Previous Trip Notes:
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part Five: MH794, Hilton Arcadia, Phuket, Thailand
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part Four: MH79 HKG>KUL Business Class, Grand Hyatt KL, & KL
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part Three: One Night in Hong Kong
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part Two: CX 807, Take Two
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part One: The Setup

We woke up early. Like painfully early. We had a 6:34am flight to catch on Bangkok Airways. Our itinerary was Phuket to Siem Reap with a layover in Bangkok. With an hour bus ride to the airport, we set our alarms for 4:00am. Our driver was waiting for us as soon as we got down to the checkout area, and it was a drowsy drive to the airport. We wanted to get there at least 75 minutes in advance given that it was an International flight. In reality, we could have probably arrived 45 minutes early and still had plenty of time. We made it through security with an hour to spare and bought NSPpeanut some french fries from Burger King (it was open at 5am!!):

Enjoying Burger King French Fries at 5am – Phuket Airport, Thailand

We waited for the Coral Executive Priority Pass Lounge to open, which was supposed to open at 5:45am. Unfortunately, it was still dark inside and locked. Which didn’t change at 5:50am. And 5:55am. And 6:00am. So we simply went to the gate and boarded the plane:

HKT > BKK, Bangkok Airways

The flight was uneventful, and completely empty – I enjoyed an entire row to myself. When we landed in Bangkok, we headed to the Miracle First Class Lounge. While nothing was particularly special, it was a nice place to relax and get some food and drinks given how tired we were.

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge, BKK Airport

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge, BKK Airport

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge, BKK Airport

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge, BKK Airport

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge, BKK Airport

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge, BKK Airport

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge, BKK Airport

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge, BKK Airport

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge, BKK Airport

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge, BKK Airport

Priority Pass Miracle Lounge View, BKK Airport

After about 45 minutes in the lounge, we headed to the gate. We realized this was one of those gates that you needed to be at only a couple of minutes before takeoff, and decided to go to a different Miracle Lounge that was only a two minute walk to the gate. Again, it was nothing special, but it was a slightly different F&B offering, so we had one more drink and headed to the prop plane:

BKK > REP, Bangkok Airways

We touched down at 11:45am, grabbed a Taxi and headed to the Park Hyatt. Taxis are a set price from the hotel, which was around $15 USD, and there are no other options. On a side note, I really love small airports in Asia. My first experience was in Hui, Vietnam, where when the plane turned around on the tarmac, you could see the entire Airport Terminal which looked like the size of a large house. We were able to clear customs, collect our bags and grab a taxi in under ten minutes. It also helped that we purchased e-visas in advance which allowed us to bypass any line created by other passengers on our flight:

Siem Reap Airport

Skip Immigration Lines with a Cambodian e-Visa

The taxi ride was somewhere between 10-15 minutes. While the Park Hyatt is somewhat unassuming from the exterior, the moment you walk in you are reminded of why this is, indeed, a Park Hyatt. The reception area, which is also an extension of the bar area, in eloquently designed. We were welcomed with some non-alcoholic beverages and clean towels. After going through the hotel policies, they took us to our rooms. While not the size of the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Suite, our room was extremely nice:

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Suite, Walk-In Closet

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Suite, Bar Area

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Suite, Bar Area

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Suite, Sitting Room

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Suite, Sitting Room

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Suite, Entry Way

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Suite, Master Bath

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Suite, Master Bath

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Suite, Bedroom

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Suite, Bedroom

We quickly settled in and took a stroll to Pub Street for lunch. The walk was much quicker than we had anticipated, roughly 5 minutes and we were in the heart of Pub Street. While relatively calm in the day, the street – and immediate area surrounding the street – exudes a calm before the storm feeling. It reminded me of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter. Except drinks on Pub Street ranged from $0.50-$1.00, and full lunch meals were $3-$4. This was where I was first introduced to Khmer curry. Amazing.

