Day 4: Siem Reap -> KL -> Singapore

 

Last Day in Siem Reap

It was our last day at the hotel. Our flight out of Siem Reap was at 3.00pm which meant we would need to leave the hotel by around 12.30 pm. I had already arranged with the hotel staff to send us to the airport. The transfer was free as it was part of our 3-night stay packet.

At about mid morning we went for a last swim at the hotel pool. While swimming we saw a "cooking class" being conducted by the pool side. A staff told us that two ladies were learning to cook Khmer dishes from the hotel chef. The lesson started with a trip to the market in the morning to buy the necessary groceries. Well we had pottery lesson and others had cooking class.

We checked out of the hotel at about 12 noon since we were still early for our ride to the airport, we went to the dining room for some fresh fruit drinks. I had fallen in love with Siem Reap pineapple juices, really sweet and refreshing.

More Pineapple juices

When it was time to leave, we went to the hotel counter to settle all our bills. Three night stay, four six course dinners, a few other small meals, drinks etc. We requested to use up as much of our US dollars as possible and to pay the balance using credit card.

Unfortunately there was some problems with the credit card system. The payment could not be completed with my hubby's card or my card. For a while we were wondering how to settle the balance as we did not have any more cash. Luckily after waiting a while the problem of the credit card system was resolved and the payment went through. 

We reached the airport at about 1.10 pm and there were many long queues at the airline counters in the departure hall. Our printed online check-in boarding passes cannot be used directly, they had to be exchanged for the actual boarding passes. So we had to join a queue to get our boarding passes. It was a long wait to be served, first the systems was down for a while, then there was this blond lady having some issues with her check-in luggage. After bickering with the counter staff for a long while, holding up everybody behind her in the queue, she finally opened up her luggage and pulled out some items and stuffed then into her hand carrier and those of her friends' before checking in her luggage. At last the queue was moving, once she was gone the queue moved so swifty and in less than 5 minutes we got our boarding passes. 

With our boarding passes we moved to the next hall to join more queues at the immigration counters. Another queue another wait. This time we got through smoothly. No "tips" request from any immigration officier, unlike when we came in three days ago.

Duty free at Departure Hall - Siem Reap International Airport

Surprisingly the departure hall was quite nice. Bright, cool, airy, clean and modern looking. There were a few duty free shops selling souvenirs and plentiful of chairs to sit and wait. Unfortunately there was no transit lounges. When it was time for boarding we entered the boarding gate and walked onto the tamac to our plane.

Would I come back again?

As I was sitting on the plane soon to be flying out of Siem Reap I was recalling the words that the hotel staff said to me. They said, "Please come back again." Would I?

Leaving Siem Reap

We had a great time at Siem Reap, temple visits, pottery class, Tonle Sap Sunset tour and three days of great stay at Tresor D' Angkor but I knew I would not come back again. The world is so big, there are still so many places I have yet to visit. Siem Reap is not a shopping paradise like Thailand, Korea, Japan or Hong Kong where one will go back again and again.  So "Bye Bye" Siem Reap for a long long time.

Transit at Kuala Lumpur

Flew into KLIA2 after two hours flight. Malaysia was one hour ahead of Siem Reap so when we touched down it was about 6 pm local time. Our next flight from KLIA2 to Singapore was 9.30 pm, so we just needed to be at the boarding gate at about 9.00 pm. We had three hours to kill.

The good thing about AirAsia and Malaysian Airport was that the printed online check-in boarding passes could be used directly so there was no need to go and queue to exchange for the proper boarding passes at some AirAsia Counters.  Our flight tickets from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap and back were two sets of return tickets so it was also a good thing that we were not required to exit immigration when we touched down in Kuala Lumpur each time. We were allowed to stay in the transit area which made the transfer process so convenient. 

We searched around for a good transit lounges to pass our time. If we were to use our priority passes there were only three lounges in KLIA2 that we could enter. All three lounges were Plaza Premium lounges.

We had used Plaza Premium lounge at KLIA and it was very good. At KLIA2 we had used the Plaza Premium near boarding gate L8 and it was lousy in comparison.  

This time our boarding gate was near the Plaza Premium lounge at the 3rd level of the Satellite. Before we signed in at the lounge we requested for a quick look around. Well, we found it lacking in food.  The finger foods that were displayed looked unappetitizing so we decided not to go in. We would be better off eating at the Urban Foodcourt at 3rd level of the Satellite. At  least we could order proper meals from Hot Wok. 

I could not understand how the same brand could offer lounges of such drastic difference in standard!!! While eating we started surfing Singapore Channel News Asia website to watch Singapore 50th National Day live parade on our mobiles. We had always watch the parade every year and this year though we were out of town we still watched it.

There was no difference watching the live parade from the Television in our living room at home or at Kuala Lumpur Transit (KLIA2). Of course nothing was better than to watch the parade at the floating platform (Marina Bay) where the parade and performance were held but it was impossible to get the tickets to the parade/performance.


