Here’s the run-down on our overland journey from Bangkok, Thailand to Battambang, Cambodia. It should be useful for those traveling to other areas of Cambodia as well (like Siem Reap or Phnom Penh).
There are several options for traveling from Bangkok to Cambodia. One is to buy a bus ticket to Poipet, at the border between Thailand and Cambodia. This should cost somewhere around 160 baht, but whatever you do, don’t book a ticket at one of the tourist offices on Kaoh San Road!! Never, ever book tickets on Kaoh San Road. Instead, ask a tuk-tuk driver to take you to one of the government-run tourist information offices and book your ticket there. You’ll get much better deals here on travel all throughout Thailand at these offices because the travel agents don’t make commission. A second option is to take a taxi, which is fast, but will cost an outrageous amount of money.
The other option is much longer, but it’s more affordable and more fun. Trains leave from Hualamphong Train Station in Bangkok for Aranyaprathet (near the border) every day at 5:55 am. Tickets are third class and cost only 48 baht. Get there a little bit early to ensure you have a seat. The train is pretty full toward the beginning of the journey with kids heading to school, but it should thin out after an hour or so. The train ride is about 6 hours long and there are plenty of opportunities to buy food or drinks from women patrolling the aisles between stops.
When you get to Aranyaprathet, you’ll be rushed by tuk-tuk drivers to drive you to the border. Don’t pay anymore than 60 baht! Many drivers will also want to drop you off just shy of the border at an office, where they will offer to take care of your visa. Don’t get your visa here! There are often extra fees (not to say you won’t run into that at the border as well, but more on that later). Just make the short walk to the border, where you’ll probably be directed by an official.
Getting your visa:
Cambodia allows visas on arrival, but you will need to make a few preparations. First, have a passport-sized photo of yourself available for the visa application. Secondly, come prepared with exact change for the fee, preferably in U.S. Dollars (USD is accepted all over Cambodia along with riel!). The visa fee should be no more than $20. However, there are infinite stories of people getting slapped with mystery fees that likely go right into someone’s back pocket. When we applied for our visas there was a hand-written sign on the counter advertising a fee of “700 baht+100 baht,” or about $26 total. The 100 baht fee was a mystery, but after some questioning we were told it was a visa-on-arrival fee. When we questioned further we were told that if we had USD we could just pay $20 plus the 100 baht fee, which would have saved us money. Alas, we had no USD, but we got out of it by showing them 700 baht and saying it was all we had. Finally, they caved. Moral of the story: have a $20 bill and a little baht on you and don’t budge, and you’ll only get a tiny bit ripped off.
Travel beyond the border (and some good news!):
In the past, the transit situation at the border of Cambodia has been nothing short of a mess. Before we arrived we found it difficult to find any sort of clear information on how to get from the border to Battambang. Some sites said there were buses, but only early in the morning. Others said we would have to pay close to $50 for a shared taxi. When we arrived, we found out the government had recently made some changes to make things easier for tourists arriving overland. Here’s the situation as of now (2012): there is a very handy (and free!) shuttle bus from the border to the bus station, where buses and taxis leave regularly for most major destinations. The ticket prices are a little high, but there’s not much of a choice at this point (and it beats paying for a taxi if you’re traveling solo or in a pair). A few tips: have enough U.S. money or baht on you to pay for your ticket (baht is accepted in some parts of Cambodia near the border). You can exchange money for riel at the station, but the exchange rate is terrible and there are no ATMs around. They also don’t accept credit cards. If you have USD, make sure it doesn’t have any rips or tears, or it won’t be accepted.
Here are some prices:
Poipet->Battambang: $10 bus, $45-$50 taxi
Poipet->Siem Reap: $9 bus, $45-$50 taxi
Poipet->Phnom Penh: $15 bus, >$50 taxi
Poipet->Sisophan: $5 bus
Expect bus prices to be more reasonable once you’ve gotten beyond the border (i.e. a ticket from Battambang to Siem Reap is $4).
The budget journey from BKK to Cambodia overland is a long one, but it is worth it! Just keep an eye out for scams and come armed with exact change, and it will be relatively smooth. Happy traveling!
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