En Route to Cambodia

April 26, 2006.

Direct flights from Luang Prabang to Siem Reap are cancelled until winter, so we have many hours of layover at BKK. While waiting, we rate Luang Prabang on a 1-10 scale. I waffle, not sure, finally settle on 7.5. Parth gives it "about a 6." We debate whether our reaction is to whether it met expectations, or whether it is what we want on a trip. We weigh the differences between our experiences in big cities like Bangkok versus Luang Prabang. Maybe a pace more like Bangkok is what we want. Even Chiang Mai is a happy middle ground between Bangkok and Luang Prabang paces. We're not sorry we went. But we're definitely ready for a more challenging environment, and the wait won't be long ...

We have a small flight of 30-40 people from Bangkok to Siem Reap. The airport is nearly deserted and with this number of pepole, it should be smooth sailin' through immigration. Well ... not so fast ... Hordes and hordes of tour bus groups come in after us, and some push in front of us in our line!!! We were here LONG before them! Their passports say Philippines. This is upsetting. They totally decimate our nice neat lines. To not lose our place, we'll have to push our way in front of others too. This is kind of stressful to me after a lifetime of neat, tidy Kroger grocery check-out lines. I chew the inside of my mouth, debating what to do ... what to do ... I shoot lasers with my eyes at these cheating line ladies. At least, that's my perception of this. Where they're from, maybe this is how it is all the time, everywhere.

But, soon the ladies who pushed in front have to go to lines across the room. There are reserved lanes for the big tour groups. Otherwise, this inflow is like a big swallowed meal in a snake. Immigration is typing everything in computers and stamping a million times for each person. We get our passports back, and of course must see the goods ... yay, pretty stamps!!