Overland Travel Between Bangkok and Siem Reap by way of Poipet / Aranyaprathet

#2 - On a Package

Information current as of March 26, 2008

INTRODUCTION  /  ON A PACKAGE  /  ON YOUR OWN  / CONCLUSION  / ROAD CONDITIONS / SUMMARY / TRAVELERS' REPORTS: BANGKOK - SIEM REAP  /  OVERLAND INDEX

On a Package - Bangkok to Siem Reap

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Disclaimer and warning #1: Plain and simple - the Khao San Road tourist bus tickets are a rip-off!. The best thing is to know the scams and how you can avoid them so if you insist on traveling this way you can at least make it to Siem Reap with most of your money still in your pocket. That said, do consider that no matter what the cost, this trip takes on average 14-18 hours (though 20 hours is not unheard of!) opposed to 8-11 hours if you traveled independently. If you are traveling as a pair, there may be little difference between the cost of this bus ticket and the cost of using a public bus in Thailand and a private taxi in Cambodia and if there are three or four of you it will almost certainly be cheaper to take the government bus and a taxi. You have been warned!

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Disclaimer and warning #2: This section describes only what happens when traveling through the Poipet border crossing. From time to time some of the more dodgy operators have taken their cargo, err - you, through either the Pailin or O'Smach border posts. There are several problems with this. One, these are fairly isolated crossing points making it more difficult to avoid their scams as you have few alternate choices. Second, these are much longer ways to travel, thus making an already long trip even longer. Third, despite being assured a bus in Cambodia you may well end up sitting in the back of a pick-up truck from the border to Siem Reap (bumpy and wet!). Fourth, if you find yourself being taken through one of these remote crossings and you ask why, you'll probably be told one of three things: 1.) this way is faster (it most certainly is not!) 2.) the Poipet border is "closed today" (nonsense - it's the main border post between the two countries - it doesn't close). 3.) The road from Poipet is closed, bridge is broken, etc. (more nonsense - it's been two years since the road was in seriously bad condition and this inventive detour wouldn't have made a difference as you're still going to ride along part of the Poipet to Siem Reap road anyway - including the part most likely to have problems - and when bridges break they always find a way around them.) Again, you have been warned!

Disclaimer and warning #3: If the first two disclaimers weren't strong enough, here's a third: Don't buy a bus ticket to Siem Reap from any travel agency on Khao San Road no matter how tempting the "convenience" may seem. For this is what may await you:

Offered by a reader:

We travelled on the 7th October. We bought our tickets from an agent just off the Khaosan Road who assured us we would go via Poipet - luxery coach/air con minibus.

We were taken to a border crossing that our guest house owner thinks must be a new one just opened - we have the word DAUNG as place of entry stamped on our visa.

There are two things to beware of - first the very helpful man who meets you TELLS you to give him your passport and a photo for your visa - he is with one of the immigration officials as you go into the Cambodian side so it all looks official - he doesn't offer assistance with the visa, or explain that there will be a charge. We didn't fall for this one, having already read very helpful advice on your site. We said we would do our own visas, and we did - this made us very unpopular with him from then on.

The visa cost us 1200 baht, not negotiable with the guys preparing the visas, they just shut the window and refused to open it until the could see the 2500 baht being waved at them.

We were then escorted (herded) down the road - very dismall dirty place - to an office belonging to a company called Khaosan Travel Connections. Here all the people who had let him do their visa were charged between 1300 - 1700 baht per person for the visa and his service. There was no minibus - a pickup was waiting. He told us that the road was too bad for a minibus to get through - this part at least was true.

The first 15 people were put onto that pickup, which at least had a bench seat in it. They set off. The rest of us - the bad girls and boys who either had their visa before they arrived or sorted themselves out - we had to wait a further one and half hours before our pick up turned up - it was 3.30 but the time we set off. The pick up had 6 plus driver inside the cab and nine of us plus all the bags in the back. We had to sit up on the edge of the back and hold on for dear life as the truck jolted along a very poor and sometimes incredible muddy track.

We arrived in Siem Reap at 11.30 at night, to be taken to the usual "we will take you to a guest house we recommend to save you the hassle of finding one so late at night". We had already booked ours so we just got in a tuk-tuk and went away.

The main thing is that having tried to assure ourselves we were going via Poipet, we didn't and the journey in the pick-up is agony.

