Departure: Manila to Siem Reap, Cambodia
My sister and i decided to fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia for our birthday getaway this year since it's been one of the most famous destinations in asia lately. so, we thought yeah why not Cambodia aside from it's a perfect destination for budget travelers like us, siem reap will acquaint us with khmer culture apart from what we learned from school many years ago.
It wasn't something we planned ahead of time. we usually plan for a trip a year ahead especially for out of the country trips to allow us time to save up and research further about our destination. it's very vital for travelers to learn about the culture (although not it's entirety because history can be very complex depending on the country) of the place they are about to head off to help them understand about their past and present.
we filed our vacation leaves as early as January this year, booked our flight and hotel accommodation last February and spent the entire month of March researching/reading further about Siem Reap, their culture, weather, currency circulating in their market, cost of food, transportation and the most important part of all--where to buy souvenir items!
• Budget for the trip: $170 myself, my sister $165 (2day/2nights)
let the fun begin..
27 April (our birthday!)
as much as we hate traveling on our birthday (due to this superstition that it's crucial traveling on your birthday), we didn't have any choice because the cheapest airfares got sold out pretty fast which was our fault since it took us a while to think if we're going to book our flight as early as february or further wait for better deals. that, eventually, did not happen as the days went by the cheap airfares turned goner. as i mentioned planning ahead is always good.
NAIA Terminal 3
reached NAIA Terminal 3 around three past pm to allow us time to line up at the check in counter, familiarize ourselves with the terminal since the last time we went out of the country (bound to Singapore) it was at Terminal 1 and T3 is way bigger and better compared to the old Terminal. check in counter opened around 5past PM as far as i can recall. check in was a breeze.
**Cebu Pacific is the only airline here in the Philippines with direct flights to Siem Reap. Our flight schedule 7:30PM via CebuPac 5J 257**
• initial security check - this is as you enter the airport's premise. they scan your bags. make sure all electronic gadgets inside your bag.
check in counter:
• got our passports checked and flight details to make sure you are the passport holder yourself.
• gave us tags for our carry on backpacks; weigh our bags (7kgs limit)
• advised to pay travel tax for a hefty P1,620 (you can do this prior to check in btw)
• show travel tax receipt back again to check in counter but no need to fall in line.
• they hand you your boarding pass and your good to go.
The check in counter for Siem Reap is located in front of the Travel Tax counter. not many passengers lined up for Siem Reap unlike Hong kong and Singapore there's a long line most of the time. We didn't check in any luggage as we planned to go on as backpackers since we've read that CebuPacific have issues in terms of passengers losing their checked in luggages. Sorry but i have to say this, it's our precautionary measure.
Moving on, once you have your boarding pass handy go straight to the area close to the escalator (where the lady guard stands) and present your boarding pass. you will be assisted by cebupac employees and guards where to go so don't worry.
• the first counter is where you pay the Terminal fee P550 and they attach it to your boarding pass.
• Immigration - This is the second counter . they check you passport and ask for the purpose of travel. It has been a common scenario that they ask for first time travellers abroad to sit in the corner for a short interview. This is to further prevent local passengers to go on TNT (illegal aliens) mode overseas and make sure they have enough money for their travel. this is where some pinoys get offloaded as well sad to say.
it was a breeze with me and my sister's case since it's not our first time travelling abroad.
Final Security Check
there's no need to take your shoes off anymore. i wore polymer made earrings so no hassles and did not wear belt neither. make sure you drink all your bottled whatever with you prior to final security check and place all your electronic gadgets with you in your backpack/carry on bag prior to passing the xRay machine or same as the initial security check pretty much.
welcome to the boarding area!
NAIA's T3 is clean and fairly new so it's very cozy to snap pictures and just chill whilst waiting for your flight just make sure you go to the correct boarding gate as per your boarding pass.
Lastly, wait for the announcement once they open the boarding gates. you leave the stub attached to your boarding pass to the gatekeepers and there yah geow.
Pass the tarmac and be mindful of your seat number once you board the plane. We decided to pre-select our airplane seats upon booking though it cost a little extra about P200 or so. We normally do this so we get to sit side by side teehee! I hate take off. it makes me have butterflies in my stomach geez. the pressure whenever the plane ascends is feels weird every time. Don't forget to fill out the Arrival/Departure card for your convenience prior to landing so all you have to do is hand it over to the IO once at the Siem Reap Airport. the Departure card will be stapled to your passport so fill out BOTH before landing. 
Our chicken adobo meal was served roughly an hour and a half after take off which was just on time before we landed in Cambodia (two hours later i think) and it was tasteful. Two hour and forty five minute plane ride seemed forever and alas our plane landed at around 10:30PM. Touchdown Siem Reap...
The Siem Reap International Airport could have been desolate hadn't for our co-passengers who just all recently boarded off.
Siem Reap IO
The Immigration officers were barely english speaking but with the help of hand gestures we got our passports stamped finally. they pointed here and there. ah, language barrier. I outright looked for our shuttle driver and there he was holding this white piece of paper with my sister's name on it in bold letters. we chose the Ankoriana Hotel for the entire duration of our stay in Siem Reap. We enjoyed the ride because it wasn't a shuttle van which we were expecting but a tuk-tuk. Our first tuk-tuk ride in Cambodia, how lovely. We marveled at Siem Reap's beauty at night on our way to our hotel and inhale the dry yet cool wind breeze. Generally, the weather was oven hot though in Cambodia which is very typical in most Southeast Asian countries, the air was very thin. Check out my next post, our first day in Siem Reap and my take on the Ankoriana Boutique Hotel. Related Posts:
Manila-Siem Reap Bound
Siem Reap Day1
Siem Reap Day2
Angkoriana Boutique Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia: A Review
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