After way too many airplanes, way too many airports, and way too much mediocre lounge food, we finally touched down in Siem Reap. We were prepared for a bit of hassle going through immigration as the names on one of our visas was reversed (note to self, check the visas before leaving home), but without barely looking up, the officer waives us through and we are on our way in near record time.

As we are arriving after dark, there isn’t much left to accomplish for today other than checking into our hotel and hunting down something to eat. Since Siem Reap is a big tourist destination, it is the once city in Cambodia where the brands my fellow traveler so enjoys have a presence. For the next 5 nights we’ll be setting up shop at the Hyatt, which we’re told has the perfect location in the city.

Just a few blocks down the road, we do run into the infamous Pub Street. We have arrived in Siem Reap at the beginning of the Water Festival (celebrating the end of the wet season), and it is a heaving mass of humanity. With the loud music and neon lights it feels like Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, but without the perks a handful of cheap beads gets you. There are also plenty of street carts, from which we cobble together a meal of pork buns, fried noodles and banana pancakes.

Given the long flight and the time change, that’s about all we have in us for today, so back to the hotel for a real night’s sleep in a comfortable bed.

If there was ever a time we probably shouldn’t be leaving on a 3-week vacation, this is probably it. Staff is a little light at the office, my business school 20-year reunion is the weekend before we leave, and college applications season is in full swing. So of course we’re on a plane now, part way across the Pacific, winging our way towards Hong Kong and keeping our fingers crossed that we can keep the wheels on the bus from halfway around the world.

The next 24 hours will take us from San Francisco, through Hong Kong, Bangkok, and finally into Siem Reap. While we have seen a great deal of Southeast Asia over the years, Cambodia has so far eluded us. The main driver of course is a visit to Angkor Wat, so that area will be our home base for the next five or six days. From there, our plan is to move south to Phnom Penh, and then on to the coast, where we hope to slow down and recharge our batteries.

For better or for worse (better probably, but it doesn’t feel like it at the moment), we’re on the inaugural flight for a brand new plane equipped with global wi-fi. The free cupcakes and tchotchkes at the gate were a pleasant surprise, but now I feel obligated to try and get some work done instead of trying to sleep or binge watching movies. With any luck, the next leg will be old school disconnected.