It seems that there are buses leaving from the Khaosan Road area at 7 am amd 7.30 am - we went on the 7 am bus and some people we met later who were on the 7.30 bus did go via Poipet. This might be a red herring but someone might like to test it and let the rest of us know.

I received the following several days after the original report above:

You may want to add this footnote to my previous mail:

My friend and I were advised to go to the tourist police by the owner of the guesthouse where we are staying. We did this two days ago and they treated our complaint very seriously. Not only did they take a statement for their own use but a separate one for the "corruption police" too.

Apparently the people behind Khaosan Connection Travel are well known to the police as they have been scamming and moving on for a number of years.

Some more people staying at our guesthouse also came down the same way. They also reported the problem to the tourist police.

Last night we were all invited to headquarters where we were each presented with 200 baht in compensation and assured that Khaosan Connection Travel had been told to stop ripping tourists off. While I think this was largely a PR exercise on the part of the Tourist Police, it does show that they are concerned about people who come to their country.

I would urge everyone who gets taken to this border and ripped off by Khaosan Connection Travel to go to the Siem Reap Tourist Police. If they continue to receive these reports, they will realise how much it is happening. I know some people are on a tight schedule of temple cramming when they come to Siem Reap, but if you can spare an hour to report your problems, it will help other fellow travellers. They are particularly keen to know about pressure put on people by local guest house owners when arriving in town.

Here's another report:

We travelled from Bangkok to Siem Reap on 18th December. We read your website day after purchasing our ticket using agent just off KSR road. Usual story, picked up later, instead of 6:30am it was more like 7:45am. No VIP bus instead a minibus to border. Arrived at border around 11-12 ish. Not Poipet border as confirmed by our travel agent several times and advertised but the Duang border. We had our visa already but others were charged 1500 Bht for tourist visa. KSR Connection Co took 500 according to receipt for services rendered. Waited hour and half for bus from Duang. From Duang told various stories why bus was late, changing tyre, cleaning bus. Had they not known we were arriving I asked, only to be advised that they do not understand what I'm saying English not good. Doubtful as I had previous conversations with them and they understood me perfectly well. When bus eventually came we stopped off for petrol for about 30 mins(!). I asked why we went through Duang border in first place, road conditions in Poipet are bad and so many tourists there that it would take ages to get through customs. Roads were awful, bus did not have ANY suspension so we felt every bump going. We were lucky we arrived in Siem Reap at 10pm, though tour guide' sitting in bus with us initially stated journey would take 6 hours from Duang. We left Duang around 2pm! He then went on to tell us that the previous few nights people had arrived in SR around 1am, 3am so 10:30pm was good.....Usual story taken to guesthouse (Beng Melea G/H). We had own hotel booking, asked for tuk tuk and given Beng Melea tuk-tuk driver. He wanted to charge us 2 dollars to take us 5 min ride down road! The thing is that I don't know why they have to do this as Beng Melea G/H looked like a nice enough G/H anyway. During the trip to SR I did ask the 'tour guide' on bus why they do this do they not realise that over time they will lose customers. He just laughed and smiled!

There. Do you still want to buy that bus ticket on Khao San Road? If not, head over to the On Your Own section. But if you must, here is how the package trips work:

Guesthouse - Siem Reap
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Most agencies on Khao San Road sell the Siem Reap bus tickets for between 200 to 600 baht. Regardless of price it's all the same crappy scam bus service and you'll find once you're on the bus there will be almost as many different prices paid as there are passengers.

If you're staying off Khao San Road, perhaps in the Sukhumvit area, travel agents may quote prices upwards of 1000 baht.. Ask a lot of questions, because in all likelihood you're being sold the same service as the folks paying considerably less for their tickets on Khao San Road. There are however, some services that offer and deliver van service for the Cambodia portion of the trip. However, the prices for this service tend to be outrageously expensive (upwards of 2000 baht or more per person) and not worth the cost.

If coming from Koh Chang/Trat agents and guesthouses also sell a bus service to Siem Reap which links up with the Khao San scam bus once you get to the border.

Travel times from Bangkok to Siem Reap usually range from 14 to 18 hours. Better road conditions as of late are making arrivals before 10 p.m., and travel times in the neighborhood of 14 hours more common, but it's still not guaranteed. The latest arrival I've ever heard about is seven a.m. the following morning..

