Comments on: Border crossing guide: Bangkok to Siem Reap

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Thu, 12 May 2011 17:56:13 +0000

Hello! I’m thinking of going to Siem Reap from Bangkok by train in July, so this is a great read. I also followed your link to the Tales of Asia page, But I’m concerned about their comments on the afternoon train from Hualamphong: taking it “means you’re either going to spend the night in Aranyaprathet and not save any money after all or cross the border too late to get anywhere else but Poipet.” Hoping for clarification! I’m travelling alone and getting stranded for a night in Poipet would be a nightmare

By: Chris Grawburg

Chris Grawburg — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:46:59 +0000

Just did the trip last week and put trip report and photos on http://www.bkk2rep.com. Enjoy!

By: Jasmine Wanders

Jasmine Wanders — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:20:10 +0000

I wish I could have read something like this before I did this crossing! I did end up getting scammed, but not as bad as some others I met.

By: Tim Patterson

Tim Patterson — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:10:00 +0000

Good article. The best resource for the Siem Reap –> Bangkok run is http://www.talesofasia.com. Thank goodness they’ve finished paving the road.

By: Betty

Betty — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:33:04 +0000

hahaha… did it last year and I liked brandon’s step-by-step instructions… could be useful…

but I would also like to share my experience of the border-crossing on my way back from vietnam to thailand (via cambodia).

I paid a 20-year-old cambodian guy 22 $ in chau doc at the vietnamese/cambodian border, got a “ticket” (that means a scrap which was taken away from me when boarding the first boat), and managed to travel to pattaya, thailand, in half a day (by boat/s, bus, ferry and another bus) just by mentioning that guy’s name and telling everybody I already paid for the whole journey.

there’s lots of scams, especially in cambodia, but don’t worry too much otherwise you’ll miss out what makes travelling asia so special: the people and their sometimes strange but nonetheless efficient ways of “doing business” and “organizing things”.

By: Geodominios.net

Geodominios.net — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:40:37 +0000

In Poipet I remember a big casino just in the same border with Thailand.

By: Abbie

Abbie — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:40:18 +0000

Great tips – I took the easy way out from Siem Reap to Bangkok and flew

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:27:33 +0000

I made that crossing back and forth from Thailand last year. I didn’t have any problems but I loved the insanity of Poipet. It was really dusty and dry at the time I was there and a whole smoke and sandscreen was covering the place. Some call it the buthole of Cambodia but I think it would be fun to spend a day or two there.

By: brandon

brandon — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:35:14 +0000

yeah i got scammed there on the visa and the money exchange. i probably lost about $30…

By: brian | No Debt World Travel

brian | No Debt World Travel — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:26:47 +0000

Thanks for documenting that entire process. I took the bus arranged by the travel agent at my hostel in Thailand and got taken for the extra fee to process my visa at the border.

I knew it was going to happen but I went along with it because I didn’t know how to get from Bangkok to Siem Reap on my own. This is going to help alot of people.