Finally we arrive! (with dancers)

 Monday and Tuesday, March 10 and 11, 2025

And so the interminable plane trip begins!  The first leg, from Atlanta to Doha, Qatar, is scheduled to take thirteen hours but actually only take twelve.  At the length an extra hour one way or another doesn't really matter!!  They feed us three times, with two of the meals being actual full dinners (time is relative on a plane!) and the other is an interesting sandwichy kind of thing!  And there are some really good movies to watch, like "Gladiator II" with Denzel (the magnificent) Washington and "My Penguin Friend" which is just adorable, and "Here" which is kind of a unique experience.  It is based on a graphic novel and about eighty percent, or more, is CGI, including animated versions of Tom Hanks and Robin Wright.  I found that aspect a little off-putting, since they could have used real actors for much of the movie.  I suppose they were trying to stay true to the source material?  The also offered "Maria" which I would have loved but it is so dialogue driven and it was really hard to hear, even with the headphones that Qatar Airways provides for free.  And there were no closed captions or subtitles.

Qatar also provides an over night kit with a toothbrush, tooth paste, socks, ear plugs, and socks! It is interesting to note that one of the entertainment options is a man reading the entire Holy Qur'an.

I wish I were a gifted sleeper!  But I think I managed a couple of hours of shut eye in the middle of the flight.  When we arrived in Doha we dutifully followed the signs for connecting flights, breezed through security, and located our next flight, also on Qatar Air. It did require asking for directions a couple of times; but everyone was polite and super helpful.  Most of the directions involved looking for the yellow teddy bear!  And, truly, you can't miss him! The Qatar airport is gorgeous and there is gold everywhere.  I guess no one wears silver jewelry here!  And the ladies' room has bidets in each stall!

                                

There is a quirk, though.  We got to our gate to find that is is a glass-walled enclosure that is locked.  We sat in some chairs in a central area and watched the clock to see if it would open closer to boarding time.  It didn't!  But some staff finally appeared and began checking passports and boarding passes.  then we were allowed to enter the other glass-walled area before descending to board the bus that took us to our plane.  Also, the entire airport is really quiet and we finally realized that they don't make any announcements! When it was close to boarding time people just started showing up at the gate area!

The next flight goes to Bangkok and is only about six hours.  That's plenty of time for crunchy corn snacks, a full dinner and another sandwich thingy. The choices for that were vegetable or chicken;  but the chicken turned out to be eggs, which are certainly a form of chicken!  And to finish watching "Juror 2"  and "Wolfs" with Brad Pitt and George Clooney, which is a hoot! And I lucked out with my seat assignment.  I had a middle seat but no one showed up for the aisle seat and the flight attendant didn't care if I moved!

Bangkok's airport is larger than one would expect and once again we breezed through security and headed for our gate.  We think the US is the only country that still requires people to take off their shoes. When we got to E1A there were no other passengers!  Yes, we were a bit early, but still!  Eventually more people came but all told I don't think there were more than twenty passengers on our flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap!  And we took a prop plane!  Ginger and I had seats in the last row, number 18, and we each had our half of the row to ourselves!  I took over 18A and B and she had 18C and D! The flight wa only about an hour butBangkok Airways, "Asia's Boutique Airline" still found time to serve us another multi-course meal!  And all the flights included alcohol as one of your beverages!

This is our second sunrise; but we couldn't see the first one
because we had to have our window shades pulled down!

The Siem Reap airport is small but well staffed.  We had to apply for a visitor's visa and there were two men there to help us with the on-line form and another two take our money and ass the visas to our passports.  Then it was on to baggage claim and immigration and customs and out side to meet up with our guide for today. We spotted his sign and he summoned our transport, bringing our bags to the curb and loading them up.  Turns out we will have a PRIVATE tour of Cambodia!  Today's guide give us a lot of background information and get us checked in to our hotel.  He'll meet us later, at 6:15 for dinner and a show!

Cute little stylized restroom sign!

Common mode of transportation

The national flower is the rumduol.

We learned a lot about Cambodia during our trip into town.  There are about 17 million people in the country and and one million of them live in Siem Reap.  Ninety percent of the population is Buddhist although the country used to be Hindu and ten percent still are, worshipping three primary gods and numerous others.  The people also practice animism, with everyone having a spirit house in front of their homes where they make offerings each day.  The children go to public school for four hours a day and it is free.  If they go to school in the morning, then they go to private school in the afternoon, and vice versa. The country is nominally democratic, although not so much in practice.  We see lots of signs with pictures of three men, the movers and shakers in the People's Party.  One was the prime minister, another is the current prime minister who happens to be the first one's son. People eat three meals a day and they all have rice and a protein, fish or chicken or pork.  They don't eat beef. The new year begins in April and the monsoon season begins April 15th and lasts for six months.  Farming is done during the wet season with rice being the primary crop along with potatoes and vegetables. The economy has taken a beating with tourism being way down as a result of Covid and also with the Chinese people no longer coming to visit.  The Chinese economy is doing well and the people are discouraged from visiting a democracy.  The local currency is the rial, and one dollar is worth 4,000 of them.  The dollar is accepted here as payment for most goods and services.  In fact we paid for our visas with three crisp new ten-dollar bills each.

In our hotel lobby

We each got a welcome drink!

Our room is large and lovely, overlooking the courtyard and the pool, and has all the amenities.  We have lots of time to get organized and cleaned up after our twenty-five or -six hour journey.  And to blog!!

Even bathrobes and zoris!

We've got everything straightened away and charged, so we can go exploring!  We've managed to escape several offers of rides and tours but one young man is so polite and charming that we give in to his offer of an hour's tour for three dollars (!). We see two beautiful pagodas and a cemetery for those who died in the killing fields and then the obligatory stops at places we can't afford!  But we also see about a million bats hanging around in trees!  And a dragon boat that can hold eighty people! We decline the offer of one more place where we "can just look, no need to buy" and return to our hotel.  And after a couple of trips to the front desk, we have a key card that actually works!

About a bazillion bats!

Can't wait for the buffet and show tonight!  And sleeping!!

We take short naps and meet our guide in the lobby at 6:15.  Then we are whisked away to Amazon Angkor, a huge dining hall with a stage and an outdoor courtyard.  We have a reserved spot at the end of one of the long tables that are perpendicular to the stage.  We are among the early birds so we can maneuver through the enormous buffet, both inside and in the courtyard, with little difficulty.  We bring back our plates and our beers have already arrived.  I chose the smaller bottle and I'm glad I did! 

The dancing begins at 7:30.  There are six dances and thirteen dancers.  Each dance is a traditional Khmer dance and the dancers have obviously been training for this their entire lives.  As young children they begin bending their fingers backwards so they can form the traditional gestures, all of which have a special meaning. They open with a traditional dance about gods and goddesses and move on to the oconut dance, the Mekhala dance which is a battle between good and evil. Next comes the fishermen's dance, the only piece with a note of levity, and they end with the Apsaras Ballet. Our program describes each dance as well as th meaning of five of the common hand gestures and also enumerates the classical instruments which the band is playing.

When the program is over the dancers remain on the stage so that people can pose with them for photos.  We choose to find our guide and head home before we pass out! Great first day!