Finally I boarded the tiny Silkair plane from Changi at 7.45am. I was so excited, could not sleep the whole night to witness the magnificent ruins in Angkor Wat, experience the warmth and hospitality of the Khmers and the 20 minute massage promised by Golden Temple Villa on our arrival in Siem Reap. Soon as we took off I was not sure of getting there as the turbulent winds kept rocking the tiny fly that was carrying us. For a moment I distracted myself with “Butt the Hoopoe”, the magical mechanical bird that takes you between two very different worlds, in the fantasy novel, “Haroun and the sea of stories” by Salman Rushdie. The Silkair flight was far from an ordinary one, making all sorts of noises and jerking all the way. It was like an old CTB bus ride. The safety demonstration was shown twice (result of a technical fault) almost as if we were going to use them. Nevertheless I buried myself in Lonely Planet, occasionally staring at the morning clouds. The journey to Phnom Penh took more than the specified duration of 55 minutes attributing partly to the delayed take off.
From the sky, Cambodia looks a dryland, although you can see many paddy fields. So we were finally close to our dream tour. Two months of planning, discussing, researching places to visit were all about to come true. It was 9 am when we reached Phnom Penh. The air port was at the other end of the spectrum compared to Changi. I upped my hopes even higher – less sophistication, under development, are all good signs of great exploration. We carried the necessary documents as per the Ministry of Tourism (
www.mot.gov.kh/presentation.php?CoID=10) in Cambodia. Soon as I handed over the passports they came up with a zillion questions. Do I have a Cambodian sponsor? (I thought he was kidding!) Do I have a letter from the Sri Lankan Govt? Think 
about it, why the f*** would the SL govt give an assurance on a person who wants to backpack among some god forsaken temple ruins? Besides that, does the Cambodian immigration office think the SL govt. is jobless to make such an effort? So we tried explaining the procedure according to their ministry website, which was not even considered. Within the first five minutes we were told that we have to go back immediately. We called the Cambodian lady whom we met at Changi, who operates a hotel in Siem Reap (and was generous to offer a 2 dollar discount on the hotel rate, if we decide to stay at her place) to explain to the authorities. The Officer in charge went on for five minutes in Khmer about Sri Lanka, after which she said nothing could be done for us and very politely apologized. It was almost as if he did not want Sri Lankans to visit Cambodia.
While we were trying to explain things to them, they took our baggage and started checking it in. We were left helpless and our pleas to contact their ministry of tourism, the Sri Lanka High Commissioner in Singapore, were all discarded. We were treated like criminals in front of everyone there, including the other passengers. The only thing they did not do, was hand cuff us. Our humiliation, embarrassment and disappointment were taller than the highest temple of Angkor Wat and gloomier than the time of the Khmer Rouge rein, at least for us! At 10 a.m. we were back, sitting in the tail end of the return Silkair flight to Changi, without our passports. We were treated badly by the Silkair crew (the airline of our choice!) – I could not believe they were trained by Singapore Airlines – apparently the world’s favorite airline, with the best managed brand image. I have since changed my perception!
When we returned to Changi, we were escorted by a Singapore immigration officer who first listened to what we had to say. After carefully listening, he told us to take a seat in a special lounge while some checking was going on. Within ten minutes he returned our passports and told us the futility of trying to do anything with the Cambodian authorities as it could well ruin our future traveling to other countries. He was really a nice guy, not because he gave our travel documents back – but because he could differentiate between a genuine case and a fraud. Both our passports had multiple entries to other regional countries much better than Cambodia in many ways. In our case, the last place to run away and hide, would be Cambodia.
The loss due to this horror is not just 100% financial. The stress and emotional trauma can not be calculated. All the dreaming and time taken too, should be added. I believe, if you are carrying a South Asian passport, you are at the risk of being refused entry in to another country. Especially, at destinations like Cambodia.
My regular readers would think this post has nothing to do with branding, but I think there is much to learn, but mostly about how brands fail to live up to their promises. Firstly, systems between ministries and co-ordination must be carefully designed. I know two others who want to visit Cambodia early next year and I would discourage them from doing so. There is no way I am going to let two of my friends go thru this humiliation. Secondly, the airline concerned, Silkair (along with Singapore Airlines) should not have let us board the plane without all necessary documentation. Airlines have better access to information with regard to visas and travel than any of us. Thirdly, travel guides such as Lonely Planet, could give half-baked info with regard to traveling, so do not trust them completely.
Anyways, I now have seven extra days in Singapore and have to come up with a plan B. Maybe, I will write about a few inspiring Singaporean brands!
While we were trying to explain things to them, they took our baggage and started checking it in. We were left helpless and our pleas to contact their ministry of tourism, the Sri Lanka High Commissioner in Singapore, were all discarded. We were treated like criminals in front of everyone there, including the other passengers. The only thing they did not do, was hand cuff us. Our humiliation, embarrassment and disappointment were taller than the highest temple of Angkor Wat and gloomier than the time of the Khmer Rouge rein, at least for us! At 10 a.m. we were back, sitting in the tail end of the return Silkair flight to Changi, without our passports. We were treated badly by the Silkair crew (the airline of our choice!) – I could not believe they were trained by Singapore Airlines – apparently the world’s favorite airline, with the best managed brand image. I have since changed my perception!
When we returned to Changi, we were escorted by a Singapore immigration officer who first listened to what we had to say. After carefully listening, he told us to take a seat in a special lounge while some checking was going on. Within ten minutes he returned our passports and told us the futility of trying to do anything with the Cambodian authorities as it could well ruin our future traveling to other countries. He was really a nice guy, not because he gave our travel documents back – but because he could differentiate between a genuine case and a fraud. Both our passports had multiple entries to other regional countries much better than Cambodia in many ways. In our case, the last place to run away and hide, would be Cambodia.
The loss due to this horror is not just 100% financial. The stress and emotional trauma can not be calculated. All the dreaming and time taken too, should be added. I believe, if you are carrying a South Asian passport, you are at the risk of being refused entry in to another country. Especially, at destinations like Cambodia.
My regular readers would think this post has nothing to do with branding, but I think there is much to learn, but mostly about how brands fail to live up to their promises. Firstly, systems between ministries and co-ordination must be carefully designed. I know two others who want to visit Cambodia early next year and I would discourage them from doing so. There is no way I am going to let two of my friends go thru this humiliation. Secondly, the airline concerned, Silkair (along with Singapore Airlines) should not have let us board the plane without all necessary documentation. Airlines have better access to information with regard to visas and travel than any of us. Thirdly, travel guides such as Lonely Planet, could give half-baked info with regard to traveling, so do not trust them completely.
Anyways, I now have seven extra days in Singapore and have to come up with a plan B. Maybe, I will write about a few inspiring Singaporean brands!
Sad. Narrow minds an fearful souls. It is their loss.
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