Restaurant - Siem Reap

If you're traveling from Bangkok, most of the buses will claim to depart from Khao San Road around sevenish. By the time they get everybody picked up and sorted out it may be a bit later. As you'll soon discover there are numerous delays along the way - most of which are pre-planned no matter how spontaneous they may seem.

Most of the companies are now using full-size buses in Thailand, usually a fairly comfortable one - A/C, reclining seats, toilet on board, etc., the complete opposite to what you'll get in Cambodia. It is also still possible to get a van or mini-bus for the Thailand portion of the trip.

When you purchase your ticket on Khao San Road they'll probably show you a picture of a bus, maybe two - one for each side of the border. For the Cambodia portion you can almost certainly assume that the bus you get will look nothing like the one in the picture. What you will probably get in Cambodia is a bus designed to hold about 28 people, though they've been known to pack in 35 and more, with no air-conditioning and springs popping through the seats. If you ask them why you don't get the nice bus you saw in the picture, "Sorry, bus break down today."

After they've pushed you into their guesthouse, walk over and visit us. We are located near several of the guesthouses purchasing customers from these buses. Click image for more information and a map showing our location.

From Bangkok to the Border

This first part of the journey results in nothing more remarkable than the opportunity to become acquainted with your fellow passengers and stare out the window or sleep. You'll probably stop once for a cigarette/snack/toilet break. The real fun begins when you get near the border and the first scam hits. Actually it's the second scam - the first scam was buying the ticket in the first place.

The Border Crossing Scam

As I referred to at the beginning, some of the buses aren't even taking you through the Aranyaprathet / Poipet border crossing, which is far and away the most direct route to Siem Reap. Using another border crossing, such as Pailin or O'Smach is nothing more than another way of ripping you off. If you catch them heading somewhere else besides Poipet you'll probably be told some lame excuse like , "Oh, that border is closed today". That is of course, nonsense. The Aranyaprathat / Poipet border crossing is the MAIN commercial crossing. It never closes. On the other hand, if they've done this to you what can you do about it? Not a thing. Except maybe promise yourself that you will NEVER purchase a bus ticket to anywhere on Khao San Road again and you will advise all others to do the same.

The Visa Scam

Chances are you don't yet have a visa for Cambodia. This is not a problem as they are issued at the border and it's a very simple process to do on your own. However, for the bus company employees this is an opportunity to make money. It's quite possible that the travel agent that sold you the ticket informed you of various "border fees". There are no such things. The only fee is the cost of a visa, which if you do it yourself is ideally $20 and rarely more than 1000 baht. Any additional money you pay someone in excess of 1000 baht will only line their pockets so no matter what they may tell you, these people are not doing you any favors.

But regardless of what you were told by the travel agent, you hopefully did not give them any money for a visa, because if you're going to do it in Bangkok it's probably cheaper to go to the embassy and do it yourself - probably becuase it all depends on how you transport yourself across Bangkok. Still, on the bus most of your fellow passengers will be in the same situation - without visa and probably informed that the cost will be somewhere between 1100 and 1500 baht, with 1200 to 1300, or around $35 US, being the most commonly quoted prices.

[Note: if you've been redirected to O'Smach or Pailin you may find this visa fee hiked up to 1500 to 1700 baht or $40+!]

When you reach Aranyaprathet (the border town on the Thailand side) the buses will stop at a restaurant either a few kilometers before the border or even as far as twenty kilometers before the border. While the opportunity to eat may be welcome, they essentially have you held hostage because you're too far away to get up and walk yourself to the border. So they start by playing the convenience game. A smiling Cambodian (usually Cambodian, but always smiling) will lead you to believe that it would be so much easier for you to sit and eat while he goes and takes care of that silly visa business for you - and it would be easier except that he's going to charge an additional 100 to 500 baht per person to perform this service.

Do the math. Let's say he's in a good mood and only asks for 1200 baht. And let's say there are twenty of you. That works out to an overcharge of 4000 baht, roughly $130 USD. Hardly the picture of a hapless poverty stricken Cambodian is it? Granted this money gets split between a few people, but folks, $130 to have somebody disappear with your passports to do something you can do yourself in five minutes? And sometimes they don't even do it at the border! The guy hops on a motorbike and goes to a Cambodian consulate several dozen kilometers west of Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaew province, Thailand, leaving you and your passengers stuck at this restaurant for two hours.

