Day 5Â
Bangkok treated me well.
I ate, I drank (lots of mandarin orange juice and coconut slushies), I was merry.
I bought hippie pants, and I soaked up the beginnings of what will be a long love affair between myself and Southeast Asia.
I know it’s early to call it, but I’m really digging it here.

Though, today really tested the limits of my loving abilities.
I decided that it was time to leave Thailand after realizing that I didn’t want to head up to Chiang Mai until the Lantern Festival, and didn’t want to yet head down to the islands because, avid diver that I am, I wanted to wait for better conditions (it’s still monsoon season and visibility would have been poor).
The next logical destination seemed to be Siem Reap, Cambodia, to see Angkor Wat.
My morning began haggling with taxi drivers to get a decent rate to the train station. At 5am on Khao San Road, not-a-one was willing to run the meter. After getting yelled at by ladyboys that 200 or 150 baht were good prices (who asked them, anyways?), I finally negotiated 100 baht and made my way to the station, where I paid half that for my 5-hour train ride to Aranyaprathet. From there I would take a tuk-tuk to Poipet, a seedy Cambodian border town, and eventually end up in Siem Reap, where I am now.
It all seemed so simple.
Seemed being the operative word.
The train itself was not bad at all. At only 48 baht (USD$1.50), for the third class train (the only option), I felt pretty good about my budget maintenance.
The other options include taking a cab for around USD$100, a mini bus which I’ve heard is scammy, or a bus from the bus station at around 225 baht (USD$7.00).
Given that my tagline offers off-beat travel, I figured I better deliver, and I do love trains, as it were.
Things started to get seedier after arriving in Aranyaprathet, where the tuk-tuk driver immediately took us to a fake “Cambodia Consulate” – not the correct place.  I had read up on this on the message boards and knew better, and therefore ended up walking to the actual border a few yards away.
At the visa office, once again they tried to scam me by asking for USD$25 rather than the posted $20 fee. Â I shook my head, pointed to the sign, and kept pushing my passport forward. Â Finally they obliged and I was on my way.
After getting into Poipet, the Cambodian border town, I negotiated a shared $10 van (after someone tried to sell me on a $60 taxi) for the 2-hour ride out to Siem Reap. Â Of course, they tried to screw me on my change. I called them on it and got my correct money.
This whole border crossing is kind of like a video game and you better be paying attention!
After the 2-hour drive to Siem Reap, the driver took us to yet another set of tuk-tuk drivers, which were meant to then take us to our individual hotels.
Everyone else took off with no problem. Â My driver, of course, tried to get me to agree to hire him to take me to Angkor Wat the next day. Â I just kept telling him “I don’t know” and urged him to hit the road. Â He finally relented, took me to my hostel, and then put the full-court press on me again.
I shook my head “no” and went on my way. Â He then proceeded to curse me, my family, and everyone I’ve ever cared anything about or maybe just had pleasant thoughts about. The girls behind the front desk looked at me wide eyed.
“What did you do to him?” they asked.
“I don’t think I did anything” I sadly replied, dejected.
I had been up since 5am. Â It was now 5pm. Â I had barely eaten anything, and I’d had about enough and started to call it a failed day.
Then, I headed to my shared room, immediately made three new friends, and instantly felt better about the whole situation.
If, after my shining review of the process, you’d like to take this journey yourself, here are the steps. Â I believe I did it in just about the cheapest way possible:
Step 1: Make your way to Hua Lamphong Station for the 5:55am train (do not take the later one or you’ll get stuck overnight at the border, a VERY seedy and dirty town). If you take a taxi, try to get him to run the meter.
Step 2: Buy ticket to Aranyaprathet for 48 baht, or about USD$1.50.
Step 3: Ride on train for about 5 hours. Stare out the window. It’s a nice view.
Step 4: Negotiate a tuk-tuk to the border crossing. Â Some people hop on large trucks – I only saw locals do this, but have read on forums that sometimes travelers do this too. Â Probably the cheapest method. Â My tuk-tuk cost me 40 baht for my half after I refused to pay 80. (I called out to a random traveler I saw boarding a tuk-tuk and asked if he wanted to share – he did, so I only had to cover half).
Step 5: Walk AWAY from the “Cambodia Consulate” the tuk-tuk will drop you off at, and further down the road to the actual border crossing. Â It will look a bit like a castle, and is very close by.
Step 6: Refuse to pay more than the USD$20 required at the visa office. Â I watched everyone else pay the extra money, but I refused on principle.
Step 7: Find your way to Siem Reap. Â For me, this involved taking a “free” shuttle bus to the money changing station (avoid changing money if you can – not a good rate. Â Cambodia’s de-facto currency is USD, so bring enough with you and you’re set. Make sure the bills are crisp and not torn in any way). Â From here you can take a bus for $8, which takes 3 hours, or a shared van or cab. Â Mine ended up costing $10.
Step 8: Get to your hostel, take no crap from your pushy tuk-tuk driver.