Home sweet home

We boarded the plane on time and was back at Changi International Airport Terminal 1 by 10.00pm. For citizen we could make use of the automated immigration check which let us through the immigration very fast and easy. At the arrival hall we joined a long queue for the taxis. Though the queue was long, it progressed very fast because there was also a long queue of taxis outside the terminal. Two airport staff was efficiently guiding the taxis into empty taxis bays and customers into empty taxis.

There was a Chinese man who instead of joining the taxis queue walked directly to the taxis bays and tried to board a taxis. The taxis driver refused to accept him and the airport staff told him to join the queue. Hurray to the Taxis driver, hurray to the airport for not condoning queue jumper.

Once on the taxis, it took on 20 minutes to reach our doorstep. HOME SWEET HOME.

Day 1: Singapore to Narita

Plan for the day

To fly from Singapore to Tokyo (Narita) in the early morning. To go by bus or subway from Narita International Airport to our Hotel in Narita City. To take part in the Narita Gion Festival for the rest of the day.

We met all our targets!!!

Flying into Narita

On way to Changi International Airport

We arrived at the airport at 5.00am, the sky was still dark and the MRT had not even started operating yet. Luckily, calling for a taxis was rather easy and we got to Changi International Airport Terminal 1 quickly. Since we had already completed our flight checkin online, it was just a matter of getting our boarding passes and handing over our luggage at the baggage drop counter. We cleared immigration and were off looking for a good breakfast place.

Airport Lounges

Airport Lounges played an important part in all our trips. And the best part was we did not have to pay for using them. We were able to use these lounges with our Priority Passes that were issued to us by Standard Chartered Bank. It was one of the benefits for being its customer. These lounges offered comfortable places to wait before boarding the plane. I would usually sip a cup of nice expresso, nibble on some finger food and surf the internet. At times, I would come across a lounge that served good meals too. All these were done as I relaxed in big sofa seat and waited for the final call to board the plane. These lounges had made my waiting time in the airport, whether for first boarding or during transit, a more pleasant experience and prepared me for the hard time ahead (coped up for hours in a plane!!!).

Unfortunately one of the disadvantages of an early flight was that most of the airport lounges were not open at that hour. In terminal 1, there were four lounges (that accept Priority Pass) that operated 24 hours, they were:

1. Airport Wellness Oasis (near Gate D41),

2. The Skyview Lounge (near Gate D30 - 41)

3. Sats Premier Lounge,

4. Plaza Premium Lounge (level 3)

The first lounge we saw as we walked toward the direction of our boarding gate was Airport Wellness Oasis. It was small and deserted. I took a quick look at its food counter and was rather disappointed with its spread of "breakfast" food, there were just a few snack items placed on the counter. At one corner of the room was a small pond which was a foot spa. We decided to skip to the next lounge.

Beside Airport Wellness Oasis was a escalator which brought us directly to The Skyview Lounge. It looked bigger and brighter. The food spread on the counter looked slightly better than that of Airport Wellness Oasis. I ate fried noodle and chicken siew mai, unfortunately they tasted plain and a bit too salty. Luckily, its century egg porridge tasted fine. The only thing I really enjoyed was its Cafe latte, a good hot cup of aromatic coffee did wonder for my sleepy mind. I always appreciate freshly grounded coffee with sinful full cream milk.

Airport Lounge

Delta Airlines

Delta flew directly from Singapore to Tokyo Narita. It was my first time flying Delta and I was pleasantly surprised with its larger chair space, there was more width and legroom. For a short while I was so happy when the pilot broadcast about Delta's on-board wifi, unfortunately it was not free in fact it was rather costly. So I got stuck with its on board entertainment (dramas and movies) which was rather limited and outdated. My five hours journey to Narita Airport was quite a hardship.

Mobile Wireless Router for 24/7 internet connection

We reached Narita Airport Terminal 1 at about 2pm and went up to the 4th level to the post office to pick up the mobile router that I had rented online from Japan Wireless about a month ago. The post office operated from 8am to 10pm, 356 days a year.

I have reserved and paid for a wireless mobile router from Japan Wireless,my favourite telco, because I find its charges comparatively cheaper than the others. Two days before I left Singapore, Japan Wireless had informed me that they had dispatched the router to the Post office.

At the post office I just needed to give the post office staff my name and picked up the package easily. In another 5 minutes we completed the setup of all our mobile devices to connect to the mobile router! With data access I would be able to navigate my way to our hotel in Narita city smoothly.

I could also arrange for the mobile router to be sent to my hotel but I preferred to pick it up at the airport so that I could use it immediately.  

Taking a train Narita City ( 成田市)

The train station was directly in the basement of Narita airport and we had no problem finding it as there were many directional sign in English. At the basement, things got a bit complicated as there were several entrances leading to different trains. We zoomed in to a huge overhead map showing a complex network of the train routes.

