bangkokiscool

Great TR so far, very interesting to see the service missteps. The hard product seems pretty decent though.

This is no longer the rule unless you have OW status. Without Sapphire or Emerald, you are restricted to the lounge of the operating carrier, or in the case of a contract lounge, the invited lounge.

millsdale

Must have changed relatively recently, a friend did the HKg lounge crawl around christmass on a QF ticket.

Pingtung

At about 4:30PM I caught a taxi to the Royal Jordanian City Terminal just south of the 7th Circle. While on our way, we met some traffic and my driver asked if I wanted to go the airport instead, I declined and he mentioned it takes so long to get to the 7th circle and if he pulled off he could catch the highway over to the airport much faster. He informed me that it would be like 10 JD (yea right) for the bus so why not just have him drive me the whole way. I declined again and just told him to take me to the RJ City Terminal so he stopped asking after that. In response, he promptly lit up a cigarette. The traffic didn’t last too long, and about 10 minutes later we were at the 7th circle where I directed him south and had him make the first right turn toward the Royal Jordanian labeled building. I paid my fare and got out. I didn’t realize they had a main entrance on the side of the building so I actually entered the back way instead. There was only person in front of me so it was a quick check-in process. I asked about the bus price and the agent told me that since I was traveling in Crown Class, there was no fee, great!


Check-in area at the RJ Terminal

I hung around for about 10 minutes before they called me over to board the shuttle bus. It was a light group, only one other passenger and three crew members would be on this 5:30PM shuttle. The shuttles are scheduled to run every half hour which I think is a nice service.


The RJ Shuttle Bus


Inside the bus

We arrived about 20 minutes later and just behind our shuttle bus was the entrance for Crown Class.


Arriving at the airport


Crown Class private check in

There was no wait for me when I entered and even though I already had my boarding pass, I asked a few questions to the agent who informed me that the flight was oversold and I should expect a full business class cabin again. I went through a private security line and 5 minutes later I was stamped out of Jordan and airside.

The airside area is very small and Terminal 1 and 2 are very similar to each other. When the new terminal finally gets built, they'll finally be able to offer a new and refreshed terminal experience.


Four Seasons Lounge access list

I headed up to the Crown Lounge and after showing my boarding pass, was welcomed inside. The lounge is spacious and provides a lot of nice amenities for passengers.


Entrance to the Crown Lounge


Nice open seating area


Many hours to go before my flight

There are individual TV viewing sofas that include 10-15 television channels and a decent assortment of On Demand audio and video. There’s also a game room and a kids room just after you enter the lounge. Showers and day rooms cost money, 15 JD for a shower is quite expensive and not something I would pay for.


Semi private TV viewing area with headphones


Game room, now this is unique!


Kids play room

A few warm food options are available, but nothing too substantial. There was also a bar that was not staffed until about 10:30PM so I saw few people make themselves a drink with the bottles sitting out.


Dining area


A few warm items


Some other food items

The lounge quieted down pretty quickly and there no more than 5 people in the lounge from about 8:30pm till about 10pm when the midnight passengers started arriving.

About an hour before my flight, I headed out of the lounge and a short walk later was at my gate. There, screening was done again, one line for bags, but two lines to go through the metal detector, one for men and one for women. Once through my boarding pass was scanned and I entered the holding pen.

Pingtung

Boarding started about 15 minutes before scheduled departure time, again with no priority boarding and just an announcement that boarding would be starting in 5 minutes. Just like at JFK, it was a free for fall at the gate. This time I was toward front of the line so was the first person into Crown Class.





Holding area for this flight


The A330 getting prepped

Royal Jordanian’s A330 are newly delivered and feature a business class shell seat similar to Singapore Airlines and Thai regional C. The seat doesn’t go 180 degrees, but I found it comfortable for sleeping.


C Seat on the A330


View of the cabin

Apple Juice/Orange Juice/Water were offered on a tray about 10 minutes later. Apple Juice seems like a strange pre departure option, but I couldn't pass it up! Unlike my last flight to Amman, this flight was staffed mostly by FA’s from Asia. I counted 2 Middle Eastern FA’s so it’s interesting to see an airline based in an Arabic speaking country with such a small number of FA’s speaking the native language.