Pub Street Prices – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Siem Reap – Pub Street

We went back to the hotel and decided to go relax at the pool. Wow. Talk about classy, this was one of the nicest pool settings I’ve seen:

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Pool

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Pool

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Pool

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Pool Lounging

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Pool Bridge

We ordered food at the pool and relaxed for a while. We then went back to the rooms, changed, and headed out toward pub street for an early dinner since we were getting picked up the next morning at 4:45am to head on a Temple Tour. Pub Street by night…different than Pub Street by day. Like 720 degrees difference. Bourbon Street meets Fremont Street meets 6th Street. This is a mix of crazy party, sales pitches galore, live music (some good, some not), tons of food, and even more people. The main difference is how cheap everything is. The number of expats is crazy, almost all signs/menus are in English, and everything is called “Temple” or has a picture of Angelina Jolie.

The Unofficial Governor of Siem Reap, Cambodia

It’s straight up fun and affordable. We settled on an Indian restaurant, one that unfortunately only had mediocre food. Although continually kicking out the stray diseased-ridden cat that would find its way back to us kept us entertained. We settled back in at the hotel and got some rest in order to be up at the crack of dawn.

We booked a driver through the Park Hyatt. The price was very reasonable ~$115 and included an all-day tour to multiple temples, a driver in an air-conditioned mini-van, and an English speaking guide. I assume it is to stop fraud, but all visitors need to stop at the official ticket center to purchase temple tickets, which is about 4 kilometers away from Angkor Wat, where they take your photo and print out your pass. 1-day passes were $37. Unfortunately, the amount of time it took to purchase the day passes was long enough for us to watch the actual sunrise, although we did catch the sky growing brighter over Angkor Wat:

Angkor Wat is one of UNESCO’s Seven Wonders of the world, and it is truly amazing. We toured the temples and the grounds for hours. NSPwife’s grandfather had a rubbing of some of the intricate designs, but given the historic nature and increased number of tourists, that is no longer allowed. We totally understand, but would have been a great keepsake to hang next to NSPwife’s grandfather’s.

After touring Angkor Wat, we visited a handful of other temples. All are amazing to think that they were build as early as the 12th century.

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

Temples – Siem Reap

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

Angkor Wat – Siem Reap

After the temple tours, we found an isolated spot to fly the drone. I was hoping to capture some temples in the background, but unfortunately we were a bit too far away:

Following a long morning of activity, we headed back to the hotel to catch a nap and take a swim at the amazing pool. The poolside service was fantastic, and I can’t think of a nicer setting to enjoy a beer, cigar, and relax.

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Pool

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Pool

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Pool

Park Hyatt Siem Reap – Pool

Evening set in and we headed back to Pub Street. We ventured around the area pursuing a number of markets that had the latest Under Armour and Rolex releases, all for pennies on the dollar, and then made our way to the Temple Bar for some drinks.

Pub Street – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Pub Street – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Pub Street – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Pub Street – Siem Reap, Cambodia

One note about the wares at the markets. We didn’t load up on anything given quality was a pretty big concern; however, some of my favorite t-shirts at this point in my wardrobe are the $1 t-shirts sold around the market, and they have kept up quite well. If I had to do it over, I would have bought a dozen or more shirts! At that point NSPpeanut had had enough. A 4am start, hours of walking (and being carried) around Temples, and an afternoon swim, had worn her out. After a mild meltdown, we decided to just grab dinner at the hotel. The food was pretty good, although we were all too tired and half-asleep to really appreciate it, and promptly went up to our rooms to catch a good night sleep.