Look, there are a lot of poor Cambodians who need the money more than you do and charity is always appreciated, but these guys aren't the ones that warrant your sympathies. This is not the place to say, "Oh, Cambodia is a poor country, let's help these folks out," because these are not the people you want or need to help. Save your charity for folks who really deserve it.

No matter what they may tell you, the Cambodia visa process is incredibly easy. You don't need their assistance! Have your lunch and then go do the visa yourself at the border for $20 or if you can't get around it, 1000 baht ($25 is a fairly common compromise these days and given that the crashing US dollar puts 1000 baht at around $33, this is not a bad deal). Still, if you try to hold your ground and refuse to hand them your passport, they have all the answers to your objections. And all their answers are lies.

Lie #1: "It will take too long to get the visa on your own."
Nonsense! Filling out the application form is a laughably easy process which takes about thirty seconds and the authorities process it in minutes. They hardly read most of what you write anyway. To receive a Cambodia tourist visa there are no conditions to be met other than paying $20 and having a valid passport. There are no checks for onward tickets, sufficient funds, etc. No westerner ever gets refused a visa here. Nobody asks any questions. Nobody cares. Pay $20 and hand over your passport and a photograph. A monkey could manage the visa procurement process and probably get issued the visa so long as it had the money and a valid passport. The Cambodia visa process is, at least where most westerners are concerned, about one thing and one thing only - obtaining hard currency - if you have the currency they have the stamps.

Lie #2: "But you're from (XYZ country), it's difficult sometimes to get the visa if you come from there."
See answer to #1. The visa issuing authorities couldn't care less what nationality you are. You have $20 for them, they have a visa for you. The exception is if you carry a passport from a Middle Eastern, African, or South Asian country. For more about that nonsense see http://talesofasia.com/cambodia-faq-legal.htm and http://talesofasia.com/cambodia-overland-bkksr-self.htm.

Lie #3: "This is an express service, we have to charge more. If you got your visa in Bangkok it would have been $20."
There is only one service: It's visa on arrival, which is of course, an express service - that's what visas on arrival are. What? They'll have you sit at the border for six hours, or a day or two waiting for the visa? Don't be silly. If you walked up to the visa counter yourself the price would be $20 and you'd have it in minutes. Period. There are no "express" fees.

Lie #4: "The bus to Siem Reap can't wait that long."
More nonsense. They will wait all day for you. Why? Because there's a $7 bounty on your head. The guesthouse you will be delivered to in Siem Reap pays the bus driver and his assistant seven dollars for every passenger whether you stay there or not. As you will find out once you cross the border, it can be one very long wait before you leave. Few buses leave before 2 p.m., some don't even leave until four or five in the afternoon!!! Also, if you yield to temptation and hand them your passport, they are going to delay you by as much as two hours, anyway. So by their own logic, if nobody gives up their passport and everybody does it themselves you'll save time and the buses will of course be waiting! Tell them that!

Lie #5: "Because there are many of you they have to process you as a group."
This is totally silly. Processing visa applications takes the same amount of time regardless of how many applications there are. If one guy brings twenty forms or twenty people each bring one form, the amount of time will be the same.

Lie #6: "Today is Sunday. There is an extra charge as normally the office would be closed today."
More silliness. The visa office is open seven days a week, 365 days a year and there is no price fluctuation based on the day of the week.

Lie #7 - "$20 gets you only a three-day visa, a 30-day visa is..."
There is only one tourist visa. It's for 30 days.

Of course you can also tell them you have a visa already and to get lost if they ask to see your passport. You're under no obligation, legal or otherwise, to show anybody your passport except for the folks in uniform in the visa services building (if you're buying a visa) and the immigration officers stamping you in.

If you really want to let the guy get the visa for you, go ahead and give him your money, but this is money completely wasted. You can delude yourself by thinking how nice and convenient it is that they do this service for you, but you really are suffering from delusions. No matter what they tell you, the visa procurement process is very fast and easy. And isn't saving money one of the reasons why you bought this bus ticket in the first place? So why are you handing this guy two hundred or even three hundred additional baht to get your visa for you? Do it yourself!