Apple juice predeparture

Literally 30 seconds after we had taken off, the FA’s were up and about, definitely a new record for me. 15 minutes later, FA’s came around asking if we would like to have a cold plate meal. Water along with Red/White wine were offered after distribution of trays. The FA’s never asked if they could get you anything else, but I’m sure you could’ve asked for something else. No menus were distributed during the flight so the photo will have to do for the cold plate. I was kind of bummed that there would be no hot food before bed, but I guess it makes sense since the flight leaves at 1AM. It would still be nice to have that option though.


Cold Plate

The seats aren’t quite lie-flat, but they still sure beat the pants out of a Y seat and at least offer the chance for some rest. With about two hours to go, I woke up for good and elected to stay up the rest of the way with the inflight entertainment as my distraction No water runs were made prior to breakfast, and while an FA would walk through every 10 or so minutes, it looked more like they were just passing through more than anything. A lot of noise could be heard from the galley behind C class for much of the flight, I have no idea what they were doing, but periodically I would hear the clacking of plates and the locking of latches. It was as if meal service was going on in the middle of the night.

Breakfast service started with fruit/bread before a cart was rolled around where you could select what you wanted – buffet style. It's nice to be able to see what's being offered and to select what you want to eat. I quite like the buffet style service and think more airlines should give it a try.


Fruit and bread to start


Buffet service


My breakfast plate

During landing the FA’s made their rounds, but never asked anyone to stow away their personal TV’s. This was in contrast to my earlier JFK-AMM flight so it seems they are inconsistent in this regard (and in many other aspects of their service/procedures)


Thailand coastline, thankfully the waters have receded


Thai Jumbo's

We landed at Bangkok at 1:58PM and a few minutes later I was on my way toward immigration. The cabin crew didn’t provide any landing forms so I had to pick one up in the immigration hall.


On the way to immigration

The lines were only about 5 deep when I arrived, but after filling out my card, a number of other flights had immediately followed so I ended up about 10 back. By the time it was my turn, the lines had grown to 20 deep, busy times at Bangkok!

I met up with my Uncle who lives near the airport and spent the evening there before heading to the border the next morning.

Pingtung

The next morning my Uncle’s driver took me to the border – a quick 3 hour trip by car. I was dropped off right at the border and a quick minute walk later I was at the immigration building for Thailand.


Walking toward Cambodia


Clear signage

Once I was stamped out of Thailand dI headed out of the building and toward the Visa office of Cambodia. Since it was about 10am, the buses from Bangkok had not arrived yet so there was really no wait for me to get my visa. The agent mentioned it would be $20 USD plus 300 baht – even though there was a clear sign above stating that the visa was $20 USD. I told him I had no baht, and that was the truth since I never converted any money the day before, so he shrugged at me and took my passport and handed it over to an official behind the glass. Three minutes later I had my full page visa – could they have made it any smaller?

Next up were the immigration officers in the next building on the right who stamped me in after filling out an entry form. The whole process took me about 15 minutes, but I’ve heard of this process taking upwards of 1 hour if you arrive after the masses of backpackers offload from the buses.

I walked past the scam "free shuttle bus" right at the border and eventually caught an unassociated taxi that took me to Siem Reap for $40.


Shared truck taking a rest stop

My driver spoke no English so I handed him the phone number to my Hotel and he gave them a call when we were about 15 minutes away. 2 hours later I was dropped off at my Hotel having had no real issues with this border crossing. If you do plan on doing this border crossing, I highly recommend you read up the various scams that are run and just to be prepared for some of the problems you might run into.

I checked in with my hotel and we went over the packages I had booked with them. I would be staying with the Villa at Siem Reap for 4 nights, having a personal English-speaking guide for the first 2 days and then joining a floating village tour for the 3rd day.


Hotel room

I agreed to a 4pm departure for the evening with my driver who would be taking me to watch the sunset at the temples. He drove me around town to point out some of the highlights before taking me to a current active temple as a stopping point before heading to the Angkor Park.


Riding on a tuk-tuk


Modern Temple

There he started to recall some of the history of Cambodia and of the temples in Siem Reap. He then started talking about the Khmer Rouge and their time in power from 1975-1979 followed by an 18 year reign of terror afterwards. My Driver, Mr. Han, was 8 years old in 1975 when his family was forced out of the city of Phnom Penh and into the country side. Not long after this, he would be separated from his parents, both of whom he would never see again. He is the only survivor of his family today, the rest were either killed or are presumed dead. Recalling these memories was difficult for him and you could see the pain in his eyes as it wasn't too long ago, only 13 years or so, since the terror ended. It’s been tough to estimate, but studies say that anywhere from 750,000 to 3 million died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge – approximately half from execution.

