On this trip my usual routing (Phnom Penh to Bangkok to Tokyo to Washington, DC to New York City) was changed. I had only three flights (Phnom Penh to Bangkok to Shanghai to NYC) although the travel time stayed the same, 39 hours.
Sunday was much a normal day until I left at 5:30 PM for the airport for the flight to Bangkok where I caught the flight to Shanghai.
Sunday morning travel exposed me to the common modes of travel in Phnom Penh: on foot and on motorcycles and in these new-fangled (for Phnom Penh) “autos” (as they’re called in India, short for auto-rickshaw).
I was the presider at the 10:00 AM mass for the English community at St. Joseph Church and we baptized five babies during the celebration.
Then it was time to head to the airport by motorcycle taxi. We passed this young woman all bundled up to protect her from the sun (it makes her skin darker) and wearing the latest fad, a motorcycle skirt that wraps around to keep the wind off women’s legs when on a moto, although she doesn’t need it because of her long pants. Be aware that the temperature is close to 100ºF but being lighter-skinned is more important to her than being cool.
You can’t read the boarding gate sign that says this is Juneyao Airlines flight HO1318. This is Sunday night right after I arrived in Bangkok and prepared to head for Shanghai. Beware of Juneyao Airlines. You don’t want to fly them!