Morning came and we enjoyed the fabulous breakfast provided to Hyatt Globalist members. Sitting outside, while a tad on the hot side, was again very relaxing in their serene courtyard. We packed up our bags and headed to the airport. We had a good count of all of our bags, stroller, car seats, and backpacks. So at check-in, something didn’t feel right. OUR NEW BAG WITH ALL OF OUR CUSTOM SUITS, JACKETS, AND SHIRTS WAS LEFT AT THE HOTEL. We hadn’t added it to our bag count! Wow. What a crazy feeling. We had bought a new bag to accommodate all of the clothes we purchased, and somehow NSPwife and I had left it sitting on the table right in the middle of our room. NSPwife, NSPpeanut, and NSPbabysitter headed through security to the plane, and I jumped in a taxi to head to the hotel. While en route I called the hotel, who promptly grabbed the bag and headed to the airport. So the taxi made a u-turn back to the airport. The longest 15 minutes slugged by, and finally the bag arrived. I had spoken to the check-in desk about the situation, and they said as long as I got there with 30 minutes to spare, I would be ok. I ran back inside with 31 minutes to spare, and no one was at the check-in counter. It was closed! I managed to find a security officer who went to the back, and an individual came out. At this point it was 25 minutes, and I was pretty sure I would be meeting everyone in Bangkok later that evening. As luck would have it, they called some additional supervisors, and with 20 minutes prior to take-off they checked my last bag. I ran through the airport to security, cleared it, and made it to the gate about five minutes prior to boarding.

As we took off and looked down over the rural country, it was with mixed emotions. The vibrancy of Siem Reap, the history of the Temples, the kindness of the people, and the luxury situated in the heart of the city was amazing. Two days wasn’t enough. I could spend an entire year there. But there was another side of the city. On our way to Angkor Wat we passed the Children’s Hospital. It was around 5am, where there were hundreds of families waiting to get help. Who knows how long, or how far they traveled by foot, just to get care. The amount of poor people throughout the city was like most other tourist cities. While there is also a sadness of cities and countries losing their authenticity to increased tourism and capitalism, I hope an influx of dollars can help the economy. Cambodia, I will be back.

Previous Trip Notes:
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part Four: MH79 HKG>KUL Business Class, Grand Hyatt KL, & KL
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part Three: One Night in Hong Kong
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part Two: CX 807, Take Two
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part One: The Setup

After a short visit to the Premium Plaza Lounge, we headed to the gate. The flight was uneventful. We were up and down in roughly an hour, and again used Grab taxi to call a ride. The trip from Phuket airport to the Hilton Arcadia is nearly an hour, with light traffic, although you do drive through some interesting areas such as Patong beach, a lively area of choice for backpackers and those looking for night spots.

We arrived at the Hilton around 3pm. NSPwife had used her Hyatt Globalist status to receive a Hilton Diamond Status match. We were cautiously optimistic about the upgrade in Phuket. Unfortunately, they only gave us a sea-view room, which was the same room NSPbabysitter – booked under my points and gold status – was given. Having said that, the rooms still have a great view. Diamond status did allow us access to the Panorama Lounge on the 12th floor of one of their four buildings. We were also told that guests were not allowed with us, meaning NSPbabysitter and NSPpeanut would not be allowed access to the lounge with us and experience the happy hour and views:

Hilton Arcadia – Panorama Lounge

Hilton Arcadia – Panorama Lounge View

Hilton Arcadia – Panorama Lounge Food

Hilton Arcadia – Panorama Lounge Food

Hilton Arcadia – Panorama Lounge Food

Hilton Arcadia – Panorama Lounge Food

Hilton Arcadia – Panorama Lounge Food

Hilton Arcadia – Panorama Lounge Food

Hilton Arcadia – Panorama Lounge Food

Hilton Arcadia – Panorama Lounge

The sea-view guest rooms were nice, although somewhat dated – even with a relatively recent renovation. The highlight of the room was definitely the balcony, great to hang out in the shade, smoke a cigar, or leave your swimsuits out to dry.

Hilton Arcadia – Room

Hilton Arcadia – Room

Hilton Arcadia – Welcome Message in Room

Hilton Arcadia – Check-In Amenity

Hilton Arcadia – Check-In Amenity

Hilton Arcadia – Balcony View

The grounds of the hotel are huge. We stayed there for four nights, and still didn’t see everything. We stayed in the Andaman wing, closest to the sea.