Change money scam

There's a good possibility you will be told that you must change as much as $100 US (or Thai baht) into Cambodian riel. There is no such regulation in Cambodia and the US dollar remains the de facto currency of Cambodia. But the real scam lies in the fact that you may be given as little as 3000 riel to the dollar or if changing baht, as little as 70 riels. Presently the riel exchanges at around 4000 riel to the dollar and has remained reasonably close to that for several years now and one Thai baht is worth roughly 130 riels. This rip-off will cost you as much as $15 if you fall for it. DO NOT CHANGE ANY MONEY HERE! They also may try this scam on again in Sisophon. Various lies used include:

Lie #1: "US dollars are no longer accepted in Cambodia."
Though there is talk of ditching the US dollar (a marvelous idea these days), US dollars still remain the de facto currency of Cambodia and have been for years.
Lie #2: "You need to change to riel as it's part of a new program to encourage Khmer(-ness, spirit, nationality, etc.) and we are getting rid of the US dollar."
As I said, US dollars have been the de facto currency of Cambodia for years. You didn't pay for your visa in riels now did you? Further to this scam, they may go so far as to tell you the king has been on TV every night telling people to stop using US dollars and to use the riel instead. Uh-huh.
Lie #3: "The rates in Siem Reap are much worse."
Rates are basically the same throughout the country. The worst rates are from these guys.
Lie #4: "There are no money changing facilities in Siem Reap."
Nonsense. There are dozens. As a matter of fact there are money changers in almost every town in the country. And why would some bumf**k town have moneychangers while tourist central Siem Reap, doesn't? There are also ATMs all over Siem Reap that dispense USD.

SARS scam

Remember SARS? That little virus that everyone panicked about in 2003 and has seemingly been eradicated? Well, Cambodia decided that 2004 would be Keep Cambodia SARS-free Year and as they managed to stay SARS-free they've continued the program on into 2006. Hence, you may be presented with a slip of paper that reads:

The Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Cambodia wishes to inform that:

- International passengers may be exposed to infectious agents, which they have not encountered before. This may then lead to ill health which may require assistance. If you become unwell during your stay in Cambodia i.e. fever, cough, shortness of breath, headache, rash, severe vomiting, diarrhea or other symptoms, please seek medical attention.

- Please save this card and take it with you when you visit the doctor

- For further information about SARS please phone the SARS information hotline on 012 442 700 and Case Reporting Hotline on 012 488 981 (CDC, Ministry of Health).

Real useful, huh? Well, giving you this slip of paper is fine if that's what they want to do but imagine being asked to pay 50 or even 100 baht for it?!?! Most people aren't asked to pay for it, but they do try from time to time to get some money out of unsuspecting tourists. If you're unlucky enough to be asked do not pay one single baht for this slip of paper. You do not need it stamped into your passport and if you were to fly in to Cambodia, while you might receive one of these silly pieces of paper, you certainly won't be asked to pay for it, nor would you hear a thing about requirements to change money or about 1000+ baht visas, etc. Everything other than the requirement to have a visa and get a stamp is a SCAM.

However, it seems they finally gave up on this scam as I haven't seen anyone get a silly piece of paper in nearly a year.

Crossing the Border

At some point each of you will probably be issued some kind of identification card to wear. This may be a laminated business card or just a colored card or sticker. It's to identify which company you're going to be transported by across Cambodia and to identify you to the touts in Cambodia that you are already paid for and not available to be hijacked.

Representatives of the transport companies are usually hanging around the border and they do a good job of locating their cargo and helping you through immigration (not that the help is needed) as they don't want to lose any of you. You'll also find that if you were able to avoid paying the crooks at the restaurant to get you your visa, the bus company representative will happily steer you in the right direction and probably not try to charge you any extra money. So get your visa now, then breath deeply and say "my, getting that visa certainly was easy!"

But whatever they do, they'll probably make you wait at the border for an hour or two or three or four or ... bring a book. They'll tell you stories like they're waiting for gas money, the bus needs to be repaired, they're waiting for somebody, etc. It's all nonsense. They do not want to get you into Siem Reap until well after dark to be as sure as sure can be that you will stay at the guesthouse you are delivered (sold) to. Did you know that almost every bus has a mechanical problem almost every day?!?!?!?!?!?! It's amazing they can run at all!!!

Eventually they'll toss you into some kind of bus and slowly get you all moving along. It might be 2 pm, more likely it might be 5 pm. With rare exceptions, no one uses pick-up trucks anymore. The rare exceptions being that the buses really did all break down... or the road is in really bad condition...