Step 9: Decompress and do something you enjoy so that you can stop being angry at the world for your harrowing journey during which you got almost scammed 10 times.
All in all, only cost me $14 to get from Bangkok to Cambodia. Â It wasn’t the easiest method, but I made it in once piece, and didn’t break the bank.
Oh, and it was very, oh so very, off-beat and perhaps even a little adventurous.Â
Grateful Earth Design says
Hello Ava!
My boyfriend and I have been enjoying reading about your adventures in Asia as we are currently visiting many of the same places. If you are in need of a reliable and honest Tuk Tuk driver to show you around Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) you should call the guy we used, Chantha. His mobile number is 0962059272. He is quick, reliable, honest, and aims to please. His price is good (just be patient, respectful, and creative with the bartering process) and you can ask him to take you “off the beaten path”. As with all Tuk Tuk drivers in touristy areas it takes a lot of explaining to help him understand that you want to avoid typical tourist traps. One tip we’d like to pass along that we learned that proved priceless was to offer to buy your driver in touristy areas lunch to avoid the typical tout where they take you to expensive tourist trap restaurants in exchange for a free meal provided by the owner out back. This is how we got to enjoy Chantha’s company, really get to know him and leave the restaurant with a bill smaller than just the two of us would have paid at one of the tourist restaurants. Chantha took us to local villages where we got to see the “real” people of Siem Reap. He also took us to the land mine museum which was interesting (make sure you read ALL of the children’s stories about how they ended up living in the attached boarding house), however the hour long ride there was the best part. You get to see the country side, rice paddies, water buffalo, and all the other Cambodian sights. Anyhow, treat Chantha well if you call him and tell him Eric and Kim sent you. He will in turn be the kindest of kind to you 🙂
Ava Apollo says
Thank you so much for all of your advice! I just finished in Siem Reap and biked instead of taking a Tuk Tuk but it was incredible as you mentioned. Quite a wonder. Sounds like you had a really cool experience!
Margyle says
This is incredible and you know what… good for you for sticking it out. I probably would’ve just lost it and started attacking everyone, or paid the more expensive price to avoid the hassle but hey, I would’ve missed out on seeing that side of the adventure. Hope all is well!
Ava Apollo says
Thank you! Just another part of the process, I guess!
Christina says
Blech – sometimes those long travel days in transit are the worst. Props to you for making it though!
Ava Apollo says
I can look back on it now and appreciate it as an experience…. One I don’t want to repeat
Victor Tribunsky says
The Angkor Wat is the decent goal.
JessicaWynneLockhart says
Hi there! I’m thinking about making this same journey solo in about two weeks. Any recommendations on accommodation in Siem Rep? And did you need to bring passport photos for the border crossing?
Emily says
Hi! I am planning to do this route in reverse this summer (Siem Reap -> Bangkok). I have heard some horror stories that the border can take up to 5-6 days to cross and i havent got enough time to do that! Did you hear of any similar things or do you think allocating a day to travel from SR to BK would be okay? Also would you advise getting a Cambodian visa before travelling e.g. from the embassy?
Kristin says
I haven’t ever heard of anyone taking more than a day to cross. I’m not sure how or why it would take 5-6. It’s not having the visa prior that makes the difference, though, it’s the time it takes to get from point A to point B and all of the modes of transport you have to take in between. Getting a visa on arrival in Cambodia should be no problem at all.
If you’re really worried about timing, the fastest and easiest way would be to fly. Air Asia tends to have cheap flights if you can book in advance. But, really, I don’t think anything more than a day or two is needed to get from Siem Reap to Bangkok if you leave early enough. Good luck!
Joro says
Nice to read and good info for other travelers! 😉
Naomi says
Would love opinions on my latest travel dilemma: You mentioned bringing USD, which I know is the best route for many countries (Cambodia, Myanmar etc). How comfortable do you feel carrying heaps of cash on you or do you handle your cash needs in a different way? It always makes me feel really nervous to have too much cash on me at any point.
Kristin says
I use an ATM and withdraw around $200 in cash at a time. I have a card that doesn’t charge fees and refunds any imposed by the ATM.
zeltronica says
It may help you in s.e.a in future to just pay the dollar to people. They may be in extremely desperate situations and save yourself much grief over less than you’d spend on a soda in your regular life. Don’t see $2 as being ripped off, see it as contributing to a struggling peoples and economy. Instead of labelling somewhere as ‘dirty and seedy’, try to recognise such situations as extremely disadvantaged peoples in extreme poverty-as if that’s how they want their loved ones to live, and how they want to be making ends meet to feed their families. I can see how they may feel resentful of proportionately rich foreigners seeing their homes and villages torn down to build hotels for tourists. A bit of compassion and cultural awareness often really helps any situation 🙂
Kristin says
These are border agents who work for the government. If we’re just talking dollars and cents when haggling then fine but a government official asking me for extra money on top of my visa? Hell no. That’s just contributing to corruption and I’m not down for it.
Tan Kim Liant says
welcome to the third world. .