Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jomiro]

im going to thailand in a few weeks, but now im contemplating staying one week longer than planned in order to go to cambodia from thailand.

has anybody ever done the over land route? im thinking to cross the border at koh kang. go from there to phnom penh and then either up the river or along side the river to angkor wat and siem reap.

i scheduling 4 days to a week for that. is that enough time or could it even be too long?
is it safe to travel alone for a girl?
should i get my visa in korea (i read that i can get it at the border directly)?
what places are a must to go to and which places can i skip? is there anything i should be particularly careful of or shouldnt even do?

im hoping someone in here could give me some advice on a few things im trying to get answered.

thanks a lot!

[Drew345]

This website often has trip reports from the overland routes Thailand - Cambodia:
http://www.talesofasia.com/cambodia-overland.htm

It would take 4 days of pretty much non-stop travel to go:
Bangkok - Trat
Cross border and on to Phnom Penh
Phnom Penn to Siem Reip
Siem Reip to Bangkok

So, yeah you would need a week including time at Angkor wat.

If you want to see Phnom Penh, try a flight on Air Asia from Bangkok to Phnom Penh; then up to Siem Reap and overland back to Bangkok. Air Asia is dirt cheap and good quality.

I would suggest Air Asia one way in is the way to go.

[greenshirt]

You can make it from Bangkok to Siem Riep in a day if you cross at aranya prathet

Take the early bus from Morchit bus station to border. Cross on foot and get your visa at the border NOT from the touts outside. VERY easy to do.

You could go straight to the capital from there but it a long ride when combined with Bangok to border so maybe best just to make it to Siem first day. You can take a bus or speed boat to the capital from there.

Depending on what you wanna see you may want to plan more than one day at Angkor Wat. Its huge.

Prob safe for a girl. Wouldnt know.

[oldtactics]

DO NOT TAKE THE PACKAGE TOUR BUSES! None of them. Don't do it. Take the public buses and then walk to the border crossing, it's easy. You can get the visa near the border but I'd recommend getting it before you get there, to keep from getting scammed. If you can fly in, that's even better. The land borders are mostly terrible, especially in Poipet.

Cambodia is safe for women, but don't spend too much time in the border towns and try to get to the border well before dark. Once you're in Siem Reap or Phnom Penh, you'll be fine - everything is safe and well lit, and people are friendly.

Siem Reap has a really great nightlife, full of other travelers, so I'd recommend spending at least one night there, and at least one day at Angkor.

Phnom Penh is interesting, I'd recommend spending a couple days there - hire a driver or moto and offer a few dollars to just drive around for a while - great way to see the city and the outskirts.

[passport220]

I did this same trip two weeks ago. I had to leave Thailand for a visa run, I kinda regarded it like a business trip, so I can not give you any tourist recommendations, but I can tell you some things I learned from my travel.

- First off, I recommend you get your Cambodian visa using the �e-visa� program: http://www.mfaic.gov.kh/evisa/ $25 USD payable by credit card, they send the visa via email, you print it out.
- In Koh Kong use Thai baht, USD or Cambo riel. In Phnom Penh, Thai baht is not used, pay with USD or riel.
- 1 USD is traded at 4,000 riel. ATMs spit out USD. Not difficult to find an ATM in PP. No problem to mix currency, for example I would pay $2 + 2,000 riel to settle a 10,000 riel meal check.

I started my travel from Chonburi, Thailand (about 2 hours south of Bangkok) and took a morning A/C bus. Cost was about 160 baht, to go to Trat, Thailand arrived around 2pm. There is a new bus station just outside of Trat where the buses stop. At that bus station, you can connect with a mini-bus that will take you to the Cambodia boarder (clearly marked with a sign in English). You need to make the mini-bus at 3:30pm to make it before the border closes. Mini-buses (vans) leave every 40 mins or so, it is a little more than a 1 hour ride to the boarder, cost 120 baht.

Leaving Thailand is straight forward, show your passport and get an exit stamp. I passed through the Cambodian boarder without much difficulty, e-visa accepted without question, lots of touts trying to get you to pay them money to help you with the process, you can do it all on your own without a lot of difficulty, I paid one guy 100 baht to do the running around just so I could sit and not have to wait in line.