Getting to Siem Reap

Once you finally get on the road, you'll travel all of about 50 kilometers to the town of Sisophon where, you guessed it! A food break! Yes, you ate a few hours ago at the border but they need to waste more time. They'll tell you it's a fifteen-minute break and then the van or bus will drive off and not come back for one or two hours. They'll tell you it needed a repair, though you'll be forgiven for not noticing any mechanical problems with the bus, because most importantly, they are just wasting more time. Nobody's repairing anything, they're off doing karaoke or something.

Now, the restaurant does pay the bus people money for bringing you in, but that's a worldwide business practice and I have no complaint with this. What I do complain about is making you wait for up to two hours even though everybody finished their meals in twenty minutes.

You'll probably then manage to travel all of another 50 kilometers before, you guessed it again! another stop! This time in Kralanh which is the toilet capital of Cambodia. Or it was anyway, ... it's a long story. Okay... Cambodians are great imitators. About four years ago somebody got the idea to build a block of clean toilets and advertise this fact with a large sign in English, Thai, and Khmer. The plan worked as taxis, buses, trucks, etc., especially those carrying foreigners, pulled up and weary travelers poured out en masse paying the happy toilet owners 500 riels for the privilege of using the clean facilities. So what happened? All the neighbors began building their own rest facilities and at one point there were about ten of these places in this small village. But competition being what it is, most didn't last a year and now there really only are about two.

Finally, tired and weary (just what they want!), you'll get to Siem Reap somewhere between nine p.m. and the wee hours of the morning and pull into a guesthouse that paid as much as $7 a person to have you delivered there. And they have you so worn down that you'd probably agree to sleep in a pig sty if that's what they offered.

For some time I had been cautioning tourists about being hassled for trying to leave the guesthouse they are sold to. However, while the problem has most certainly not been eliminated, I am hearing less frequent reports of tourists having problems leaving.

That said, the best advice is that you take a look at the place you're delivered to. If it looks good, stay there, though don't expect a particularly favorable room rate as they do have all those $7 kickbacks to recover. But, if you want to leave, perhaps you had another place in mind, or a reservation somewhere, then leave. Some of the guesthouses have been quite cooperative, even supplying a motorbike driver to deliver you to your chosen destination. What will likely happen is they will ask you where you want to go and if it's a guesthouse they know will pay back some or all of the $7 as a commission then they will of course obligingly provide you with transportation to the other facility.

In the unlikely event you are on a large 40+ seat buses, they usually stop the bus outside of town and then shove everybody into smaller vehicles for delivery to various guesthouses.

When the nonsense of selling the entire busload of tourists to a guesthouse began there were many problems with how some of the guesthouses treated their purchase. In some cases, if you tried to leave you were at the very least told lies about Siem Reap being dangerous after dark. This is nonsense. Nobody's been held up here in years and the locals all know that if they were ever caught sticking a gun in a tourist's face their punishment would be fast and harsh. The Siem Reap authorities are very image conscious and the result is that Siem Reap is one of the safest places is Asia.

I recall once I met some tourists who were deposited at a guesthouse on the edge of town and when they tried to leave they were told that the Khmer Rouge were still active in the area and kidnappings were a possibility!!!!! In case you're wondering, the Khmer Rouge ceased to exist in 1998 and it's been much longer since ANY westerner has been grabbed (except maybe by these guesthouses!!). IT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN ANYMORE! By the way, the Cambodian government, and certainly the Ministry of Tourism and the local tourist police, would love to have the name of any guesthouse telling tourists about Khmer Rouge kidnappers lurking in Siem Reap!

In more serious instances some guesthouses have held tourist's bags and demanded payment for their return or they simply locked the gates and refused to let you leave. If you find yourself in this situation the first words out of your mouth should be "I'm going to get the police." And do it. One guesthouse was fined $2000 for locking tourists in and threatened with closure if it happened again so don't consider it a waste of time to visit the police.

But to reiterate, this seems to be a less common occurrence now and it really seems that most of the guesthouses have sorted themselves out in respect to this. Still, as this problem hasn't completely gone away, if the guesthouse does cause any problems for you, do not go to one of the Siem Reap pubs, order a cold beer and whine to your mates and the bartender about it. Go to the tourist police!!! That's what they are there for. And while paying commissions (kickbacks) is a perfectly acceptable business practice in Cambodia, grabbing bags and threatening tourists is not acceptable nor legal and believe it or not the authorities in Siem Reap do give a shit sometimes about what happens to tourists, especially if it’s something that makes Cambodia look bad. And this makes Cambodia look bad.

