Thank goodness my passport was returned in time for me to go on my trip to Phnom Penh. It was stuck in the visa office waiting for the residential sticker since September 1st. I received it on Sept. 29th, one day before my flight. I booked a car service with one of the two English-speaking drivers in town to take me to the airport. He was supposed to pick me up at 5pm for a 9:15pm flight. Due to the holiday traffic, we were going to leave extra early. At 5:05pm, I received a call from him telling me that he would not be able to come because the traffic was so bad and that I should take the subway to the train station. I was a bit pissed because I had not planned to push through a crowded metro while toting my luggage, especially after I had just celebrated my departure with a gin & tonic. He said he would send a different driver to take me to the Guangzhou subway. Now I know I can figure out a subway, but I was not sure which line to take. The driver told me he would text me the lines and the names of the stops to look for.

When the car arrived that was going to take me to the subway, there was already a Chinese girl in the back. The cab system here is similar to the old DC system where the cabs can pick up extra passengers to have double fares, but not like NY where the passengers split the meter. The girl was very nice and suggested to the driver to drop me off at a different station instead of the main station where there are several lines and will be more crowded. She apologized that she would not have time to help show me the correct line because she was trying to make a train (the railway station and subway are both housed in the same building). Then she showed me a picture of the subway map and showed me on the map the stop I needed and the connecting train I needed to switch to to get to the airport. I thanked her profusely. After she got out, the driver took me to the smaller station, but unfortunately the entrance was blocked due to construction. He kept pointing across the street, but I did not see another entrance. Seeing that I was not going to get out, he did a U-turn and drove a few more blocks to another entrance.

I hopped out. Down the stairs I ran. I was warned that the subway would take 1 ½ hours. Thank god for small favors- I had a subway card from an earlier trip so I was able to avoid the long line of 75 people pushing to get a card. I swiped my card and ran for line 2. I rode that train for about an hour to the next train. The car was crowded and funky, but not as bad as the trains in NY at rush hour or even the metro in DC – probably because the mothers here have not started pushing their monster, double and triple-wide strollers on the trains. My only fear, when I saw a parent put a toddler that he had been holding down on the floor, that the old split-pants pee fiasco was about to take place. Kids here do not wear diapers. The parents put them in split-pants that are basically pants with an open crotch. The kid just squats and pees or poops in the street or on the bus or train for that matter (I have witnessed that). Note to all – do not put your bags on the floor when riding a bus or train in China. But now I digress… the second train only had to go a few stops. I made it to the airport around 7:30 and had enough time to check in, go through immigration and security, and have a coke at the gate.

The flight was delayed leaving so I got to Phnom Penh around 11:50pm instead of 11:00pm. I was able to breeze through immigration and buy my visa. Unfortunately, by the time I got to the counter it was passed midnight so the cost of the visa went up $5.00. The price changed Oct. 1st – damn China and their delayed flights – so instead of paying $20, I paid $25.00. Small price to pay to land in Cambodia.