We always wanted to visit the Angkor temples. Unfortunetly there is only few direct flight from Hong Kong to Siem Reap. We have to make a stop over somewhere. There are different alternative locations however we chose to stop in Bangkok. From there we didn’t want to travel by plane because we wished to experiment a backpacker way (i.e. less expensive too). Hence I decided to travel by Bus and Taxi from Bangkok to Siem Reap.

Bangkok Siem Reap Roadmap

Here are some details of this short adventure, it is in fact quite easy:

We took a late flight in Hong Kong (10pm on Cathay Pacific) and landed in Bangkok at ll:50pm. As we knew the first bus to go to Cambodia was at 3.30am, I preferred staying at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport till about 2.30am, which allowed us to notice that this airport is very busy even at night. We could see a lot of people from various nationalities walking around.

We left the airport and took a taxi to go to the Bangkok Morchit Bus Terminal (around 30mn). All buses going to the Cambodian border are leaving from this terminal. There were a few people waiting there, actually some were even sleeping on the ground. This terminal was rather dark. We bought a first class ticket to Aranyaprathet at window n° 31 inside the terminal (it was the only one opened at that time). It cost only 220 baths and we were offered a small bottle of water.

All departures for this bus are the following: 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:30, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 11:30, 12:15, 13:00, 13:30, 15:15, 16:30, 17:30. It depends on what you really plan to do but if you expect to be in Siem Reap the same day I recommend to take the bus in the morning as you never know how long the trip will last.

It was an old bus but the seats were still confortable.We could sleep a little as it took around 4 hours 1/2  to get to Aranyaprathet because of the several stops letting people getting in or out of the bus and also one stop for filling with gazoline. The bus was supposed to stop at the Aranyarathet Bus Terminal. However we were lucky as actually the bus went  directly to the border. Hence we saved a bit of money and time as we didn’t have to take a tuk-tuk from the Bus Terminal to the border.

At the border, a lot of guys offered to help us to get a Cambodian visa, but we refused as we were told that it would cost more than the normal price. Actually before our departure, we applied for an e-visa, that’s the best thing to do. It’s very easy and really quick.  

First we went directly to the Thailand Border Office. We had the chance to arrive before tourists buses. At this time we were the first persons to arrive at this Office, so it took only 2 minutes for getting my papers. I have to mention that Thai Immigration are taking pictures of people at the entrance and also at departure. With a Thailand exit stamp on our passport, we walked through a no man’s land to go on the other side of the border. We could see casinos and restaurants.  It was very busy there even at that early time of the day. It was very strange to see a lot of Thaïs going to Cambodia standing on a line on one side of the road, and a lot of Cambodians going to Thailand on the other side. It’s very interesting to share these moments with local people. At the Cambodian Immigration Office we filled up the immigration form, gave a copy of our e-visa and waited to get our Cambodian entering stamp.

Once we got our stamp, we followed a guy who offered a free transport (another small bus) to go to a place where we could hire a taxi. The taxi driver began by making a speech about the long and difficult road. Eventually he asked $60 to go immediately or $15 per person but we had to wait until he could find 2 more people. As we were 2 persons, we finally negotiated to pay $45 for the whole taxi with an immediate departure.

I wondered why the car was so dusty outside (glasses, car body…) but I had the answer a few moments later. The road was so bumpy and from time to time it was more a track than a road. There were many bridges along the road and most of them were down so the taxi driver had to make a detour on stony and sandy red tracks which sent up dust and shook the taxi as if we were taking part in the “Paris/Dakar” accross the desert. It was very funny. This experience was very nice as we could cross many Cambodian villages, mostly agricultural areas. It let us have a general idea of the way of living in these regions.  

Here is a short video showing the bad condition of the road:

Exactly 2 hours and 30mn later, we arrived at Siem Reap. The taxi driver stopped outside the town where a lot of tuk tuks were waiting for tourists. We had already booked a guesthouse, but when we asked the tuk tuk to get us there, he told us that this Guesthouse did not exist any more. It was another known strategy to bring us to a guesthouse where he could get a tip. We refused and firmly insisted on going to the one we had booked. He finally accepted to bring us there. That’s it! Quite easy, huh?

We returned by the same way to Bangkok. However we could get a Taxi a bit cheaper, only $35.

At the end, this trip cost only the sum of $94.40 :

• Bus from Bangkok Morchit Bus Terminal to Aranyarathet Border: 220 Bath ($6.10)
• Taxi from Poipet to Siem Reap: $45
• Taxi from Siem Reap to Poipet: $35
• Tuk Tuk from the border to Aranyarathet Bus Terminal: Bath 80 ($2.20)
• Bus from Aranyarathet Bus Terminal to Bangkok Morchit Bus Terminal: 220 Bath ($6.10)

$94.40 for 2 persons, it means only $42.20 per person. It is much cheaper than a flight and you live a better experience by this way. That’s why I highly recommend it.

For your information, Tales Of Asia was one the most useful source of information that help me to go to Cambodia.

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