Warning! Border crossing from Thailand to Cambodia through PoiPet

---

We don't normally write blogs in english, but this is an exception, because we wanted to update other travellers information about this border crossing from Thailand to Cambodia. The information below has been posted to Lonely Planet's Thorntree discussion forum aswell. You can find the replies from here:

Discussion at LP

As all of you know there is a bus scam going on when you book a bus ticket from Bangkok to Siem Reap, especially when you purchase your ticket from the travel agencies at the Khao San road in Bangkok. If you are not aware of this please read page 86 of LP southeast asia on a shoestring (13th ed. March 2006). As it suggests we took a bus to the border and got without a hassle to the Cambodian side....and this is what happened after that....

----------- Copied section from Thorntree begins -----------

Warning! Border crossing to Cambodia from PoiPet

For you TT'ers,

We just crossed border independently from Thailand to Cambodia two days ago and here are our experiences when you come to Cambodian side of the border at Poipet (this is the most popular route from Bangkok to Siem Reap).

First of all there will be a "official-looking" "guide" following you all the way from the Cambodian Visa office. He will follow you absolutely everywhere, and I meand ABSOLUTELY everywhere. Here are the examples from our border crossings by step by step:

1)First 200 meters from the visa office to the immigration office
He is trying to be friendly and get a contact with you

2) After the immigration office to the free shuttle bus, which goes to the tourist transportation center
He was actually waiting for two shuttle buses that left while we waited (we really tried to get rid of him already at this point)

3) He follows you to the same shuttle bus to make sure you go to the tourist transportation center
They even carry luggages to the shuttle bus from those who are willing to take their help

4) Tourist transportation center
They make sure you know there is only two options: bus or taxi to Siem Reap. Bus is 10 USD and taxi 15 USD per person.

All the backpackers think at this point that the price is too high and start to think their alternatives. This is what we did...and what was the response from these "guides" (at this point we had a larger group of backpackers doing the same):

5) We though there must be another bus companies and we started walking to the city...and the guide was following us all the time.

6) We found another company after 200 meters of walking towards main road. We asked about buses and the girl we talked to was all the time looking behind our backs where all our individual "guides" were standing at the background. Surprisingly (really ?) there was no buses, not today and neither tomorrow.

7) One of our group started to speak with another guy on background (presumably the owner of the company) and same thing happened, he was looking at our "guides" behind us. At this point it came quite clear to us that there is systematic scam behind of this thing and no other bus company would have "guts" to take us to the Siem Reap.

8) We started to walk further down the road towards Sisophon and after few hundred meters we found a pick-up, which was going towards Sisophon. We tried to get a ride, but while we were discussing with driver, our "guide" went sitting to the pick-up and shouted something in a language we didn't understand (btw. locals looked really scared at this point). Before that the driver of the pick-up was asking where we want to go and nearly offered us a ride, but after this only thing he kept saying was that you need to go to tourist transportation center. At this point we also saw one tourist being pulled down from motorcycle !

At this point we decided that we will take the cheaper bus to Siem Reap from tourist transportation center. Partly we didn't see any options and partly we didn't want to cause any more trouble to the locals.

9) Back in tourist transportation center we heard - surprise, surprise - that there are no buses available, only taxis...we ended up paying 15 USD per person. No possibility for discount...if you read the text above, it's hardly surprising... 😊

And for the last, but definately not least: every tourist and tourist group really had their own "guide" following them.

So my suggestions:

1) if you find any other way to get to Siem Reap from BKK, use it ! - It will end up cheaper than this very well organised "crime" towards the independent travellers.

2) if you come independently to Cambodian side, don't admit you are going to Siem Reap, try to get cheaper ride to Sisophon (bus was 4 USD, we didn't ask for taxi, because we admitted to go to Siem Reap)

My wish: please share your own experiences from this border crossing, because here you have only two opinions, although I think even these two show quite an similar pattern.

I hope you all good luck !

PS. Sorry for posting this in two different places, but I thuoght this is worth it....

----------- Copied section ends -----------

---

Comments

[Carrol]

PoiPet to Battambang
We stayed the night in Aranya Prathet and crossed the boarder in the morning at about 9am and there was a fellow following us, but he gave up after we walked away from the public transport centre only to be "helped" by another fellow. But they weren't as bad as your experience. We wanted to get to Battambang via share jeep but had a bit of a hard time getting a ride. No one really wants to pick you up. They said because of the police and the police were hanging around. I've heard rumours tourists aren't allowed to ride in the back of the share jeeps anymore because someone got hurt. Either your not allowed or you have to pay off the police first, and with that added cost you might as well take a more comfortable taxi! Anyways, we had to catch a moto out of town, past the police, and then caught a share jeep. It took a while, about 1.5 hours from the time we actually crossed the boarder to get transportation. Tricky but do-able! My best advise is to know excatly where to go, how to get there and how much it should cost before venturing out for boarder.