Crossing Borders 3: Ho Chi Minh to Siem Reap

This is the last border crossing blog...for now. We had to get back to Cambodia from Vietnam because we booked our exit flight home in Siem Reap. Plus, we were really saving the best for last for the highlight of our Indochina.. make that semi-Indochina (without Laos) visit was the Angkor Wat. I could say it didn't disappoint. But that's another story (another blog ;)).

So the third and last border crossing again starts with buying a ticket. We were staying at the Saigon Backpackers Hostel in Pham Ngu Lao road. This road was also known as the "backpackers street" due to the many business and services for foreigners conveniently placed in one long stretch of road. From western food, to tour packages, transport and accommodations. We did spend Christmas there so I could say it was a lively street with all the foreigners celebrating in the streets.

Back to the ticket. I was looking for the bus company called Mekong Express. From blogs read previously, it is by far the most recommended bus. When we did find a ticketing office, we found out it was a lot expensive than the other less recommended bus, Sorya. Mekong Express was 546.000 VND to Siem Reap while the Sorya bus was only 462.000VND.

Just to add, I also considered the sleeping/sleeper bus where instead of chairs, there are small bunk beds. I read it from this blog. But it didn't really look comfortable to us. So we opted for the usual sitting bus.

We were still undecided on which bus to take so we asked the reception of our hostel if they also book bus tickets to Siem Reap. Apparently, they did and for the low cost of 420.000. or was it 410.000? Anyway, it was cheaper than the ticketing offices outside.

We waited for the van to pick us up at the hostel at 7:30 am. It turned out to be a guy, no van, and was asking us to follow him. We followed him back to the main Pham Ngu Lao road with  luggage in tow and we stopped momentarily at one alley. He was fetching another couple from another hostel. So all of us, followed him to the bus which I think was around five minutes away from our hostel. He then asked for the receipt and exchanged it with bus tickets. The bus company turned out to be Sorya. Again, I have had read bad feedbacks about this bus transpo, but so far we had had no hassles in riding the previous buses. We just crossed our fingers for a good ride.

We boarded the bus by 8:00 am. The bus attendant was handing out free bottled water and wet tissue.

I saw a sign in the bus asking about comments or feedback about the bus and this assured me of better service compared to what I have read. The bus was comfy and with more leg room. Shortly after, we were off. Our passports were taken and the attendant offered the other foreigners visa assistance. I could hear most of them saying no.

Ain't that enough assurance.

Soyra bus with leg room

They also love karaoke!

At around 10:30, the attendant announced we had to get off the bus with our carry-on bags. No need to get our luggage. We have reached the Vietnam Border again in Moc Bai. We got off the bus and waited in a corner in front of the immigration booths, where the passports were being stamped for exit by bulk. We waited for our names to be called. Then we queued for the exit where another officer checked our passports. We got out of the building and boarded the bus again.

Our passports now had arrival/departure cards partially filled up, i guess by the attendant. The bus took us to the next building which is the Cambodian Immigration just a few meters away. We got off the bus (no need to get our luggage) and entered at the left to queue for stamping. We completed filling up the arrival/departure card while in queue. There were few people so it took only about ten minutes before it was our turn to have our passports stamped. Before exiting the building, another officer checked our passports. We get another pass for Cambodia! Hooray! All done at 11:30 am.

Buses waiting outside the Cambodian Immigration

We had a lunch stop nearby for again, 20 min. Unlike the first bus we rode, we had to pay for our lunch. So after our meal, we set off again.  We also did had another river crossing. Too bad I wasn't able to get a picture of the cockroaches for sale.

Waiting to cross the river. Too bad I was not able to take a picture of the cockroaches for sale.

We reached the Sorya drop-off station in Phnom Penh at around 3:15pm. It didn't come as a surprise as I knew, there would be a stopover in Phnom Penh. We were told that we were going to ride a van to Siem Reap and we had to wait for about an hour. Luckily we waited less than that and left at 3:45. We also rode with some fellow Filipinos. :)

Soyra bus station in Phnom Penh

Our van to get us to Siem Reap

The travel to Siem Reap took 7 hours as we were told. And it was very, very, veryyyy dusty. The road construction was still ongoing which made some of the roads bumpy and the dust to get in our van. We had to cover our faces with cloth. We couldn't understand why our driver kept opening the windows when it would just make the matter worse. And he couldn't explain much because of his limited English.

The only bad part of our trip.. road construction.. hence flying dust. ugh!

We had an early dinner stop at 5:45 in one of those less dusty parts. We weren't very hungry yet, and we weren't sure about the food served at that restaurant so we just waited for the other passengers to finish eating.

Our journey ended at the Sorya drop-off station. It was already 10 pm and we immediately took a tuktuk to our hostel unaware that there was a tuktuk sent to fetch us from the hostel as I have requested. (I did apologize to the reception for that) This was by far the most tiring of all of our border crossing. Mainly because of the road constructions. Overall, there was no hassles or scams encountered.

In Short..

1. Better to scout for tickets at either your hotel/hostel or ticketing offices for the cheapest price. Pham Ngu Lao road is the best place to get them.
2. When reaching the Vietnam border, no need to take your luggage. Just follow the bus attendant's instructions. Be aware of your fellow passengers to know which direction you will be going.
3. Once inside the Vietnam Immigration Office, wait for your name to be called to get your passport.
4. Board the bus again which will take you to the next building, the Cambodian Immigration.
5. Your passports will already have a departure/arrival card for Cambodia, so fill it up and queue for stamping.
6. Once your passport are stamped, exit the building and find your bus. Take note of the bus number as there may be numerous buses waiting outside.
7. The bus will have a transfer in Phnom Penh. Sometimes, it could be a van that will take you to Siem Reap but if there are many passengers, it would be a bus.
8. The usual trip would be 5-6 hours without the road construction from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.  The total is about 12-14 hours ;)

Tip: Always be alert and look out for the bus attendant. He may be giving out instructions and you should be around when he does.

Do share if you have comments about the blog or share your own experience. ;)