The Cambodia Express: Bangkok to Siem Reap

Yesterday, we endured the first harrowing ordeal of our young journey. Having completed our business in Bangkok, we set off for our first new (to us) destination: Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat. Many online sources make this trip seem all kinds of scary, but for us it was relatively straightforward and cheap, albeit crowded. That last part was partially our fault though as we did the trip on a Saturday morning on a Thai holiday.

The abbreviated sequence of events went like this:

• Train from Bangkok to Aranyaprathet
• Tuk-tuk from Aranyaprathet to Poipet (Cambodia border)
• Get visa and walk across border
• Bus from Poipet to Siem Reap

The whole trip cost us about $35/person, most of which was spent on the Cambodian side for the visa and bus. Here's a little more info on each step.

1. Bangkok to Aranyaprathet. First off, the Thai side of things is cheap and simple with two options: bus or train. The train is a shocking 48 Baht per person (roughly $1.50/120 yen), leaving Hua Lamphong Station at 5:55 am and arriving just before noon or leaving 1:05 pm and arriving around 5:30 pm. The morning train is the only way to do the trip in one day, however.

On the train to Cambodia

It's a scenic ride and the seats are comfortable enough... as long as you don't decide to go on the Queen's Birthday or some other Thai holiday. Not only did we not check the calendar, we also got to the station with only 5 minutes to spare, inevitably standing for half the trip in a train—easily as crowded as Tokyo trains, by the way—until a kind soul was nice enough to give up his seat to Akemi. We stood for the first half of the ride in crowded quarters and sat for the last half.

The other option is a bus, which will reportedly set you back about 150-200 Baht. I'm sure the seats are more comfortable than the train, and a friend tells us the view was good as well. Personally, however, I'd try the train at least once for the experience.

2. Aranyaprathet to Thai-Cambodia border. You're pretty much stuck taking a tuk-tuk the 6 km it takes to get from the train station to the border. Online I read to expect 60-100 Baht for the ride, but we had no problems grabbing a third person and getting the driver to do 50 Baht, split three ways.

Cambodian border

3. Border crossing process. Here's where you have to be careful—DO NOT listen to anyone trying to sell you a visa before leaving Thailand. If you didn't get an e-visa online beforehand, they do visas on the Cambodia side after Thai immigration stamps your passport. The tuk-tuk took us to a certain point, but we had to walk another 500 meters or so to the border ourselves. It was pretty crowded for us (again, it was a holiday), so took over an hour total.

For the visa, they charge $20 plus 100 Baht (not sure why they do it that way), and you'll need a passport photo. While this was time consuming due to the crowds, no one used to touts in Thailand should find it that treacherous to avoid the border scammers.

Newly sealed Cambodian highway

4. Bus to Siem Reap. This is one area that has vastly improved in recent years from what I've read. What used to be quite a bumpy ride is now a fully paved road that will take an uneventful three hours by bus. There's a free shuttle bus from the border to the terminal where you can choose a bus for $9 (or 350 Baht I think), minibus for $10 or taxi for $12 (with four passengers). We took the bus, but it waited a good hour until there were enough passengers to fill it. If I had to do it again, I think I might splurge and pay an extra $1 for the minibus.

That's it! Siem Reap is more than just Angkor Wat; it's a great little town with excellent food and bustling night life, and things are dirt cheap. A backpacker's paradise! We've only been here one full day, but are loving it thus far. Did I mention that the food is amazing?? I'll leave you with a picture of our $5 lunch for two today. The sauces here are fantastic.