Moving on......

There is a fair bit of hassle and bureaucracy involved in getting all the documents in order to be granted a "Thai Pass" (initially rejected as my expensive UK insurance policy was deemed insufficient; so I also had to buy a cheap Thai one as well in order to satisfy the authorities!!) In addition to this, I also had to get another "Fit-to-fly" RT-PCR test so that they would let me on the plane. So, an email exchange with the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, and an appointment was made for a couple of days before my flight.

It was very modern and professional, excellent set up. Checked my name off that days list, got my number and joined the queue. In and out in 10 mins. Then a nervous 24 hour wait for the result. As my visa expired on the day of my flight; a positive test could be problematic. But: all good, I was free to leave Cambodia.

So, a bit more sightseeing (I won't mention the Scotland France game which I saw in a bar surrounded by braying Frenchmen). I packed up and was ready for the next leg of the trip.

Off early to the airport; presented my documents to the check-in and they gave me a boarding pass; got through immigration and spent the last of my Riel on breakfast. This is all too easy. Boarded the plane and waited for take-off. And waited......and waited. Then the announcement: "apologies for the delay to this flight but we have lost some passengers" !!!! This is a small airport with only a handful of flights a day, how do you "lose" some passengers?? Eventually, the 3 strays arrived without a care in the world and we finally took off for the 50 minute flight to Bangkok.

I was one of the first off the plane, but one of the last to leave the airport. On the way to immigration, you come to a couple of checks which I was waved through. Got to immigration and was told that there was a stamp and signature missing off one of my myriad forms. At first I thought that they said it was supposed to have been signed in Phnom Penh (gulp..), but it turned out I should have had the stamp in one of the checks I was waved through earlier. Soon sorted out and into my isolation taxi to the hotel where I was driven to the top of the multi-storey car park where my pre-arranged PCR test was conducted. Then driven back down to the hotel reception to check in and be told not to leave my room until I get a (negative) Covid test result. Could be anything from 4 to 24 hours. 

In the end, it was about 6 hours, so still in time for Happy Hour drinks! 

The following day, there was a bang outside and the power went off. Went out to see a fire raging in a nest of wires on an electric/telephone pole. Wires were burning through sending sparks flying and people running. I thought Putin had started his invasion of Thailand....

One guy on a rickety step ladder was firing several fire extinguishers into the flames, finally getting it under control.

Soundtrack: Extreme Noise Terror - "I'm a Bloody Fool"