Category — Cambodia

You’d expect an airport lounge to be pretty nice in places like Hong Kong, Tokyo or London.  But Phnom Penh, Cambodia? Yep. You heard it right.  This very small international airport is a frequent destination for Thailand expat visa runs sans weekend getaways but the destination in general is usually given very little priority.  For instance, the Thai Airways flights I’ve flown usually are assigned older, smaller aircraft.  While that may not be so unexpected, I also often find myself being herded through those ‘bus terminals’ at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport to add insult to injury.

Upon returning to the Phnom Penh International Airport (PNH) there’s always a mass of people out front apparently waiting for arrivals.  Checkin, immigration is swift, security checkpoint too then right in front of you is the lounge.  So you’re in this country that Thai Airways apparently gives very little merit and the lounge is your next step.  You’re expecting it to look like an inner city public school inside.  I open the door and….

Who’d have guessed?  The lounge at the Phnom Penh International Airport is not only very contemporary and new, but the desserts are above and beyond any I’ve ever had from a typical ‘Thai Airways’ type of lounge.  I attribute this partially due to the culinary influence of their former French colonists’s penchant for producing some of the finest desserts around.  This lounge is rarely full and even has some couches lining the back wall where you can make yourself as comfortable as you wish.

Above average lound, CHECK!  Now on to some actual useful information regarding the immigration/visa process for entering Cambodia via the airport;

1) Once of the plane you walk down the stairs right to the immigration desk.

Things to have prepared for the immigration desk:

a)  $20 USD cash. (They accept other types of currency but they hose you bigtime on the exchange rate so just have $20 ready for them)

b)  Completed visa application form. (print it out at home and do it, or just do it on the plane, the flight attendants will pass them out).

c)  2 headshot photos (2cm x 6cm) (if you don’t have it, no problem, they charge you $5 for forgetting)

d)  Your passport with 1 blank full page (their sticker-visa takes an entire page)

Just give this stuff (except the $20, you do that when you get your passport back) to the 1st person at the desk and they will pass it down a line of about 10 immigration officers, then call you name and flash your passport, give them the $20 and you’re on your way.

Departing you will only need $25 at which you pay at the bottom of the escalators before going up to immigration and the terminal.

Welcome to Phnom Penh, Cambodia!

I just wanted to make a quick post here for a personal driver and tour guide that I’ve known and used for years when traveling to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  His name is Neak Yorn.

He started as a motorbike taxi driver, but would accommodate an unmarked private car at my request as I simply can’t take driving around sweating on a motorbike all day.  I require air conditioned car service, he made it happen.

He’s had some rough medical problems and friends of mine have helped him out with that of which he is very grateful for.  He’s good people and has never lead me wrong.  He’s YOUR man in PNH!  I hear he drives a tuk-tuk now, but as I mentioned, you name it and he’ll make your transportation happen.

You can hit him up direct by email neakyorn at hotmail dot com!