Took a motorbike into Koh Kong (lots of drivers hanging around asking for your business). I paid 100 baht to be driven to the Koh Kong central market (tell the driver upfront at 100baht he should pay the small toll required to cross the bridge). There is a 2nd check point where you have to show your passport again, so keep it handy.

The motor driver offered to take me to a money changer and find me a guesthouse, I declined (as I aways do) and went on my own to the money changer after he dropped me off. Plenty around, I exchanged 1,000 Thai baht for Cambo riel. I stayed at a small guesthouse near the central market, I just walked into the 1st place I saw, nothing special, just a bed with an attached bathroom, 100 baht per night.

On the outside corner of the market, meaning across the street and kitty�corner to the main market square (I think it is the South East corner - it is a small market) there is a ticket office for the Olympic Transportation Company - signage in English (it is a couple of doors down from the corner actually, you can't see it until you walk all the way to the corner). I bought my ticket that night, for the a/c bus the next morning to Phnom Penh. Cost was 26,000 riel. Scheduled to leave at 7:45am. There are several other bus companies that also have buses leaving in the morning. There are some buses scheduled in the afternoon, but I was told they may not run if they do not have enough passengers.

I paid a motodrop 20 Thai baht to take me to the small, dirt road bus station on the outskirts of Koh Kong, the next morning. The bus left about 8am. The trip to PP took a little over 5 hours, the bus was about 90% full. A/C, bathroom on board, Cambodia music videos (someone is always crying in the video due to a broken heart) and funky Hong Kong and Hollywood �C� movies (I did not know Dolph Lundgren still had a movie career!) on the TV, so awful they are entertaining. It was generally comfortable, roads are good, no problems or issues.

Once at the Phnom Penh bus station there are tuk-tuks waiting that will take you anyplace within the city proper for 10000 riel. I stayed at a guesthouse near the Royal Palace, near the river. I thought it was a nice area.

I did the same thing in reverse to return to Thailand. I could have negotiated to a lower price with the motorbike drivers than I quoted above, but only slightly. I was not in the mood to work for it. The prices I quoted were accepted quickly without hassle. Just make sure you agree to a price upfront.

I am a single 46yo male. I mostly live in Thailand and feel perfectly safe here. I feel very comfortable when in Trat. The Cambodian side feels just a tad dicey at times, but just a feeling. I never felt truly unsafe and I never had any real issues. I was tired from travel, so I was tucked away in my guesthouse in the early evening in Koh Kong, so no problems feeling safe. I felt fine and comfortable in PP, as I said I thought I was in a good area.

If you have any questions, let me know, enjoy your trip!

[passport220]

[jfromtheway]

It's hard to believe that the overland crossing between Thailand and Cambodia remains so undeveloped. When I was there, years ago, a couple people told me that certain airline companies made big payoffs to make sure it stayed that way. And it makes sense. There is no reason why it should be this difficult. I'm not completely sure if what I heard was true; but, I gotta say, it sounds about right after reading this.

[thrylos]

With a week, it's doable by land/road. Anything less and you'll be on the road for far too long and not enjoy most of the running around. You could probably do just the Thailand-Siem Reap portion through Arrathaya(sp?) in Thailand in 4 days, but not from Koh Kong and PhnomPenh. As for practicalities of Koh Kong, check this thread out--

http://www.khmer440.com/chat_forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=20232

[passport220]

[young_clinton]

Do not exchange money to reil, no need to, you're inviting yourself to be ripped off period. Don't give money to the ripoff money exchangers in Cambodia. Everything can be paid for in US dollars except maybe at street stands, that's all. In Siem Rep they use Thai Baht also. Also like the previous poster mentioned use ATM's or Thai banks exclusively. Get your visa in Korea or Thailand, don't get it at the border. I handed money to a package tour agent for the visa and never got my change back. Have a stash of small US or Thai bills to pay for things. The previous poster is right take the public buses only no tour packages, they are all rip offs.