. We were in for a huge surprise arriving at the airport. The new airport in Phnom Pehn only opened in 2025 and was both massive, spacious, clean and beautifully designed. There were very few people, and it took us about 1 minute each to clear immigration, as although they had an official at each station, there was also a scanner that was doing the hard work. By the time we went to collect our luggage, it was on the carrousel. We walked out the door and found a driver who was holding a sign with our name on it. He we had a beautiful, limousine like van to ourselves. I couldn’t believe all the new huge high-rise buildings everywhere and others being built. Our driver said that it was Chinese money building all these apartments, shops etc. not Cambodian money and then pointed out the many, many Chinese signs on the properties. We soon arrived at The Onra Hotel and were given an early check-in. Our room is great and the shower would have to be the biggest shower I have ever used. We relaxed for awhile and then went for a walk to find a café or something like that for lunch. Not far from the hotel was a café/bakery and after going for a long walk around several blocks we returned to the café/bakery. We returned to the hotel and relaxed until the rest of our group arrived around 3.30pm. We met our new guide for the next few days, Borey and he has offered to take us on a tuk-tuk and boat tour of Phnom Pehn tonight, before dinner. Rob and I are looking forward to it but not sure how many others will join us as they may be a little tired from the coach journey. On a very good note, when Trevor was packing up this morning, he found his wallet……the one that he thought had been pick-pocketed. It had slipped down between something, so that was a good thing!















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