Going to the police may not get you any money or anything, but the police will have words or more with the guesthouse owners, if for anything, just to get the complaints stopped. So make it a little easier for the next group that comes along and have a word with the police if you are met with this nonsense.

The tourist police recently moved and now are in office near the Angkor ticket booth a few kilometers north of town. Motodrivers all know where it is.

Telephone numbers for the tourist police are apparently 012-969-991, 012-950-091, 012-837-768, 012-862-629, 012-402-424 and maybe 012-893-297 and 012-893-298 (probably better to just go in person). Don't be afraid to use their services. It's what they are here for.

SUMMARY - Advice to follow if you are using the Khao San Road bus ticket:

1.) Ask yourself again, "Why am I doing this and not exploring the option of taking a government bus to the border and a taxi onward to Siem Reap?"
2.) Shop around for the cheapest price because the service is the same regardless of what you pay.
3.) Be prepared to spend as much as eighteen, even twenty hours getting to Siem Reap.
4.) Do not delude yourself into believing they are doing you a favor by getting your Cambodia visa for you when they dump you at the restaurant near the border (unless they do it for $20 which they won't). Do it yourself! You bought this bus ticket to save money, right?
5.) There is no law that says you have to change money and certainly not at anything less than 4000 riels to the dollar.
6.) There is no law requiring SARS clearance, vaccination certificates, or any other health checks.
7.) Be prepared for a dusty ride in Cambodia.
8.) Don't worry about bandits on the highway, there haven't been any in years - except for the guys running the bus you are on.
9.) Nor should you worry about land mines along the road, there aren't any. If the bus makes a toilet stop you're perfectly safe to step behind any bush to answer nature's call. Oh, and what about all those signs posted every ten feet or so along the road? Sorry, they aren't land mine warning signs. There is a communications cable buried alongside the highway and the signs are informing the locals not to dig there or they might snap the cable. You'd have to walk quite a distance from this road to find a land mine.
10.) Don't feel pressured to stay at the guesthouse you're delivered to in Siem Reap.
11.) If you encounter any resistance leaving the guesthouse you are delivered to go directly to the police. If you decide it's too much effort to fight your way out of the guesthouse, then make a visit to the tourist police your first order of business the next morning.
12.) Maintain a sense of humor. Have a laugh! Don't pay them anything to do the visa and be firm about maintaining your accommodation options!
13.) Go back and read the first item again. And if necessary, again.

Conclusion

Despite all I've said, there have been travelers reporting that the trip was, at least to them, no hassle at all. I would concede then, that the level of scams and the experience with whatever guesthouse one is delivered to will vary somewhat from journey to journey, from day to day. Of course problems will always exist in any type of travel in a third world country and especially when geared exclusively to tourists (doesn't anyone ever wonder about the significance of getting on a bus and not seeing any locals on board?). And keep in mind, you are going to spend upwards of fifteen, even sixteen or seventeen hours, doing what you could have done yourself in eight to ten hours for not much more money.

So who's responsible for all these scams? Is this the policy of the transport companies? Or is it the bus company's employees and their friends acting on their own?

It's largely the employees and their friends acting on their own that are the source of all this nonsense. This is a classic case of the lunatics running the asylum. When you purchase a ticket on Khao San Road, depending on how much you paid, you may be paying less than the amount of money that will eventually be sent to the transport company in Cambodia, the difference being made up by the restaurants, the guesthouses, and whatever the employees can get on the visa scam. But whether it's more or less, the visa scam money, the restaurant kickbacks, the guesthouse commissions, all of this money will mostly line the pockets of the bus employees riding on the bus with you.

The owner of the transport company has little control over this situation. How can he fire all his drivers and helpers when no sooner would he do so that the replacement group, assuming he could find a whole new staff, would continue the same scams? His choice? Put up with it or go out of business. And he can't spend all his time riding on the buses watching his staff, he's got a whole tour company to run.

And of course blame has to fall on the tourists (yes, you!) who care only for the cheapest price and make no other consideration - not to any additional costs they may bear later, nor the ethically questionable business practices of the transport company employees which are only encouraged further as more and more people use their services.

