Crossing the Border

After about 8 hours or so of travel, I finally made it to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Pulled an all nighter for my last night in Bangkok. The evening started by going with Charles to listen to him play a sample set for a few guys that run a hip hop night at a club called Twisted which happened to be a few blocks away from my hotel. I found out a few of the guys were from america and moved out to Bangkok and after chatting with me they said Kimball Collins was spinning some house there later on and they would get me on list. So I made it out later in the night, which had good music, expensive drinks, and was dead. I noticed Shamori (one of the guys I met earlier there) there and he invited me out to another club with the owner of Twisted, P-dog (a highly respected general in the military), and himself in RCA. I also got to chat with Kimball Collins a bit, I guess he lives out there in Bangkok now and plays at Twisted all the time. The next club was pretty packed, playing cheesy house/electronic music but the guys I was with knew everyone there. We escorted right in and to a VIP table, got bowed to many times along the way (as that’s a common practice in Thailand), and was served a bottle of vodka with mixers. I think being with the general had a lot to do with that, plus Shamori seemed to know everyone at the club. Got home a little after 5 and was worried about sleeping and missing the bus to Cambodia, so I just packed and headed down for an early breakfast, which I am sooo tired of, because I have been having the same thai breakfast for the last 3 weeks which consists of eggs, bacon, fried rice or fried noodles, toast, French toast, and sometimes rice porridge.

The bus ride to the Cambodia border was ok. I got on a mini bus for about 27 bucks and it stopped twice for gas and then the last time a few km from the border for a restaurant and a scam that I read and was told about. Basically they have guys there that help get your Cambodia visa at the border. They of course are not doing this for free but got everyone on the bus to do this except me. I didn’t even get out of the bus as I was warned about this and told NOT to do this. I even told and ozzie couple it was a scam but they went thru with it. So after they fill the visa paperwork out, one of the guys heads to the border to get the visas, that’s when the bus driver told me to just go with him to the border and that’s were I saw all of the tourists passports. Even when I got out of the car, guys approached me about visa’s and I just gave them a stern “I already have one and kept walking”. I figured if the touts in India can’t break me down, either could the thai’s. After making it through thai customs, surprisingly going through and getting a visa in Cambodia was easier than imagined, due to the help from Gordon at Two Dragons guest house in Siem Reap and Sambath, the tour agent that accompanied me to get my visa and all the way to the taxi from Poipet to Siem Reap. Definitely made things easier for transitioning to Cambodia from Thailand.

So Camodia is defintely a little more grimmy then Thailand. The road from Poipet to Siem Reap reminded me of India in many ways. At times just a pure dirt road, huge rocks, pot holes, and no lanes at all. Just a free for all of trucks, motor bikes, mopeds, and cars making their way down the road to their destination is whatever route they desire. The trip took about 3 hours or so from the border to the guest house and probably with a paved road would only take about 1.5 hours. Once arriving, both Josh (old college friend) and Louie were there at the guesthouse. Part two of the adventures now start, conquering Cambodia and Siem Reap.


Here is some exerts of my readings from talesfromasia.com before making the trip overland to Cambodia from Bangok.
“Fourteen-plus-hour drives, craters bigger than a pick-up truck, bombed-out bridges, drives through rice fields, roadblocks and demands for money, no other choices but to sit in the back of a pick-up truck with twenty-two Cambodians, etc. all created the kind of adventure that traveler legends are made of. Not surprisingly the road quickly became popular and traveling out of Poipet turned into scam/tout/hassle/rip-off central”

“As of August 24, 2008, the road is about the fastest it's been in years - except after a heavy rain. The section between Poipet and Sisophon is about halfway completed with about 25 to 30 km of real pavement and more ready to go down any day. Asphalt is appearing in spots east of Sisophon as well, while the dirt sections east to Kralanh are in various states of repair with nothing really bad and some quite good. Closer to Siem Reap is asphalt that's either deteriorating or recently repaired. The problem most likely to slow you down here is not road conditions but heavy traffic on a narrow road.”

And here is the email from Gordon from Two Dragons with the detailed instructions on crossing the border:
1.) After exiting Thai immigration, head over to the Cambodia Visa Services Building - even if you have visas already or you don't need visas (Singapore, Malaysia, Phils, Laos) you MUST go to this location, it's the first building on the right after crossing the foot bridge into Cambodia. Somewhere around the Visa application window will be a sign with your name(s) on it.
2.) If you need to obtain a visa here, we are connected with the folks inside and you will not be hassled to pay excessive fees above the $20 US the visas cost, however our customers are sometimes asked to pay a 100 baht tip, particularly during low season when tourists are few and money is scarce. Ultimately it's up to you whether you pay this or not, but the small tip (it's all of $3 US) does make friends and influence uncles and will make life easier for the next customer who comes along. We wish it weren't so, but that's the reality.
3.) The person you want to meet there is named Sambath (pronounced Sombot) and he'll take care of everything - visa apps, immigration forms, etc. He is not the actual driver but rather is our Poipet contact who handles our arrangements. His English is quite good. The need for a middle man will make better sense when you see the border. He will escort you all the way to the taxi stand and see you on your way.
5.) If by any chance someone should approach you before the Visa Services Building, most likely in Rongklua Market or even the bus or train station(!), and has your names on either a piece of paper, their hand, or just happens to know your name, whatever, ignore them - do not acknowledge them in anyway! No one except Sambath is authorized by us to approach you anywhere and he is only to meet you at the Cambodia Visa Services Building. Anyone who approaches you at any other location whether they claim to be Sambath or not, they are not our contact. We have had some problems with touts and other unauthorized individuals who see the sign at the Cambodia Visa Services Building and then walk into Thailand to try to intercept our customers for any of a couple of reasons - redirect you to another taxi or bus at an excessive amount of money, rip you off on a visa, or simply "help" you and then demand a tip later. Often they will misrepresent themselves and tell you they are Sambath. There is not much we can do about this except warn you as they will probably approach you on Thai soil, not Cambodia. So if you are met by anyone who deviates from the above information, meeting you in advance of the Visa Services building, for asking you to pay for the car up front, asking for more than $50, asking for 1000 baht or more for the visa, etc than this person is not our contact even of they claim they are Sambath. Remove yourself from this person and call us immediately,