Mr. Han said that the Cambodian people were happy to see the Communist Vietnamese take over the country and were, and still are, very upset that the USA and it’s allies continued to support Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in their efforts to reclaim Cambodia throughout the 80’s and 90’s. It’s still a sore spot for him today, particularly the UN and what they stand for, but he is happy with where Cambodia is today.

As he told me, “Tourists are protected 99% of the time and the police will help them, but us Cambodians can’t rely on the police to protect us. If someone gets murdered, often it’s settled with some money to the police and some money to the family. Cambodia isn’t quite there yet, but it’s getting better and it’s so much better than what it used to be. In my life I probably won’t see the Cambodia I dream of, but maybe one day my children will.”

That first evening I went out to grab dinner near Pub Street and enjoyed some Aspara dancing. I got both with a visit to the King Street Pub thanks to the free, and absolutely awesome, Canby Productions guide.


Sunset


Beef Lok-Lak


Aspara dancer

The next morning we started the Tour at 7am and headed straight for Angkor Wat.

We pulled up to the gorgeous Angkor Wat and my guide, different than my driver and was in his late 20’s, began to recount the story of Angkor Wat. It took over 30 years to finish and they spent 4 years surveying the sun and the moon to best orient the temple - I guess they had lots of time on their hands.


Path to the main entrance, French restored on the right, original on the left


Angkor Wat around 9am


Main structure of Angkor Wat (two people are sitting at the top of the steps)

My guide pointed out some of the damage that the gates of Angkor Wat sustained during the Khmer Rouge reign when they attacked some of the temples. Holes with bullets still encased in the stone can be seen on some of the outer walls – a shame really.

glu800

Great TR! I'm headed to Cambodia in April, except going HKG-PNH-REP-BKK, so I'm really excited to read about the rest of your trip!

Firemansam

Such Great memories from there, Fantastic food from the "Khmer Kitchen" there is one restaurant that runs between pub street and the next street and another one around the corner... Also fantastic icecream from the blue pumpkin too

Also if you take a temple tour try and get to Tah Prohm around 7 am before all the tours get there its such an amazing place if you can be there with few others.

Also great hotel was the Angkoriana opposite the National Museum very good value for money and only 15 mins walk from pub street.

Cant wait for the rest of your report.

Pingtung

Angkor Wat is naturally the most impressive of the temples given its grand size and elegance. I didn’t feel crowded by other tourists while I was there because the masses that had shown up for sunrise had all returned to their hotels for breakfast so it was the perfect time to visit Angkor Wat. You get that “wow” feeling when you’re alone with something so well aged and beautiful. To build something so high in the air and so massive without modern tools – just absolutely remarkable.




Next up was Angkor Thom, the great city located near all of the temples. At one of the gates of Angkor Thom I got a preview of the Bayon Temple with the Bayon faces – the next stop on my tour.


Gate to Angkor Thom


Bayon faces in a line

That evening I went to the Night Market areas around Siem Reap – there are like two right across the street from each other. Walking down the streets I was constantly bombarded with “Massage Sir?” and “Good food here!” It’s an inescapable part of being in a tourist down and for the most part they wouldn’t push the issue and were just trying to invite you in to their business.

That evening I went to the Night Market areas around Siem Reap – there are like two right across the street from each other. Walking down the streets I was constantly bombarded with “Massage Sir?” and “Good food here!” It’s an inescapable part of being in a tourist down and for the most part they wouldn’t push the issue and were just trying to invite you in to their business.


Pork Amok

The next morning my first stop was Ta Phrom. This temple is most famous for being used in the Tomb Raider film due to the most unusual relationship between structures and nature. It’s really quite something to see the power of nature do its thing by rooting into the stone structures. Even my guide, who’s probably seen it many times, with an awestruck look, kept saying “Wow wow, just look at this.”


Nature at it's best


My guide appreciating nature


What does this look like to you?

