The COVID-19 situation is gradually easing around the world. This is good news, obviously, but it presents a bit of an annoyance for me. For the first time since early 2020, borders in Southeast Asia are fully opening up again, and Thailand has announced the end to the emergency COVID visa extension program which had allowed me to stay in the country for so long.
It's April 2022, and for the first time since my trip to Penang, Malaysia in August 2019, I'm on a "visa run".
Over the past week, I've been getting all of my documents together for my trip. I've never had to apply for a marriage visa in Cambodia before, so I'll be learning the process as I go. Hopefully, it'll be easier next time!
Unlike this past summer when Survarnabhumi Airport looked spooky and totally abandoned, things were hopping again! All of the shops and restaurants were open, and every airline seemed to be doing big business. It's a good sign that the world is recovering, and it makes me very happy to see world travel slowly resuming.
Unfortunately, my VietJet flight was a bit delayed leaving Bangkok, but soon enough we were off on the one-hour flight to Phnom Penh, the capital of Thailand's neighboring kingdom.
Before my flight, I went to a travel clinic for my PCR test and "Fit to Fly" certificate... but that turned out to be entirely unnecessary, as Cambodia has finally decided to fully open its borders. I had to show my vaccination card at the airport and upon arrival in Cambodia, but other than that, the immigration procedure was as quick and easy as always. I had arrived in Cambodia with an e-visa, and didn't even need to spend time filling out any visa-on-arrival applications. I was through immigration in about five minutes.
Unfortunately, because my flight was delayed, I missed the window to drop my passport and visa application off at the Thai embassy... Now it's the weekend, and I'm going to have to wait until Monday. It's annoying, but it can't be helped. I took a taxi to my hotel and enjoyed a can of ice cold Angkor Beer while waiting for check-in.
I also ordered a chicken curry from the hotel's restaurant. Food in Cambodia is similar to that in Thailand. It's also quite cheap, so I should be able to eat one or two nice meals while I'm here.
I also went shopping at Smart Mart, a little minimart across the street from my hotel. I picked up bread, cheese, peanut butter, coffee, and some instant noodles, which should also help me save a little money while I'm here.
I'm not going to be able to do any real traveling while I'm here. My weekend is going to be dedicated to teaching online classes and working on a new updated TESOL certification from Arizona State University that I'm taking to boost my professional profile. First thing Monday I'll head over to the Thai embassy to submit all of my documents for my new non-"O" visa (marriage). I hope I'm not forgetting anything!
However, if I can get my visa quickly without any issue, I might be able to do some fun stuff in and around Phnom Penh in the second half of the week. We'll see! In any case, I hope that my readers enjoy seeing some "daily life" posts about Phnom Penh.
I've decided to try a new style of post on my blog over the next few days. This will be my "Phnom Penh Diary" in which I write a post every day about my stay in the Cambodian capital. It might not be that exciting, as I've been here a few times before and it's not the most exciting city to live in. However, between my teaching hours, I'll try to get out and about on foot exploring the city a bit. Honestly, I'm just excited to be able to write about going abroad again for the first time in a long, long time!
Welcome to Cambodia, the "Kingdom of Wonder".
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