Wonder of the World

Trip Start Jun 15, 2007
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Trip End Dec 06, 2008


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Friday, September 19, 2008

The trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap crossing over the border at Poipet was the biggest catalogue of scams aimed at gullible tourists, trying to empty their pockets of as much currency as possible that I've ever witnessed. To these locals we were walking atm's. It's one I won't forget in a hurry. To anybody thinking of getting to Cambodia via this route be aware and do not believe one single work the 'organisers' say, there a shower full of smiles and guff. If your thinking of flying to avoid this and to avoid the mud track that links Poipet to Siem Reap then it'll cost you a fair penny as Bangkok airways are the only ones that do this route and are supposedly paying off the government in Cambodia not to do up this road route.  I have to boast and say that I didn't get caught out of pocket by the scams at the border solely thanks to luck and nothing else. The trickery starts before you even set out when you buy your ticket, some bus tickets are only to the border even though you think your getting one for the full journey which is probably what you asked for in the first place Angkor Wat 1 .
Angkor Wat 1 .
 . They'll also try to overcharge you like our visa buddy who was willing to sell us a ticket at a good rate which was still more expensive than the one we ended up buying at our guesthouse, and his probably would only get us to the border.
Getting a visa before the border is another trick of theirs. They say there helping to speed things up by helping and sending someone of their buddies down the road to get the visas on our behalf. They charge $35US for this even though when you get your visa back in your passport it clearly says $20US. Even though we were warned about this we still got the visas made up by the sneaks basically because everybody in our bus was doing it and spud wanted to do it too so I felt like if anything went wrong at the border I was on my tod. It turned out that the officials at the border were charging pple $35US anyway the crucket robbers and they would not take dollars, 'only batt'. Some pple were in a right fix at this and needed to find an atm somewhere in 'no mans land', what a disaster that would be. Basically it turned out that I wouldn't have won either way, I was pretty happy with that.
Speaking of atm's the horrible pricks brought us to atms at the Thailand side and told us that we needed to take out Thailand Batt and US dollars there as there were no atms in Cambodia. Some clowns fell for that too. This stunt turned out to be the first part of a two part scam where at the Cambodian side they would tell you you needed to change your money into Cambodian currency at their buddies exchange gaff which had no rates up and according to them 'no commission' what ever the f that was supposed to mean Angkor Wat 2 .
Angkor Wat 2 .
 . Again spud went for it even though I was standing beside him telling him not to do it, he was sorry after as was one girl who took thousands of Batt out on the Thailand side and changed it all on the Cambodian side loosing a small fortune. Scam well pulled off by the lads.
They told us we'd have to wait for a bus for a few hours and then wait until it filled up before it took off. This was an attempt to make you pay for their taxi's which cost $15US a pop per person. Again some pple fell for this, their taxi broke down along the way on top of it all. They told us how horrible the bus journey was that it would break down and tried to make it seem like a nightmare. The bus came on time departed on time and only for it very nearly overturning at one stage it was grand out.
At the bus station some pple realized that they had to buy a second ticked from the border, obviously a surprise to them.
Before the border we were given stickers so they would know who was in which bus to the border then they collected them when we were on the other bus at the other side, I had thrown mine away and your man was delighted and about to tell me it was my bus ticket and I'd have to buy a new one when murph saved the day and pulled out one that he'd randomly picked up off the ground or somewhere. I swear if he had told me I had to buy a new one I'd make the bitch cry Angkor Wat by night
Angkor Wat by night
 !
They stopped off at an exuberantly priced local restraint along the way from which they obviously got commission on the amount of food sold. I wasn't going to entertain the pricks. And neither was I going to stay at their guesthouse they dropped us off at outside the city where their buddy tuk tuk drivers worked. They were all in on it together, it really did my nut in. When they dropped us off at the guest house of their choice I got the flock out of there. We met a tuk tuk driver who said he'd take us anywhere for one dollar. Grand job. We booked him too for the following night to take us to the temples for sunset and for the full day the following day to take us to all the other temples in Siem Reap. The poor bugger said he hadn't had customers in weeks.
The temples of Angkor Wat and Bayon are fantastic, there one of the 7 wonders of the world. The whole town here exists because of the tourists they attract. Spent at full day looking and walking around them. Of course part of tomb raider was shot in one of them.
Met a bunch of Irish lassies out in town one night when looking for a place to see the all Ireland football final. That didn't happen, it was always going to be a long shot. The match I hear was a disaster too.
Next stop from here Pnom Penh, capital of Cambodia.
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