Cont.

$114.00 was the two-way airfare from Manila to Ho Chi Minh City via Philippine Airlines (PAL). It was a promo fare from PAL’s Halloween Madness which was lower than the Econolight fare by just $58.00 or Php2,784.00. Considering that this is not a budget airline, the fare was cheap but the next time I fly out of the country, I would take the any of the ASEAN budget airlines. It’s much cheaper with them. Sometimes, I’d see $1 promo on the net with these airlines. But this comes with the unavoidable taxes and other charges sometimes.

Anyway, the flight was good as expected, with good take off and touchdown. The plane departed on time when we flew out of Manila and also on the return flight. On both occasions we also arrived earlier than the estimated arrival time. The food was also good (but not great) and both came with rice. I overheard the stewardess saying “Of course, the food is better in Saigon, bumawi na lang kayo doon!” I also noticed that the crew of PAL in its international flight was like the parents of the domestic crew.

At this point, I have to mention that I was quite impressed with the international airport in Saigon (Tan Son Nhat). It appeared clean, well-maintained, and orderly although it doesn’t look as gigantic as our NAIA Terminal 3. The duty free shops after the final security check are also nice, with a wide array of products. The security being imposed is not like what we have here. SM and Robinson’s seemed stricter. I don’t remember being frisked and being asked to remove my shoes on the final X-ray.
Also, in the arrival area of the airport, after the tube, a Vietnamese in the traditional ao dai was there to welcome the passengers. Is there a Filipina in baro’t saya welcoming travelers in any of the terminals of NAIA? Naah!


VND 314,500 for the The SinhTourist buses that I rode from Saigon to Phnom Penh and from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. The first bus was good because it was stable and big, just like any of the tourist buses that serve this route. It departed 6:30AM, on time, from Saigon and crossed the city towards the Mocbai border. It was just more than two hours and we were already there. As the passports were already collected before we left Saigon, the girl from The SinhTourist brought these to the immigration officer for the exit stamp. We waited for our names to be called after which we were then made to wait for the rest of the passengers just outside the building. After all the passengers were through, we boarded the bus and headed to the Cambodian side of the border, Bavet, which is not more than 200 meters away. There we had to fall in line for the Cambodian immigration officer that takes a photo of each and stamps the passport. After these, we continued for Phnom Penh for another four hours. In between, there was a big river that we had to cross, so the bus has to ride a ferry (roro). We arrived in Phnom Penh after 1:00PM in SinhTourist (SinhCafe) hotel which serves as their terminal. I had lunch there, because I was already very hungry because I forgot to buy any food from Saigon before we left. I didn’t notice that just next door was a cheaper restaurant.

The second part was a shaky mini bus to Siem Reap. Good thing it was not full. There were only five passengers for that 6 hour bus ride. One was a French lady who speaks little English and carries a Conversational English book in French. The other three looks like Khmers who prefer to sleep throughout that trip. The bus driver speaks little English too so I have to enjoy the sights speechless.