I remember once a couple of years back on a Siem Reap to Bangkok trip I encountered a downed bridge which was going to be out of commission for most of the day. Those traveling independently could abandon their vehicles, walk to the other side and get something to take them the remaining 60 kms to the border, barely more than an hour away. The people on the tourist buses obviously had less flexibility. I overheard a twentyish-year-old British woman comment that she was told by their driver that they would be sending a bus from Poipet "soon" to pick them up and get them to the border. She interpreted this "soon" as meaning right away. For an in-depth explanation of the Cambodian definition of "soon" see http://talesofasia.com-cambodia-quiz1.htm.

I almost fell over in a ditch laughing. I told her that bus won't move one meter out of Poipet until it has all it's Siem Reap-bound passengers on board. Given the time was barely 1:00 pm this would be close to another hour, not to mention that the bus is going to take its lunch break in Sisophon.
"But we have to make the border by 5:00 pm!! They have to send the bus now!"
"You think for the money you're paying, they're going to send an empty bus? They don't care when you reach the border or even if you make it by 5 pm."
Needless to say she didn't want to hear the rest of this. But this is how it is. This is a super cheap service offered by people who couldn't care less about you. They know they'll never see you again and they don't care what you say because so many people continue buying these tickets every day.

My complaints about this bus service are many: the extra charges they try to hit you with for the visa and the associated lies that go along with it, the change money scam, that some of the buses are taking passengers on very indirect routes to Siem Reap now, and the trouble some of the guesthouses have created for tourists who tried to leave. And also that the ticket prices have recently been hiked without a corresponding improvement in service.

In 2001 a price war began between the competing companies and that's when the games started. And personally, I think this is a classic example of why price wars are not always a positive thing for the consumer. Imagine, if you will, being delivered promptly to the border, allowed to get your own visa at no extra fee, and then being taken promptly to Siem Reap and offered transport to any guesthouse you wanted? This could be done profitably for as little as 300 and certainly 400 baht.

To clear up one common misconception, though the buses originate on Khao San Road, this operation is almost entirely Cambodian. While the Thais are happy to take their cut of the money, their responsibilities are largely limited to selling the tickets and providing a bus between the border and Bangkok.

I realize for most tourists, all you want is a ride to Siem Reap, but why are you in Asia? To spend all your time with other tourists or to experience Asia? So why not travel on your own as the locals do? Why do you want to spend as much as six, even eight extra hours traveling with a bus full of tourists when you can do the entire trip in less time and travel with the locals as they travel? Okay, it will probably cost you a few bucks more, but so what? How many chances in your life do you have to ride in a pick-up truck or share taxi with a bunch of Khmers? Though, admittedly, there are some who argue rather convincingly that once is more than enough (!).

On a Package - Siem Reap to Bangkok

This is a simpler, more hassle-free process as there is no visa required for most western nationalities to enter Thailand and as the ride terminates on Khao San Road there is no guesthouse to "kidnap" you. The only potential delays are they will likely take a rest break in Kralanh and a lunch break in Sisophon, and another break in Thailand but they are less likely to hold you up for two hours as there is no reason to arrive late in Bangkok. With no visa scam or guesthouse commissions available, the companies do a better job getting you to your destination in a reasonable amount of time with much less fuss.

Prices range from $10 to about $18.

Some form of transport will take you from Siem Reap to Poipet, again this should be a small bus or van, that probably will not have working A/C and may be over-sold, which is solved by either offering the excess passengers plastic chairs to sit on in the aisle, or perhaps another tourist's bag. In Siem Reap they'll pick you up at your guesthouse telling you 6:30 a.m. and probably arriving a little later. They can't be everywhere at 6:30, now can they? At the border some representative of the bus company will manage to find you and they'll get everybody and everything sorted out and on a bus bound for Bangkok, probably a large bus. They'll dump you on Khao San Road.

For the record, as I use local transport, I have left Siem Reap as late as 10:30 a.m. and still arrived at the border before the tourist buses that started scooping their passengers at 6:30 a.m.!!!! I have left Siem Reap as late as 12:20 p.m. and arrived at the border as the KSR-bound bus people still weren't done with Thai immigration.

INTRODUCTION  /  ON A PACKAGE  /  ON YOUR OWN  / CONCLUSION  / ROAD CONDITIONS / SUMMARY / TRAVELERS' REPORTS: BANGKOK - SIEM REAP  /  OVERLAND INDEX

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All text and photographs © 1998 - 2008 Gordon Sharpless. Commercial or editorial usage without written permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.