Crossing Borders 1: Bangkok to Phnom Penh

  Last December, I had an opportunity to visit three countries in a span of 8 days namely Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It was fun mapping out our itinerary but the challenging part was how to get to one country to another via bus. Luckily there are some reference blogs I was able to find but some were not very recent. And as predicted, some of the steps have changed but I could say it changed for the better. So here's the details of the Bangkok to Phnom Penh trip. (If you want to skip the details, there's a summary at the end of this entry. ;) )

Buying Tickets at Bangkok

  We bought the tickets to Phnom Penh at the Bangkok Bus Terminal (often referred to as  Mo Chit 2 Bus Station ) which is different from the Mo Chit Train Station. I can't emphasize this enough as they are quite far apart. The Mo Chit Train Station is adjacent to the Chatuchak Train Station/ Chatuchak Market. If in case you get to that area, (which we were since we did a little shopping before buying the tickets) find a bus waiting area near the entrance of the Chatuchak market and wait for bus # 77 or bus # 3. We were able to ride the bus #77 waiting for about 20 minutes and its last stop is the Bangkok Bus Terminal. Surprisingly, we didn't pay for the bus fare. (It's free!)

Bangkok Bus Terminal (old name: Mo Chit2 Bus Station)

Entrance of the Bangkok Bus Terminal 

We had to cross the overpass to get to the Terminal. We asked a lady where to buy ticket to Phnom Penh and she was kind enough to guide to which window. Look for window with the orange color beside window #19. See picture below. 

Ticketing window for Phnom Penh (orange booths)

The ticket costs 900 baht from Transport Co. The schedule we took was 8:30 am. 

The Bus Ride

 We got to the station early the next day avoiding the traffic jam since it was a Monday. The bus arrived around 7:30 and we left at exactly 8:30. The bus was spacious enough and we get to have snacks and lunch for free.

Inside the bus of the Transport Co.

 At around 9:30 am, the bus attendant handed out snacks which was oreo, guava juice and a can of coffee. If you are a heavy-breakfast person, better stuff-up before the trip because there is only one stop before reaching the Aranyapathet (Aran) border.

Crossing the Aran-Poipet Border

It took about 5 hours to get to the border in Aran. Our lunch was given when we were near the border and it was already nearing 1:00 pm. We headed to the Thailand Immigration Authority to get our passport cleared. Also, make sure that the Departure Card is with your passport. We didn't had to get our luggage unlike some of the blogs I've read. But we were given and ID by the bus attendant to "tag" us. Since we will be going back to the same bus after crossing the border.

Our "tags"

The Thailand Immigration Authority in Aran

  After exiting the Thailand Immigration, there was a passage that says "Go to Cambodia". Just outside you can already see the arc which marks the entrance to Poipet, Cambodia. We had to walk a few meters to get to the arc. The entrance is at the right side. Tourists who needs visa have to get their visas at the office near the entrance.

 Luckily, we are exempted from getting a visa so we headed straight to the shed that says "Arrival." I was surprised to find out this small office was where we had to get our passports stamped for Cambodian entry. When we got there, the queue was already long. An officer was giving out arrival/departure cards which we filled-up while in queue. It took us about an hour before we had our passports stamped. When we were done, the queue got even longer. This was the reason why our bus attendant was offering a VIP pass for having your passport stamped in 10 minutes and no need to queue. He was offering it for 200 baht for each person. Pretty pricey! Of course, we declined. We also heard him offering visa to the other foreigners at a higher cost than it was supposed to cost but most of them wanted to do the visa processing themselves.

We went back to the same bus waiting for us near the arc and waited for all the passengers to board. By that time, it was already 3:00 pm. The attendant says it will take about 7 hours more to get to Phnom Penh. We noticed a lot of road constructions along the way in Cambodia which probably caused delay in our travel. We had one stop for dinner at a restaurant along the way. Dinner was no longer for free but it was pretty cheap.

By 11:30 pm, we arrived at the bus stop. I read from a blog, it was wise to book your accommodation early. Lucky for us, the drop-off point was just beside the Hostel which I booked online. If you're curious, it's called the Riverwalk Guesthouse.

To the left of this guesthouse is the drop-off point of the Transport Co. bus

Yes, they do have monkeys.

Besides the long queue in the Cambodian border and the road constructions, it was overall a good trip without the expected scams or hassles. 

In short..

1. Buy ticket at the Transport Co window in Bangkok Bus Terminal (Mo Chit 2 Bus station). Ticket is 900 baht (as of this writing)
2. Bangkok to Aran is approx 5 hours. There was one stop for about 20 min. At the Aran border, go down the bus to have your passport stamped (make sure to have the departure card with it) at the Thailand Immigration Authority office. No need to get your luggage.
3. Exit the building and walk to the arc that says Welcome to Cambodia.
4. Entrance is at the right side of the arc. For visas, enter the building near the entrance at the right.
5. If you do not need to get a visa, proceed to the office that says "Arrival" a few meters from the arc, still at the right side.
6. You will fill up the arrival/departure card. You can do this while in queue.
7. Have your passport stamped and return to the same bus.
8. There is a 20-min dinner stop in between the travel to Phnom Penh. The bus drop-off is at Snagkat Wat Phnom.

Watch out for my other border crossing blogs. ;)