Ta Phrom had been badly damaged over the years and like many of the temples in the Park, is currently undergoing restoration. My guide explained that there is a lot of debate over how much restoration should take place. For temples that have walls where some of the stones have fallen and they can identify where it should belong, it makes sense to restore these using the original stone. The debate rages over the of use new stones to restore the temples. Many argue that by doing so, you’re just building new temples in the 21st century and the notion of “restoration” is a lie.


Restored part of Ta Phrom using mostly the stones that had collapsed


The before and after

We made the long trip out to Banteay Srey – the small, but most beautiful temple in the Siem Reap area. The talk of the day was an earlier accident between a tuk-tuk and a bus, a frightening experience for any tourist and one that would have me a bit more alert on the way back when we were passing buses and cars.

Just outside of the temple area I stopped and got some palm water from a guy selling some from some canisters off his bike. I learned that this guy climbs trees with his bare hands and feet to collect the sap every day. He showed me his hands which were calloused over and had bruises on them, yikes!


Filled with Sugar Palm Water


Gorgeous carvings at Banteay Srei

While here, my guide mentioned that the flooding back in September/October was the worst he had ever seen. Much of the low lying areas around the temples were flooded and they had only dried a few weeks earlier. In fact, the rains poured so hard one day that some tourists got stranded at Banteay Srei so the government had to fly in helicopters to rescue them. The temple would remain closed until the roadways were safe for transport.

Two more shots from the rest of the day...





Hard to believe this is real

Pingtung

For my last day, I decided to visit a nearby floating village. I had read that many folks head to the closer Chong Khneas which apparently is now a major tourist trap designed to scam you so I elected to go with the same tour company I had been using for the past two days and joined their day trip to Kompong Phluk which had much better reviews. While I could’ve organized the same trip to Kompong Phluk myself, it wouldn’t come with a guide or be completely hassle free as my trip was. The surcharge was worth it in my opinion. There were 6 of us plus our guide, all were Americans, though the older couple were now living in Singapore. On our way out to the river, we stopped by a local market area where our guide showed us around and pointed out some of the food items for sale and vegetables on offer.

The river had receded quite a lot so we were able to drive a bit further up the road before transitioning onto a boat. We rode on a larger boat out to the lake before coming back to the town and taking canoes through the flooded forest – definitely the highlight of the trip for me. It’s a serene experience where you feel like you’re one with nature.


Stopping at a local market where our guide showed us around


River drying out


Boats used for transport toward the Tonle Sap


Secondary School

Some of the houses have generators in them, but for the most part people are without electricity. Electricity is rare to have inside of a home, even for many who live back on land in Siem Reap. What I did notice was that the one electrical device many had was a cell phone which I was surprised about. Some folks in Kompong Phluk have car batteries and will charge the phones for a fee.


View of some homes


Small Canoes to take you through the flooded forest


Tranquility

Those living on the water rely on it for everything – drinking, washing, bathing – so it gets quite dirty and many suffer from Malaria and Typhoid fever. We only went through part of the main town and did not interact at all with any of the locals other than a wave here or there and instead mostly observed from a ways away to not disturb their daily lives. Many would give us a quick wave and a smile and so we would respond in kind.


Main part of the community


He's learned how to swim, row a boat and tie it up at an early age

And with that, I finished up my time in Siem Reap. It was time to begin the journey back.

Sahcurity

Your friend probably was able to lounge crawl because OW reversed the wording on the policy almost as quickly as they changed it. The section stating that the ticket holder is entitled to enter their carrier's lounge only was removed only a few weeks after it was added.

Carfield

Thanks for the trip report!

It is good to get an update on RJ service, and there seems to be some cutbacks. When I flew YUL to AMM six months ago, there was a full breakfast service prior to arrival. It is unacceptable not to provide a hot breakfast on a flight over eight hours and considered the lack of good refreshment option, it is pretty poor.

About the lack of beverage service, there seems to be a trend that the crews are getting lazier regarding doing a proper beverage service. Just don't be shy and you have to ask for everything in RJ. Use the call button too (It is not US, so F/As will not give you attitude and most Asian airlines expect you to use the call buttons for service). RJ really needs to do a better job in training your F/As, as it is not unusual that the F/As try to speed up meal services on all flights - day and night, so they can rest and chat in the galley. The BKK to HKG service is even worst.

Thanks for the update and look forward to the rest of the trip report!

