Travelling Trunks

I should have trusted my instincts…after all these were two very different connecting carriers, one a full-service airline and the other a low-cost airline. But the lady at the airline check-in counter assured me that my luggage would be checked right through from Bangalore, India to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and so I trusted her instead. It was not a very long flight with just one change over and I had decided to travel light, not very usual for me. My carryon had a toothbrush and toothpaste to arrive in Phnom Penh smiling white, a copy of Christopher Hudson’s The Killing Fields to lay the ground for what was in store and my camera, those days a little red Casio point and shoot…oh, and my travel notes.  I hopped off my flight at Bangkok, sauntered through duty free, breezed through immigration, lazed over breakfast and entered the adjoining low-cost departure section to take my connecting flight. Then trouble happened.

In the background, the shimmering tiles of the Silver Pagoda

As I went through check-in for my onward flight to Phnom Penh, I was asked about my check-in luggage at which point I handed over my tag to show it had been checked right through. “No…it isn’t possible,” said the lady, “as there is no codeshare between the two airlines. They have made a mistake. You have to collect your luggage from the Thai Airways carousel and check it in again.” Hours had meanwhile passed since my last flight had landed.  I retraced my steps to the luggage carousel to find my luggage had been moved to the lost and found room. More time went in locating my suitcase by which time it was close to departure for my connecting flight. I had two choices with little time to make a decision. Stay back, pick up my luggage and rebook on another flight or leave as scheduled and rely on the airline to send my luggage after me. Not one to want to waste any time on a holiday, I chose the latter.

The Royal Palace, part of where the King of Cambodia lives

And this was how I arrived in Phnom Penh on a sunny afternoon, the start of a two week solo trip to Cambodia and Vietnam with my handbag, a small carryon and an adventure that had already begun. For one not accustomed to having the unexpected thrown at me on holiday, the next few days would teach me important travel lessons.

Travel Insurance Is a Boon

As soon as I checked into my boutique guesthouse in Phnom Penh, I called up my insurance agent to check on what I needed to do next. Assured on the process and the fact that I was entitled to a few hundred dollars compensation to buy necessities to tide me over until my luggage arrived, I took a rickshaw later that evening to Central Market. I loved the fact that my dollars went a long way in Cambodia and I returned, mighty pleased with a linen wardrobe that would last me the next few days in the city. Insurance works and works well but make sure you read the fine print and buy a package that will cover all kinds of exigencies. The process of making my claims was easy enough when I returned.

My mode of transport over three days in Phnom Penh

The entrance to the Choeung Ek killing fields where 17,000 men, women and children were executed between 1975-1978

Make the Most of Every Moment

The flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penh gave me enough time to recover from the shock of not having my luggage accompany me. There was no point in losing time over something I had no control over. The call to my insurance agent done, I ate a Cambodian meal, savouring cuisine that I would come to really enjoy by the end of my holiday. I went down to the street below and was soon on a hired scooter to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields. The site where 17,000 individuals were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime and now a group of mass graves and a memorial of skulls, Choeung Ek was a tough and brutal introduction to Cambodia. Over the next two days, there were more hired scooters with drivers who zipped through the streets, putting my tolerance and courage to test as I visited the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, Independence Monument, Silver Pagoda, Royal Palace, National Museum, Wat Qunalum and other must dos in my travel notes – markets, restaurants and the likes. Every day over the next three days, I would call the airline office to check on the status of my luggage but that did not deter me from making the most of my time in Phnom Penh.

A prison cell at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a harrowing reminder of the Khmer Rouge regime

Another view of The Royal Palace

The Power of Nothingness

The big realization for me was knowing how little one actually needed to get by each day. I didn’t have to struggle with decisions of which pair of shoes to wear or what jewellery to match with which outfit. All I had besides my minimal carryon were the few clothes I had bought in Phnom Penh and that was it. The newly discovered joy of being able to live with the bare minimum was liberating and gave me new perspectives on holidaying.

A bus breakdown en route Siem Reap provided a lovely opportunity to explore Cambodian countryside

On the last evening of my stay in Phnom Penh, my luggage finally arrived. By then I had disengaged myself from my baggage and quite enjoyed living with what I had. But collect my suitcase I did and, early the next morning, caught the bus to Siem Reap. The adventure, though, wasn’t over with. Our bus broke down half way leaving us passengers, until then strangers to each other, stranded on the highway for a few hours until a replacement bus finally arrived. I couldn’t have been happier to reach Siem Reap and find that the hotel I was staying in had thoughtfully packed a beer-filled ice box in the cycle rickshaw sent to pick me up. It had been another long and adventurous journey and those beers were a welcome distraction!

My Cambodia adventure ended amidst magnificent ancient ruins in Siem Reap