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עברית
February 11, 2007
That morning I crossed the border from Thailand to Cambodia from Aran (Aranyaprathet) to Poipet. Crossing the Thai side went smoothly. I’ve heard about the scams of policemen in the Cambodian side so I came prepared. Before crossing the border I was offered by a local Thai agency to pay 1200 baht for Visa but I refused.
Border cross from Thailand to Cambodia
In order for you to get inside to Cambodia, you have to go through two steps: first you have to get a Visa, second you have to stamp the arrival and departure forms. Do both of these steps only using the local police officers in the Cambodian borders. You must make sure they are official so you will not be further scammed.
In the first step you get into a window with a sign that says $20 USD for a Visa. The officer in the window asks me to give him 1000 baht. I give him a $20 USD bill (less than 800 baht). The officer refuses to accept it and asks again for 1000 baht. I insist that I don’t have any bahts but only dollars. I point to the officer that the sign says $20. The officer explains to me again that everybody pays 1000 baht and points a group of poor tourists who paid more. I explain to the officer that I have nothing to do with them. The argument lasts for over five minutes. I already heard stories of people who managed to pay that amount but had to wait for a lone time to get their Visa. Eventually the officer offers me to pay $20 and 100 baht (which was obviously used to bribe him). I agreed. I got my Visa after three minutes while the group of tourists kept on waiting while the guy to which they paid earlier 1200 baht slowly filled their forms. You should not fall for the 1000 baht scam at the border, but you should definitely avoid the 1200 scam of the local agencies.
For the second step you have to wait in a slow line to stamp your arrival and departure forms. Not less than twenty minutes after which, the tourists are led like a crowd to a bus station. You’re offered there a free ride to the central bus station, another mafia of the border. Until this day I’m not sure whether you can find an alternative transportation to Siem Reap, but those who go to the central bus station find out they don’t have many options. A taxi for four passengers costs $60 USD. This is over twice the price it was last year. A bus tickets costs $10 USD. This is twice the price it costs for the same bus while going back from Siem Reap to the border. The bus is old and has a weak air-conditioner.
The first thing you feel when you enter Cambodia is the heat. It’s very hot, as if someone switched the oven to the highest temperature. The same temperature you will feel in Angkor Wat, near Siem Reap. The time is February.
The Bus Mafia In Poipet
I went out of the central station to look for a cheaper taxi. The bus takes one extra hour to arrive so a taxi is a better option if you can find it for a reasonable price. After talking to some of the locals I found out they are afraid to offer taxi services from the central station area because of the police. According to some, I had to walk for one kilometer away to spot a cheap taxi. It’s a dirt road full with holes and even if you find a taxi, the driver would not agree to pass near the central station to pick up your friends. Going alone in a taxi doesn’t worth it.
A few friends from Hong Kong had the same idea as me. Together we walked out from the central station. After seeing the large group of tourists leaving, a mafia guy from the bus station ran after us and asked where we are going. We answered we go to see the city but the mafia boy was not convinced. He followed us while making phone calls using his cell phones, telling us that he’s over the police and has a license for the bus line to Siem Reap. We looked for a tuktuk to take us from that place, but as the driver saw the mafia boy, they refused being afraid from the police. The sun is hot, the road is bad, and the guys from Hong Kong with the suitcases already got back. I kept on walking for a few hundred meters only to realize how powerful is the transportation mafia in Poipet. Those who want to save their money, should look for an alternative right after they cross the border. It’s a mistake going on the bus offered “for free” to the central station.
Coming late to Siem Reap
The bus arrived just before dark in Siem Reap. It didn’t stop at the town center but in a guest house far away from there. The bus company arranged a shady business plan with that place to give him clients, probably for a commission. My only complaint about this was that this place was completely full and no rooms were available. I walked from there toward the center. On the way a nice motorcycle-taxi driver stopped for me. He drove me to a cheap guest house in the center, and after telling me the bad news about the prohibition to rent motorcycles in Siem Reap, I scheduled to meet him the morning after for a ride to Angkor Wat.
The night life in Siem Reap are centered in one street which closes for traffic at night. There are cheap food stands which attract many tourists, as well as restaurants and pubs.
This article was originally written in Hebrew. It was translated to English at a later time.
English