Carfield

Pingtung

The next morning a hotel tuk-tuk driver took me to Siem Reap airport where I would be catching a domestic flight to Phnom Penh. 15 minutes later, I was mistakenly dropped off at the international terminal at REP. The domestic terminal is about a 2 minute walk across a parking lot so I walked over to the quiet building where I found the check in counters right inside the entrance. Only two counters were being used, both for my flight to Phnom Penh on an ATR-72.


Arriving at REP


Domestic Terminal


Check-in counters, no lines here!

I was assigned an aisle seat toward the back and I was off to security. There was no wait there and just a few minutes after entering the building, I was in the waiting area for my flight.


Domestic waiting area

There is one cafe place in the waiting area as well as two retail stores. Prices at the cafe were about the same as you’d find in an American airport so I elected not to grab something to eat. As I was perusing the menu, a Cambodian woman walked up and made a purchase, but it seemed like she was charged a much lower rate – maybe 25% of what the listed price was for a croissant so I’m guessing anyone that can speak Khmer is given the local discount.

The crowd at the gate was probably 75% foreigners, mostly tourists it seemed. I wonder if Cambodians pay the same price as foreigners – tickets are sold from any number of travel agents around town for a fixed price of $95 after taxes.

The arriving plane landed in Siem Reap at 8:10AM and after a quick turn, boarding started around 8:35AM. Two announcements were made – one to notify us that boarding would begin in 10 minutes, and another announcing that boarding is beginning. If Cambodia Angkor Air can do that, why can’t Royal Jordanian? From the boarding door we walked out onto the tarmac to the only plane around, a leased Vietnam Airlines ATR-72.


Turning the plane


Angkor Air tail


Inside the cabin

I was the last to board and when I got on, I noticed that the last row of seats were empty so I asked if I could switch and the friendly FA said it wasn’t a problem and told me I could take a seat on the right set of seats (the B seat is used by one FA for takeoff and landing). He noticed I was taking some photos of the cabin so he very kindly asked if I wanted him to take a picture of me.

As we held short of the runway, another plane landed in the opposite direction, I guess the winds were calm enough that it didn’t matter which direction was used.

Once airborne the two FA’s came around and handed out boxes containing a muffin and a small water, more than enough for the short 25 minute flight. Just a few minutes later we started our descent and prior to taking a seat, the FA asked if I wanted to switch seats with him and take a seat on the left side to get a view of Phnom Penh as we approached. I gladly accepted the offer. The genuine warmth and friendliness of the Cambodian FA’s was great to see – I wish them and their new airline all the best.


Love the box!


Box contents

During our choppy approach, a majority of the window seat folks were actually looking out the window, much different than a typical landing in the USA where people couldn’t care less about what’s outside the window. It was refreshing to see people just as fascinated as I am about the landscape below.


Window seats are all looking at the view


Arriving at PNH





Walking to the terminal

After deboarding, it was a quick 2 minute walk to baggage claim, simple and painless at Phnom Penh.


Baggage claim

Pingtung

The Sofitel in Phnom Penh has a long driveway leading up to the entrance where I was greeted and led to the front counters. As a Platinum (thanks to the instant Plat status offers) I was upgraded one category to a Luxury Room featuring a private balcony – a place where I spent a lot of time at.

The rooms are elegant and fresh, though the hotel is a bit further away from the main tourist attractions of the city compared to the Raffles Phnom Penh. Construction is going on to the south of the hotel and in a few years the area surrounding the hotel should improve as they start to build it up.


Long driveway


Hotel entrance








Walking the grounds at the Sofitel


Outdoor pool

I used the hotel tuk-tuk to catch a ride to Wat Phnom where I would start my walking tour of the city. If you do stay at the Sofitel here, I highly recommend you take the walk down the driveway and out the entrance to catch a regular city tuk-tuk, the ones contracted with the hotel have extremely inflated prices (3 times the typical tourist going rate).

The city is a little bit more walkable than Siem Reap, but crossing the street can still be quite the adventure.


Wat Phnom


Inside the Central Market


Lunch at Romdeng - a teaching restaurant for young Cambodians


National Museum

When I came back to my room after exploring Phnom Penh, I found a welcome gift of small pastries from the French bakery downstairs along with some chocolates.


