Crossing into Cambodia

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  Poi Pet, Cambodia
Thursday, March 29, 2007

Crossing borders can always be an adventure.  Crossing from Thailand to Cambodia guarantees some element of corruption, an attempted scam or two and "road condition fun." 

Kudos to Laura for spending the time researching the various options.  The crossing from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia is a classic scam that is booked by many a travel agent in the Khao San Road area in Bangkok.  The scam promises a non-stop 5 hour bus ride with a seamless border crossing.  In reality, it diverts you down the border for an 18 hour ride, after which you arrive exhausted at their hotel, too tired to go anywhere else, thus you end up spending more money on their behalf.  Laura's research provided that a public bus was in fact the fastest way to the border. 

We made our way to Bangkok's north bus station and purchased our tickets to Arranyaprathet - the Thai border town.  A promised 4 hour ride really ended up being a four hour ride (an early Easter miracle!) and placed us near the border by early afternoon.  A short tuk tuk ride from the bus station dropped us 100 yards from the border crossing.  Here's where the fun begins.  Seemingly helpful, well-dressed Thai's offered us "sympathetic" advice on our arrival at the border regarding "new requirements" and a special visa we needed along with their professional assistance.  This would be scam number one.  We offered our "thanks" and a blatant lie that we already had our visas and hiked our way to the official crossing.  A quick stamp out of Thailand and we were in no-man's land.  Our researched advised "speak to no one and walk directly across the street."  We did this and arrived at the Cambodia visa window.  Large signs overhead stated the price clearly as "$20 U.S."  per visa.  We filled out our applications, handed them through the window and received the response "1,000 baht!"  Welcome to the Cambodian system of government corruption!  1,000 baht is really about $30.  So, here you get a choice, fight with the border guard or just pay the extra $10 and move on with your day.  Not excited about spending the night in no mans land, we opted to pay the extra $10, although a younger more aggressive American behind us picked the fight and walked away with a $20 visa.  Scam number two.

Now you are really in Cambodia.  The border town at the crossing is Poi Pet.  There is no reason to stay in Poi Pet.  Poi Pet is a combination of every cliche foul border town story you've heard.  Broken down buildings, crime and poverty are the norm here.  It looks more like a war zone than a town.  A quick government shuttle ride (maybe the extra $10 goes to that?) and you arrive at the bus station. 

The bus ride from Poi Pet (the Cambodian border town) to the destination town of Siem Reap is estimated from two to eight hours depending on what book you read.  Siem Reap isn't really that far, about 120 miles, but the road to Siem Reap is left in intentionally bad shape.  Why you ask?  Well, it seems that Bangkok Airways has been bribing some government officials in Cambodia to keep the road bad so they can sell more airline tickets from Bangkok to Siem Reap.  Our information clocked the bus trip at six hours, but an alternative private Toyota taxi can be hired for a shortened three hour trip.   We shopped for other riders to share the taxi, but their book promised a three hour bus ride so that's what they were going to do.  It was an interesting mix of promises.  On one hand, Rough Guide said 2-3 hours, Lonely Planet indicated six hours, and the bus ticket sales people said 4 -5 hours.  We figured "Who cares! -  Life's too short to sweat it out on a hot dusty bus!" especially since we had all just gotten off a four hour drive from Bangkok.  We jumped into our taxi.  The taxi was an all-wheel drive, Toyota Camry.  Our driver laughingly informed us after we pulled out of the bus station that the bus really took 7-8 hours as we sped off down the dirt road. 

The road to Siem Reap really may be the worst road ever.   A combination of dirt, gravel and half completed construction zones, you find yourself cursing Bangkok Airways with every bump and every time your head hits the ceiling of the car (which was numerous!).  We had to chew gum just to keep our teeth from cracking together.  Our ride was an AWD Toyota Camry with a raised suspension.  Camrys, the most commonly stolen vehicle in the U.S.,  are the vehicle of choice in Cambodia.  I'm not sure how people this poor afford them.  Perhaps Cambodia is the destination for some of the Camry's we are missing?

Halfway through our journey we stopped in a small town for a break.  This was our first exposure to the Cambodian people.  Always smiling and happy to see tourists, the kids began approaching us as soon as we stepped out of the car.   The town itself was a collection of simple wooden homes on dirt roads with a few cinder block restaurants.  Fires from trash burning lined the roadside and served as the only lighting as the sun went down.  We were greeted at our stop by some local girls selling water and snacks.  While Laura helped a girl practice her English, I was greeted and offered a seat by another local who informed me that "to sit is free."  She then asked, "What you eat?"  "Why do you want to know what I eat?" I asked.  She responded, "You very tall...I short - I want to be tall like you." 

We finished our drive into Siem Reap weaving around the motorbikes transporting people and animals into town.  Farmers transport everything on motorbike so to see two people, with two 200 pound pigs strapped across the back seat upside down and wrapped in bamboo quickly became the norm.  We wondered how they got live pigs to hold still for a motorbike ride - more about that later.  As soon as we crossed the city line, instant perfect road!  Bangkok Airways has yet to bribe the Siem Reap city officials!

We were shocked to find that the outskirts of Siem Reap were populated with five star resorts.  These hotels equal anything available in the U.S. and come with a hefty price tag from $200 to $1,500 a night.  Apparently, Seam Reap is sort of a pilgrimage destination for many Asians, so wealthy Japanese and Chinese frequent the town to visit the Angkor ruins.  It was a stark contrast to go from grass & wood shacks to opulent hotel resorts.  It seemed almost cruel that people spent $1,500 a night on a room when less than half a mile away there were people living on less than $40 a month!  We headed toward the guest house accommodations, grabbed a room and set out for some dinner.  Almost immediately, the power went out in the entire city grid.  There are no street lights so burning trash and passing cars were the only light in our neighborhood.  I think we are getting accustom to the oddities of SE Asia.  The loss of power just seemed normal so we pulled out our ever-present flashlights and headed into the darkness to find some food.  We walked by car light and flash light up the road toward a distant lit barbecue pit behind which a restaurant's tables sat lit with candlelight. Reminiscent of Ko Lipe with a buffet of fresh seafood, this looked like a promising stop.  We had actually stumbled on a locals eatery, void of any tourists and any English speaking staff.   The staff eagerly sat us and handed us six page menus smiled and stood at attention about a foot from the table.  I looked up at them and back at the menu.  I thought, "Are they just going to stand there and watch us read?"  Uncomfortable with this scenario, I said, "We read menu,"  and they all smiled and ran beside me to lean in to read my menu.  "NO, NO" I said, "WE read menu, you come back 5 minute," and they all smiled and ran to the other side of the room and stood at attention.  With alot of sign language, laughing and pointing, we managed to order dinner. 

Cambodian, or Khmer food is excellent.  It is very similar to Thai food as they share the same basic ingredients.  The Khmer food is distinctive though as the concentration of flavors is much more intense than that of Thai food.   For any bourbon drinkers reading this, it's like the difference between Single Barrel Jack and traditional Jack Daniels (and if you don't understand this analogy, I recommend a side by side taste test tonight!).   It's the same basic recipe, with more of a flavor punch due to less refinement. Our dinner was amazing complete with fried rice served inside a frozen pineapple.   

We headed back to the hotel and arrived just as the power returned.

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