Thu 6th & Fri 7th Oct 2022 - Getting Home

Thu 6 Oct Day 15 - Depart Siem Reap to Singapore

Sunrise in Siem Reap 5:54am Sunset in Singapore 6:55pm

SQ165 REP – SIN Seat 11A

                        1610         1915

Today marks the end of our incredible adventure through Vietnam and Cambodia. We hope you leave with fantastic memories!

Included Meals: Breakfast

Fri 7 Oct Day 16 - Arrive Australia

Sunrise in Singapore 6:49am Sunset in Canberra 7:11pm

SQ237 SIN – MEL Seat 18A SQ6566 MEL – CBR Seat 1A

0025 1050 1650 1755

I woke up early this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep, so just got up, had a shower and washed my hair again. I don’t do humidity well at all.

I went down to breakfast around 7:30 and chose their 3rd egg option on the menu for breakfast. 

Delicious.

Back to my room to check emails and then decided to go for a walk. 

(We don’t have to check out until midday and Seila is picking us up at 1pm.

I didn’t walk to far, just to a supermarket a few blocks away from the hotel. By the time I returned to the hotel I needed another shower. Thank goodness I had another set of clean clothes to change into. The humidity today seems worse than before.

I went downstairs and checked out at 11:45.

A couple a reception photos.

We were picked up shortly before 1pm and it was a short drive to the airport. The desk was just opening up, so we didn’t have to wait long to check in. Passed through immigration and security without any problems and as I had a lounge invitation & I was peckish, decided to head there, but did a walk through the airport first. Not a big airport but a nice one. 

I was in the lounge shortly before 2pm.

Had a small bite to eat and a glass of Chardonnay.  The flights are not announced in the lounge, so I decided to walk to the gate and they were starting to board when I arrived. 

It was a bus boarding.

I had to smile. I was in the same queue as Maria & Sarah as we were chatting & then we were put into seperate Q’s. The girls in the economy line & me in the business one. Went outside & boarded the bus & soon after, the girls also boarded the bus. Because it was raining, there was only 1 door opened to allow us to exit the bus. So those closer to that door, exited first. I think the girls were on the plane before I was off the bus. I just thought it was funny after splitting people in the terminal because of their seating. 😄😄

The flight took off at 4pm. 

My dinner meal. Far to much food.

Finally landed just after 7pm.  This time we did land in T3 and it was only a short walk to the Silver Kris Lounge. As I have a 5 hour layover, I'm making use of the lounge and this time I could log onto the internet BUT not on the laptop.

I had some nibbles and wasn't having anything on the plane until breakfast tomorrow morning.

Was on the new flight SQ237 before midnight. The seat is just in front of the engine, so I'll have a view of the countryside below, once it's daylight.  

I had the bed made up as soon as we were airborne, as the cabin lights were dimmed.  Went to sleep very quickly but woke up a few times as I have to admit, I think Singapore business class beds are the worst. Not comfortable at all. Far to hard for my liking.

Was woken around 3:30am for my breakfast but I'm not sure which country that time was from.

A delicious breakfast, that I didn't take any photos of. 

The plane landed at 10:15am and for some reason, there was a problem with the baggage delivery.  I think the first lot of cases came out around 11:15am and they all belong to the flight staff and after that a few would come out about every 10 to 15 minutes.  My bag finally popped out at 12:20ish and I then made my way to the Virgin Australia lounge, as my flight to Canberra was supposed to depart at 4:50pm.

After a change of gate and further delays, the plane finally lifted off at 6:15pm.

Bill was there to meet me in Canberra and thankfully, we didn't have to wait very long for the luggage to arrive.

And so ends another lovely holiday.

Wed 5th Oct 2022 - Siem Reap

Wed 5 Oct Day 14 - Siem Reap   Active walking day

Sunrise 5:54am Sunset 5:51pm

Angkor Wat, the national symbol and the highlight of any visit to Cambodia, is the crowning jewel of Khmer architecture, and the largest, best preserved, and most religiously significant of all the Angkor temples. To approach the temple, we cross the vast moat, continuing along a broad causeway lined with naga balustrades. As we enter the main building we’ll ascend through a series of galleries and courtyards before reaching the central sanctuary, which offers beautiful views back over the causeway and across the surrounding countryside. On the way, we stop and enjoy the intricate stone carvings that adorn nearly every surface, with some 1,700 Apsaras, or celestial dancers, sculpted into the walls. Along the outer gallery walls runs the longest continuous bas relief in the world, which narrates stories from Hindu mythology, including the famous Churning of the Ocean of Milk.