National Museum

I hung out and enjoyed the balcony view for a few hours and watched the sun go down, the slightly warm breeze felt while sitting on the balcony was just awesome.


Balcony View


Phnom Penh as the sun sets

The next morning I spent a few more hours out on the balcony enjoying my time before heading downstairs to catch a cab to the airport. I asked the front desk for a regular city taxi instead of the Sofitel car which would’ve been $60. Traffic was miserable and we got stuck at one intersection for 40 minutes before being forced to make a right turn at the intersection instead of continuing on. I had expected a 20-30 minute ride, but given the traffic, the trip took 1 hour and 15 minutes. As the time ticked by, I started to get a bit nervous about my flight, but we pulled up to the airport with just under 40 minutes to go.

worldtraveller73

I believe I may have had this very same tuk tuk driver for my 3 day visit to Siem Reap in 2008, although he had a different number on his vest.



If it is the same driver, I am happy to hear that he is doing well and is healthy. He was an excellent driver and a lovely host.

Pingtung

The next morning I spent a few more hours out on the balcony enjoying my time before heading downstairs to catch a cab to the airport. I asked the front desk for a regular city taxi instead of the Sofitel car which would’ve been $60. The ride to the airport ended up taking about 1 hour and 15 minutes as we were basically stopped at one traffic light for a good 40 minutes. I finally arrived about 45 minutes prior to departure and there were moments on the way that I started to get concerned over whether we’d make it in time.

Only ticket holders are allowed past the entrance in order to prevent crowding inside the small departures hall. They don’t actually check for an itinerary or a ticket, but the guards get the message across just by being there. There were no check-in lines so I quickly received my boarding pass and lounge invitation. A quick stop at the immigration counters and the non-groping security checkpoint later, I was airside and ready to use what few minutes I had left to visit the lounge, Le Salon.


Empty Check-In Desks


Airside at Phnom Penh

The lounge was quiet and fairly small, but it offers a nice selection of snacks, seating, and computers for use. I picked up one of the tarts along with an Angkor Beer and settled in for about 10 minutes. By my estimate, the lounge could comfortably hold 15-20, though I doubt there are ever crowd issues in this lounge.


Inside Le Salon Lounge


Nice selection


View of the airport entrance - only ticket holders allowed inside

With about 20 minutes to go before departure, I headed over to the gate and made use of the priority line on the left side.


Getting a glimpse of the A320


Business Class seat

The load in C class would be 50% so the 4 of us each got a set of two seats. The seats are pretty much on par with Domestic First offerings in the USA though the catering is significantly better.

For lunch, I went with the chicken which was served 20 minutes after takeoff, quite impressive. I went with garlic bread with my meal and it is absolutely amazing - it was pretty much the same as the garlic bread I ended up getting on Cathay so I never chose another bread type on that flight. There is no IFE on Dragonair’s A320 so I had to pull out my laptop to keep myself entertained. I paired my entertainment with their specialty drink, Dragon Sunrise, coming throughout the flight - I think I ended up having 4 of those, an excellent drink made of Gin with Fresh Guava and Lemon Juice.


C class meal


Dragon sunrise - an evil evil drink

I found the FA’s to be friendly, attentive, and always smiling. Drinks were kept refilled throughout and they genuinely seemed to be happy to serve. I gave them excellent marks on the survey I filled at the end of the flight – I was the only one in C to receive the survey so maybe it’s policy to just get a sample on each flight when possible.

We parked at a remote stand and boarded a single bus that transported the entire plane over to the terminal building.


Welcome to Hong Kong


View of our plane from the bus

Upon reaching the top of the escalators, I saw the line for foreign passports and walked toward the line when two women at the entrance tapped a small keycard to a machine and handed it to me. I had no idea what this was, but just took it and started snaking through the empty queue. There was no wait and I walked straight up to an official who asked me nothing before stamping me in to Hong Kong. I would later learn on my outbound trip that the keycards were used to collect statistics on the wait times of passengers. They must take the airport experience seriously enough to continually monitor the lines over time. If this were the US, they'd probably do a quick study of queue lengths and then use that data for years.

I picked up my bags and headed to the Cathay arrivals lounge for a few minutes just to check it out. It features shower rooms, some snacks, and some computers to use.


Arrivals Lounge


Some of the lounge amenities


Some snacks and fruit on offer