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.
According to the receipts I collected:
$40.00 (Php 1920.00) for 3 day pass for Angkor. Payment was thru a ticket booth halfway between Siem Reap center and Angkor. A photo is taken and is printed on the ticket; this is to avoid second-hand tickets. You loose the ticket in Angkor and they charge you $30.00. Pass for 2 days also costs $40.00, same same. Most of the temples have stationed guards that ask for the ticket before you enter. It was good that I had an arrangement with the tuktuk driver that I leave the hotel at 5:30AM to catch the sunrise, so there was no queue at all.
$10.00 (Php 4800.00) which I exchanged for Vietnamese Dong. The exchange rate was 17,870.00 VND per USD. I think this was in the airport. Their booth is in the leftmost side money exchange counters towards the exit of Tan Son Nath Airport. From there, I walked towards the domestic terminal nearby where I found Bus 152 which goes to Pam Ngu Lao. By the way, the bus fare was just 3,000VND (Php 8.00) and it goes straight to the backpacker’s area. The problem with me was that I was disoriented when I got off the bus. I had a difficult time looking for the hotel where I have a reservation, which turned out to be just a few steps away from the bus stop!
$3.60 (Php 172.80) this was for a meal or actually an afternoon snack in Popular Guesthouse. They have a restaurant on the right side. Popular Guesthouse is a nice place to stay. The first night I stayed on a $12 (Php 576.00) room but to cut cost I transferred to a $5 room, or was it $6.
Laundry for $1.90 for 1.9kg in Siem Reap. I needed this because I only had a bag of clothes with me, just enough for 3 days. This was in front of the hotel where I stayed. In the hotel it was $2.00 per kg. The clothes were hand washed but I didn’t like the strings (yarn) they placed on each piece probably was an ID.
$3.00 entrance fee to the National Museum of Cambodia. This museum is in Phnom Penh and contains many displays arranged around the building on a circular manner. It’s not so big and it didn’t take me more than 5 minutes to finish viewing all. I actually liked more the museum in Siem Reap which presented everything on a better way so I was forced to spend more time inside. Besides, the displays there include audio and video presentations. It was a nice rest visiting the Siem Reap Museum after a long morning in Angkor.
Php 127.00 for my Jollibee breakfast in NAIA. It turned out that I needed this because of the immigration officer which required me to produce a week of hotel booking, which I did not have because it was not part of my itinerary. Thankfully, I had a Lonely Planet with me with a list of hotels in Pam Ngu Lao. Thankfully also, the receptionist of Yellow House Hostel was also online at that time. I called via my phone (no bill yet!) and made a follow up via YM. She could not hear me clearly in the phone, no thanks to the PA of NAIA Centennial Terminal which frequently pages for lost people. I asked her to e-mail me a “confirmation of the booking of Mr. Xxx Xxxxxx at Yellow House Hotel for a week paid via credit card number xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-5467.” I received the e-mail a few minutes later. I had to go to an internet café near the Old Domestic Terminal to have it printed. (Taxi Php 100.00, printing and internet Php 75.00)
Php 1,620.00 Philippine Travel Tax, no comment.
VND 38,000 for Pho Bo and Tac Muoi in Pho Quynh which is a small restaurant in Pam Ngu Lao. It’s for a big bowl of beef noodles and (I can’t remember the other one, probably a beverage, tea maybe because at this time I still have not tasted their coffee). The noodles come with a platter of a forest of vegetables and chili and lemon on another plate.
VND 125,000 ($7.35) for 2 bottles of Saigon Beer and burger in Allez Boo which is a prominent restaurant in the corner of Bui Vien and Pam Ngu Lao. Beer was 30,000 VND each, around 80 pesos per big bottle, just like the big Red Horse. The beer tastes good, actually less bitter than SMB.