Unfortunately the Station names in English were in small prints and for a while we could not find our destination station or our present station. Luckily I was knew the Chinese name of the two stations so I finally located the two stations by their Chinese names which were in huge prints on the map. We bought our tickets at ¥260 per person at the ticketing machine which was easy to use as it had an English option for selection. We dragged our luggage to the correct entrance and boarded a train for a short journey of just three train stops.

train ride from Narita Airport to Narita City 

Getting to Our Hotel

We got off the train at KeiseiNarita Station. The train platform was an above ground high platform which gave me a good view of the buildings around it. I got out my handphone and activated google map. With the map we were able to establish our orientation and walked toward the direction of our hotel, which was about 600 metres away. From KeiseiNarita Station we had to cross over to Narita Station before we could see our Hotel.

Narita Gion Matsuri (10th, 11th, 12th July 2015)

The Narita Gion Festival is a summer festival, which has continued for over 300 years. At this event, one of Naritasan Shinshoji's portable shrines (omikoshi), along with 10 other different floats are paraded down the Omotesando Road. It lasts for three days and during these three days traditional competitions and musical performances are held. An estimated 400,000 spectators are expected to throng along the festival route.

I knew that the festival parade route would be along a road of about 1 km, starting from Narita Station to Naritasan Shinshoji Temple. So I booked a hotel nearest to this route. Once we left our luggage in our room we set out on foot walking along the festival parade route towards the Temple. Along the way we could already see signs of the festival, we saw little girls dressed up in Kimonos and groups of people walking in the same direction towards the temple.

Route of festival parade

Once we turned into Omotesando Road we saw a police road block, stopping vehicles from going into the road. Instantly we knew we had reached the right location. The entire place was in a festive celebration mood. It was crowded with people and the shops on both sides of the road were bustling with customers. At interval along the road, makeshift stalls were clustered together to sell Japanese street food to passers-by.

Omotesando Road

Soon we saw our first float of the day, it was huge and heavy, it was two levels high. The wooden float was beautifully decorated, it carried several musicians on it first deck and several men on the roof of its second deck. The heavy float was dragged by thick ropes pulled by two long lines of participants from the front.

Festive Parade

In rhythmic chorus of shouts the participants pulled the float slowly through the narrow road. As they moved along, they were cheered by spectators that packed both the shoulders of the narrow road. It was amazing to see the level of participation from all age groups. Those that were too young to walk were carried by their mothers who walked in their places. I could see that from an early age these youngsters were already exposed to this traditional culture which became a natural part of their lives when they grow up.

Festival Floats

One float after another went by, each float had its own theme and all its participants wore similar costumes. The noise all round was loud, was chaotic and yet rhythmic. Loud because there were people everywhere, spectators and particapants. Chaotic because the spectators were all laughing, shouting and singing at the same time. Rhythmic because the float participants were shouting and cheering in synchronisation to the the traditional music played by the male and female participants sitting on the first deck of the float.

Young and old participants

The whole procession went on and on, the participants seemed tirelss, they pulled the floats through the streets from day to night in a route that loop through the temple. As the evening approached, and the sky began to dim, lanterns on the floats were lighted up. I could already imagine how these floats would looked like when the sky turned dark.

Lighted festival float

The size of the crowd had grown several folds since the afternoon, though there were many people there was no rowdy behaviour. By 8pm, after the sky became totally black the procession took on a magical golden hue.

Festival Parade went on through the night

It was a long day for us, we had been awake since 4 am in the morning and were on our feet for hours and yet we felt very reluctant to leave the festival. The festive mood grew more infectious as the night deepened but by 9.30 pm we decided to call it a day and walked back to our hotel.

As we reached our hotel, we were surprised and delighted to encounter a float parked just outside a quaint small beer store that was about 5 metres away from the front steps of our hotel. For a change, the float participants had put down the thick ropes and were performing a traditional Japanese dance on the narrow pavement. They were dancing to the tune of a live music played by the Japanese uncles and aunties sitting on the float. We thought we had left the festival behind but it came to us at our very door steps (hotel steps)!!!.

Float parked near the doorsteps of our hotel

Hotel for the Night 1and Night 2

I had purposely selected Narita U-City Hotel because it was within walking distance to the festival procession route that the Narita Gion Festival Floats would take. The proximity had allowed us to enjoy the festival late to the night without worrying about the journey back to the hotel.

I had booked a semi double room at $55 a night at this hotel about 3 months ago. I was willing to pay more for a larger room, unfortunately even at that time the larger rooms were already sold out.

Our small double room

The semi double room was very tight, after placing our two 24-inch luggage bags and two backpacks there was hardly any space to move around. The attached bathroom was also very small, I could not avoid banging my elbows into the walls as I maneuvered around in the enclosed toilets.

The hotel furnishing was old and faded and the room had a slight moldy smell though it looked clean. There was only two power plugs which made it difficult for us to charge all our devices at the same time. The room came with towels, boiling kettle, hair dryer, TV, wifi, fridge. The hotel did not supply breakfast.

If it was not for its proximity to the Narita Gion Festival route and the Narita Train Station I would not want to stay at this hotel.

U-City Hotel