Did the border crossing via bus on November 2011, 9.00 am from Siem Reap - crossing to Poipet to Aranyaprathet and finally reached Bangkok at 5.00 pm. You can usually get your bus tickets at where ever you're staying or you can shop around the travel agents nearby Siem Reap Old Market (Phsar Chas). Roughly you'd be paying somewhere between USD8 - USD10.

So what's gunnah happen

  • You buy ticket
  • Be at designated time and date where you're supposed to get the bus
  • Bus arrive, ride bus. Its free seating so if you have certain seating preference then be like a monkey and rush for the bus
  • Bus will stop once or twice for toilet and lunch break. If you have some Riel left, this here is a good way to get rid of em. 
  • Instead of eating at the restaurant where the bus stops, nearby there are some stalls that sells crunchy nyummy creepy crawlies as lunch. They are unusually good, better than the ones in Bangkok

  • Reach Poipet, the Cambodian border. Bus guy will stick some sorta stickers on your chest
  • Procede to line up under the hot sun with all your bags for immigration thingamajig
  • If you're unsure whats your visa requirement for Cambodia, click here 
  • Cross border on foot, only 10 minutes away

  • Reach Thailand border, fill in form and line up again for immigration thingamajig
  • If you're unsure whats your visa requirement for Thailand, click here  
  • So, on the other side, a guy will keep on a look out with the sticker on your chest. He will holler you and tell you to sit tight and wait at a corner
  • Then after awhile they will announce that they're ready to move
  • Everyone will be herded onto a 4x4
  • The Cambodian bus are not allowed to cross the border, so dont leave anything behind
  • Based on my observation, only the hot busty ladies are allowed to sit up front. The rest is expected to hold on for dear life while the 4x4 speeds through the bumpy rocky gravelly roads
  • After a 15 minute bumpy ride, you'd arrive in some kinda restaurant around 1.00 pm. 
  • Here's where they will filter the passengers accordingly. Some will go to Bangkok some will go to Ko Chang and others (on my bus that day) are heading to Surin.
  • The filtered passengers are then directed to take the designated destination mini vans that should be arriving within an hour at the restaurant. Be a total jerk / asshole right now and fight / hustle for the seats on the first row in the van. They're the most comfortable - trust me on this. I was seated at the last row, which can only take 3 puny thin guys and what happened was, the driver picked up 1 more gal on the way and since the four off us were practically sitting on each other's thigh, she sat on the floor of the van. It was packed and bumpy.
  • Take van and endure the next 4 - 5 hours to Bangkok. 
  • Van will stop at Khao San Road. If you have a different destination, be sure to tell the driver in advance.
  • Eat manggo sticky rice, extra coconut milk please
  • Order it in Thai like a bawsee, kaniau mamuang namkhon  :9

Note: 
  • No additional payment was required through out my trip
  • Make sure you have an mp3 player (important!) or a book
  • Please have a stick of deodorant ready, because I was thanking God profusely when during the packed van ride - the usual i-cud-have-anticipated-stinky-white-guys werent stinky at all. Phew!

Categories: ,

Leave a Reply

Followers