Hilton Arcadia Grounds – Phuket, Thailand

Karon Beach – Phuket, Thailand

Hilton Arcadia Grounds – Phuket, Thailand

Hilton Arcadia Grounds – Phuket, Thailand

Breakfast was served every morning from 6am-11am; although they didn’t put out coffee in the lobby until closer to 7:30am. As someone who wakes up early on vacation, it was a bit of a hassle to go to the restaurants and ask for coffee, having to have them write down our room number to make sure we would come back for breakfast, otherwise they would have charged us for the coffee (very strange, seeing as how they just put it out in the lobby for everyone at 7:30am). Gold and Diamond members can eat at either Sails or Buon Appetito for breakfast, both of which have identical buffets, but with over 600 rooms they need the additional capacity a second restaurant provides:

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast Patio Seating

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast Patio Seating

Hilton Arcadia – Breakfast Patio Seating

While the beach in Karon is not the white-sandy beaches of the Caribbean, there is plenty of activity from locals trying to sell activity packages. The beach is across the street from the hotel, but only a two minute walk:

Karon Beach – Phuket, Thailand

The hotel also employs a traffic guard to stop the traffic so guests can cross without concern. The Hilton has a large number of pools, including ones that have kid pools and waterslides. NSPpeanut, while talking about the beach for the past five months, instantly decided she hated sand and waves, so the pools worked out amazingly well – and we spent a good portion of the days pool-side. The Andaman bar held happy hour every day from 5pm-6pm that offered 2-for-1 drinks.

Hilton Arcadia Pool – Karon Beach, Phuket, Thailand

What we love most about this location is the proximity to a ton of local shops, restaurants, masseuses, tailors and mini-marts. You can easily walk three minutes and pick up beers for $0.60 and large water bottles for $0.50, and we often stocked up our in-room fridge. You can go either direction along the beach and hit the local shops. We typically headed north towards Old Phuket:

Old Phuket – Karon Beach

Old Phuket Tailor – Karon Beach

Old Phuket – Karon Beach

Old Phuket – Karon Beach

Old Phuket – Karon Beach

Old Phuket Dinner – Karon Beach

It’s always nice to get a full load of laundry done, overnight, at one of the laundry shops. They take care of everything, clean, dry and fold. It’s extremely inexpensive and a great way to reduce packing space:

Old Phuket – Laundry, Folded Clothes

Old Phuket – Laundry

We ate every meal out at these restaurants, which offered great food at ridiculously cheap prices. NSPpeanut even experienced her first ever massage. It was hard to pass up a $7.00 30-minute foot massage:

NSPpeanut’s First Massage – Old Phuket, Karon Beach, Thailand

The only day we spent away from the hotel and Karon Beach is when we visited the relatively new Elephant Sanctuary. We chose this location due to reading about the humane ways in which this establishment treats its animals, whereas other elephant shows can treat their animals inhumanely. It was amazing getting to feed and bathe Asian elephants, and watch NSPpeanut’s mind be blown by the creatures. The outing included helping the elephants with a mud bath and shower, and then included a buffet lunch:

Elephant Sanctuary – Phuket, Thailand

Elephant Sanctuary – Phuket, Thailand

We were picked up at 8:45am and got back to the hotel around 11:30am. This is definitely an experience I would recommend.

