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Published: March 27th 2009
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Another Visa Run to Cambodia
The Thai tourist numbers are down for the year yet they still haven't relaxed the requirements for foreigners to stay any length of time.
Many long term expats stay in Cambodia because they aren't interested in dealing with the bureaucracy to stay in Thailand.
Myself, I'm heading to Cambodia from Chiang Mai to get another tourist visa.
I wanted to catch the early morning 6:30 am train from Bangkok to Pattaya so I took the 3:00 pm overnight sleeper train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok (it was an hour late in leaving). It was scheduled to arrive at 5:30 am and give me time to switch trains but alas it arrived at 10:15 am long after my connecting train left.
Along the train journey you can see fires burning beside the train tracks. (see photos) The slash and burn method of farming is the cause of the severe smog all over South East Asia at this time of year. The smog and resulting breathing difficulty is especially prevalent in Chiang Mai which sits in a type of natural basin.
As the train nears Bangkok you pass within spitting distance of shanty
Train
This is from where all the smoke is coming from towns which have grown beside the railway track. These are slowly being eliminated.
Because of the late arrival in Bangkok I missed my train to Pattaya but rather than spend the night in Bangkok I took the very modern subway to Akemai bus station and caught a long distance bus. The subway fare is based on distance travelled and regulated electronically by the ticket you purchase.
There's a wall separating the subway platform from the tracks and when the subway car arrives it aligns with doors in the wall. No suicides or accidents.
From Bangkok to Pattaya is a few hours and cost a little over 100 Baht ($3 US).
I was heading to Trat near the Cambodian border and it's cheaper to go directly to Trat from Bangkok (250 Baht) and quicker, about 5 hours, rather than going to Pattaya first. But I wanted to see some friends there
and people watching in Pattaya is really entertaining.
Prices seem to have gone up for the rooms in Pattaya. I guess the reasoning is that with the number of tourists down they have to boost the price to make the same profit as last year.
I
had a coffee Sunday morning with Howard, a fellow I knew from a train ride to Poipet years before then that night I had a beer with Andrew, an artist who stayed at the same hotel as me last year .
Sitting along Walking Street, the bar beside me was a lady-boys'. They put on a dancing show right on the street to attract people inside. When I found myself smiling at them I knew I had enough beer and it was time to go home for the night.
The next day I continued to Trat. It's much easier to get a direct bus from Bangkok to Trat, and cheaper too, than
trying to get there from Pattaya. A direct connection is hard to find. I had to change buses twice to arrive in Trat. Trat isn't uncomfortable but the next morning I took a 20 Baht (60 cents) motorbike to the bus station at 5:45 am to catch the first minibus going to the Cambodian border.
The bus arrives at Hat Lek on the border about 7:30am barely enough time to get into Koh Kong and catch the bus leaving for Sihanoukville. The bus from Koh
Buddah statue across field
Interesting views from the window of the train. Kong to Sihanoukville leaves at 8:00 am and another company leaves at 8:30 am.
At immigration if you don't have a Cambodian visa they will try and get you to pay the $20 US in Baht at exorbitant exchange rates. My immigration officer just said, "we don't accept US money here, go to the ATM machine in Thailand and get Baht". This is the first example of corruption you'll experience in Cambodia.
The immigration officers are among the owners of Lexus SUV's you'll see riding around Phnom Penh among the thousands of motorbikes. The other Lexus SUV's belong to the NGO workers. About 90% of the donated money to NGO groups go to administration and benefits for the workers. Some must trickle down to projects for the people.
A good way to get your visa for Cambodia if you can't make it to the embassy is to pay $5 more and get it on-line.
From the border to Koh Kong motorbikes will take you for 100 Baht, (it should be 50 Baht but after getting ripped off so badly at the immigration you probably won't quibble over 50 Baht). On the way the motorbike driver will try to
get you to change money ("Baht are no good in Cambodia, you have to change them to US dollars or riel") even though HE only wants Baht and you'll find out that the prices in the restaurants are in Baht.
I spent the night. There seems to be a number of expats living in the area. Some were gathered at Fat Sam's across the road from the bus ticket agency. Interesting guys with interesting situations and interesting stories.
Beware buying your bus ticket. Even at the office of the bus company they will try to charge foreigners up to $20 for a ticket. The actual price is closer to $6. They asked me for $15, I bargained down to $7.
Now that the bridges are completed it takes about 4 hours to get to Sihanoukville.
Sihanoukville has a new bus terminal location from 6 months ago. It's only a few blocks from the old one.
Then you can stay in the town itself or go to one of the beaches. The backpackers all head to the beach.
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alex mumzhiu
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John you wrote that durian is the only fruit that tiger eat It is true¿ How do you know it¿ Alex