Known as the ‘Tomb Raider Temple’, Ta Prohm our next sight, is one of the most popular complexes in the Angkor region and is still in much the same condition in which it was found. 
Tonight, we say farewell to Cambodia with a group dinner.

Hotel: Treeline Urban Resort, Siem Reap

Included Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

The fresh fruit starter for breakfast this morning. I didn’t take any other photos of the food. 😳

We departed the hotel at 9am this morning, on our way to Angkor Wat. Upon arrival, we walked over the temporary walkway, which appeared to be made from air filled plastic drums or something along those lines. It moved as you walked on it. 250 metres long apparently.

We stopped on the outer side of the outer entry, while Seila gave a talk about the history of the temple etc.  more photos.

View from the top of Angkor Wat. Photos taken by Maria

We moved on to Ta Prohm, known as the ‘Tomb Raider Temple’.

From there, we then had some lunch and after lunch it was back to the hotel by about 2:30ish.

The rooftop pool at the hotel.

I didn’t take any photos from our dinner this evening but once again the food was delicious. The owner of the restaurant is Swiss and I didn’t get the name of the restaurant. Our guide, Sann Seila, joined us for dinner. We arrived and departed via tuk-tuk.

Diane & Ron are being picked up a 9am tomorrow morning. They are heading to Bangkok and then on to Phuket for a resort holiday break.

Maria, Sarah & I are being picked up at 1pm, for our flight to Melbourne, via a 5hr layover in Singapore.

Night all.

Tue 4th Oct 2022 - Siem Reap

Tue 4 Oct Day 13 - Siem Reap

Sunrise 5:54am Sunset 5:52pm

Wake up this morning, surrounded by rice paddies. Siem Reap is dotted with millennium-old temple ruins from the Khmer Empire, the most famous of which is the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Angkor Wat, which we will be exploring tomorrow.  
Our introduction to Cambodia’s sights begins with a visit to the fortified city of Angkor Thom. This dramatic structure covers an area of 10 square kilometres. Enclosed by a wall and wide moats, it includes many of Angkor's most popular sights. We enter by the monumental south gate over a causeway lined on either side by statues of demons and gods, each carrying a giant naga. 

Our next stop is the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper Kings. Formerly spaces for public ceremonies, both are adorned with dramatic bas reliefs. We’ll visit the ruined Baphuon Temple, Royal Enclosure and Phimeanakas Temple before continuing to the mysterious Bayon Temple. In this temple, one of the most popular and compelling in Angkor, we explore the galleries of beautifully preserved bas reliefs and ascend narrow stairs to reach the central sanctuary. Here we will find the famous giant stone faces smiling enigmatically down at us from every angle. 
This afternoon we travel to Tonlé Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. During the monsoon season the lake swells to four times its normal size, so it is important for the locals that live on the banks and surrounds to build their houses on stilts. Here we’ll board a boat and take a ride along the canal of the lake. This gives us an opportunity to see how the locals live in their colourful stilt houses. Watch children playing on the banks while fishermen wade in the shallows with their nets and traps. As we reach the mouth of the canal and lake, the stilt houses end, and boats are transformed into houses to make up the floating villages.

Hotel: Treeline Urban Resort, Siem Reap

Included Meals: Breakfast Lunch

Our day went pretty much as described above. We departed the hotel at 9am and went to an area, where Seila bought the tickets for our visits. We all had to have our photo taken. Not sure it it was a full face pic or a pic of the eyes only.

First up a photo of breakfast this morning. Scrambled eggs & salmon. Cooked to order.

Then as per the programme.

I’m just going to post a few photos.

And once again, they have posted all over the place.

It was Sarah’s birthday today and Maria found a restaurant with good reviews, not to far from our hotel, so we all went there for dinner.

Great food and inexpensive.