While it was great to be back in Phuket, and see the same massage parlors and restaurants open after visiting them nine years ago, I don’t anticipate heading back to the Hilton. The service was OK, not great, and the general lack of convenient amenities were missed. For example, takeaway items were not allowed from their lounge. So if you wanted a coffee, you had to drink it in the lounge. They didn’t offer bottles of water, which wasn’t a huge deal from a price point perspective given the mini-marts sold them for dirt cheap, but you do then have to lug heavy waters back to your room. On our last day, I had a final fitting for some custom suits. While they were able to get me most of what I bought, there were two jackets that they couldn’t finish until about 11pm. Given we had to be up at 3:45am, we tried to go to bed early. We received a call from the reception around 11pm and was told we needed to come pick up the bag that was dropped off. I asked if we could stop by the bell desk a mere 5 hours later, and they said they would not hold it and we needed to come down. I told them we were sleeping, and so they reluctantly said they would send it up to our room. And with a sleeping two year old, meant I had to stand at the door with it partially open so they wouldn’t knock and wake up NSPpeanut. A complete nuisance and all-around terrible guest service policy.

I Wechatted with the Grab taxi driver that dropped us off at the Hilton when we arrived in Phuket, and arranged for him to pick us up at 4am. He was promptly there and we set off, watching groups of people returning to the hotel from a night partying, and wondering at what point we turned into people that were carrying a kid to an airplane at that time rather than the ones returning from having fun the night before. Time flies, and much has changed since our first venture there nine years prior, just not much on Karon beach in Phuket.

Previous Trip Notes:
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part Two: CX 807, Take Two
A Real Round-The-World Trip – Part One: The Setup

We landed in Hong Kong at 8:30pm. By time we took hold of our luggage and cleared customs, it was close to 10:00pm. I had booked the Marriott Skycity hotel, as I thought I had remembered in being in the airport, and some of the online descriptions made it seem so; however, that is not the case. We hauled our luggage to the bus terminal to catch the free shuttle to the hotel. It pulled up within 30 seconds of getting there and was extremely convenient. It was, at most, a five-minute ride to the hotel, probably closer to 3-4 minutes. We arrived and checked into our rooms. NSPwife went to talk to the concierge about places we could get sushi or dumplings in Hong Kong. We wanted to grab a quick bite to eat, run by the promenade, and then call it a night. The concierge was disappointingly not very helpful. While it was late, they knew of only two places to eat and stated both were only mediocre quality. Great.

We planned to take the airport express, but then decided to just jump in a taxi since it was so late. We headed towards one of the restaurants the concierge had suggested, but when we got there opted to walk around and see if anything caught our eye. We made our way up to the 11th floor of a food hall building, choosing it because it seemed popular. We got seated, and were immediately presented with our hotpot, dozens of utensils, and a Chinese-only menu. We ordered by just saying “yes” to almost every question asked. This is what we got:

Hong Kong Hotpot Dinner

Hong Kong – Hotpot Dinner

Hong Kong Hotpot Dinner

Hong Kong Hotpot Dinner

Wow. It was quite a bit of food. We realized we ordered the coconut shrimp broth and regular chicken broth. While the food was only OK, the experience was quite memorable. The 5 beers for $1 was also a nice touch.

After dinner we headed quickly to the promenade:

Hong Kong Promenade

The hotel was nice, clean and convenient.

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong Standard Room

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong Room View

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong Lobby

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong Lobby Cafe

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong Lobby

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong Lobby Bar

And a pleasant surprise was that gold status (easily obtained with multiple credit cards given the Marriott/SPG merger) gave us lounge access. We all attempted to go to bed – although NSPpeanut, clearly experiencing jetlag, was a complete bundle of energy – and we were only allowed a few hours of sleep, soon to be a recurring theme of this trip. We woke up and hit the lounge:

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong – Lounge

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong – Lounge

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong – Lounge

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong – Lounge

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong – Lounge

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong – Lounge

Breakfast was excellent, and the view of the airport was great:

Marriott Skycity Hong Kong – Lounge, Airport View

After breakfast we headed to the lobby to get on the shuttle. That’s when we realized catching the shuttle the night before was not due to the quick trip, it was just luck. The shuttle only departs the hotel every twenty minutes, and we had just missed it. Instead, we jumped in a couple taxis (only a few dollar ride), and headed to the airport.

Overall a fun first night, and a prelude to the next ten days.