Nomads in Asia

This is an updated report about crossing this border by independent transportation from Bangkok. It’s all based on our experience travelling late January 2010.

After reading tons of blogs to help us avoid scams on the epic journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap, the Cambodian town closest to Angkor Wat, we wanted to share our trip.

From our hotel, we took a taxi to Morchin Station  in the North of Bangkok (around 100 bhat or three dollars). Where buses leave  to Aranyapathet from 5AM to 2.30 PM. There are 2 companies, one government run, with less services but better buses, and the another one private, with services every half an hour.  The private line was  a little more shabby than the government one but still air conditioned. However, the big advantage we later discovered is that the bus goes direct to the Poipei border (which is a huge market), saving you a Tuk Tuk ride and the possibilities of most of the scams of the trip, including a fake consulate, lies about having to change money, and overcharging. The trip took around 5 hours.

Chicken Dinner fresh from the market?

The bus dropped us in the market, 100m away, on your left from the custom offices. The Thailand part is super easy: check your passport, departure card and get your stamp, then walk around 50 m to Poipei on the Cambodian side. We first entered an office where we filled a sanitary form, which is required, no fees here. Next is the Cambodia Immigration office: A little modest building with the officers hanging out outside, a table where you sit to fill the form. There’s a sign on the wall with the fees in dollars. The normal visa is 20$ or 800 bahts, the express one 25$, which consist of the guy putting yours in the top of the pile.

This is when it got scammy (and a little funny). In theory it’s not worth going the express route, however our official didn’t give us much of a choice   He insisted on 25$ for the visa. There’s not much you can do to with a border guard, but at least we were able to bargain him down to 23$!

From there a friendly guy started to hang around us, explaining the process and showing us where the next building was. He seemed like a tout, but it turned out that he really was from the government tourist office and was there to help us. The next step was customs, where the line was a little longer, (about 45 minutes) no fan in the room, but still doable.  Funny enough, there is one guard waiting at the end of the queue who gives people the “VIP line” option, which basically means that they move you to the beginning of the line for 10$.

Keep That Khmer smile going

We started looking for a taxi here, but there were non to be found.  The “government guide” told us that we need to take the tourist shuttle to the bus station. Again, he seemed a little sketchy, but we met an expat living in Cambodia on the same route who confirmed that it was the way. Apparently, to lower scams, taxis are not longer allowed to enter in the area of immigration. It had the feeling of a scam but, it turned out to be real. So we took a free shuttle run by the government to the brand-new terminal, around 15 minutes from the border.

We arrived to the bus terminal, where a ticket office has the prices to Siem Reap cleared in English: 7$ by bus, 10$ by shared taxi, 4 people total. The terminal has nice clean stands with beverages and food, and big neat western bathrooms with toilet paper.

We took a taxi, as we were three we paid the extra seat to travel more comfortable. We said goodbye to the tourist office guy, our friend at that point, still astonished about his service. He explained that before there were many problems and scams, so the government wants to improve the service to increase the tourism.  Hallelujah!

The trip to Siem Reap was around 3 hours through a brand-new road. The taxi driver dropped us outside the town, where a tuk-tuk driver took us to the guesthouse for free, if we hired him for the trip to the temples later. If you don’t know what time you are going to the temples, you should let him know that you are no hiring his services and pay 3U$D for the trip to the guesthouse.

Overall, this crossing which is long famous for scams seems to have improved drastically in the last few years.  A lot of the problems including the bad road on the Thai side, getting from Aranyapathet to the border, seem like small issues for now. The border crossing was not anywhere as bad as we imagined, and not a bad way to cross into Cambodia altogether. Regardless, here are a few tips to make your trip safer and more enjoyable.
Just Remember:

• Don’t take the Khoa San Road to Siem Reap direct buses, as they can take 5 hours longer and have their own set of scams.
• Try to get a bus to the Poipei border instead of Aranyapathet
• Don’t listen to anyone who tells you need to get a visa before the border (at the made-up Cambodian embassy)
• Don’t change money around the border, but have dollars handy.  Everything above a dollar in Cambodia (even the ATMs) is handled in USD.
• Cambodia really does have agents to help travelers cross the border. Don’t get freaked out by these guys.
• If the Visa on arrival guy tries to overcharge you, bargaining is possible, refusal, unfortunately, is not!
• If you don’t want to wait in the immigration line, give the guy at the end of the line $10 for the “VIP” line
• Don’t try to get a bus/taxi outside customs.  Foreigners really do need to go to the Government bus station, as Taxis are not allowed to pick up western passengers here.
• Enjoy Angkor and Siemp reap, and have  a nice deep friend tarantula on us!

Taste like chicken?

Tamarind Shake and Fried Tarantulas.