A Long Journey

St. Louis -> Dallas -> Incheon (Seoul) -> Phnom Penh

Who knew going halfway around the world took so long?  Neil and I left St. Louis on Saturday around 11am to fly to Dallas and meet up with his Aunts Barb and Holly, who flew in from Little Rock.  Our tour group spent Saturday night in Dallas to gather ourselves before taking the long flight.  It was nice to rearrange our hurried packing and relax for a night.  Neil and I even met up with some SLU friends.  Thanks for the Shiner and Guinness, Sarah and Kelly!!

Sunday morning was met with nerves and anxious last minute checks.  From Dallas, we flew to Seoul, South Korea, on a 14-hour flight.  We took a gamble on our tickets, reserving window and aisle seats with the possibility of a stranger sitting between us.  Luckily, the seats between me and Neil and Barb and Holly were possibly the only empty seats on the plane!  It was nice to be able to stretch out a bit and even lie down.  Five movies for me and four for Neil helped pass the time in addition to reading and some sleeping. 

We arrived in South Korea at what should have been 2 A.M. for us. Instead it was late afternoon.  I suppose the constant daylight helped keep us awake and partially energized, but it didn't seem to help us get on much of a schedule.  The final flight to Cambodia was in the dark, so we both get a bit more sleep.  A relatively quick five-hour flight later, and we were finally in our final destination. 

10:30pm in the Phnom Penh airport was pretty easy to navigate.  We paid for our visas-on-arrival, went through passport control, picked up luggage, declared nothing and met a guide from our tour company out front all in about 20 minutes.  Not bad!

With a brief explanation on the way, the guide took us to our hotel for the next two nights, plus three more at the end of the trip.  After a quick check in and a relaxing beer on the patio, everyone was ready for a good night’s sleep.  A proper bed is definitely a welcome sight after 24 hours of traveling.