Poipet, a border town most used for travels between Cambodia and Thailand. The city has a bad reputation for scamming tourists at these border crossings. Poipet-Aranyaprathet border crossing is a place of complete chaos, with pickpockets, snatchers, people posing as fraudulent passports and customs officials, taxi mafia, restaurants that charge over the real price.
Gamble to Thailand. This town, where many Thai people come to gamble, is one of Cambodia’s 5. Although it is a large city, it does not carry a city identity.. On the other side of Cambodia’s Poipet border, there is the Thai city of Aranyaprathet, which is 4 hours away from Bangkok.
There are classical fraud methods applied at this border crossing between Cambodia and Thailand: The last bus leaves and you take a taxi. It is said that it should. It is said that visa fees or taxes are changing.
Bus or taxi drivers stop in front of an exchange office and say that this is their last chance, there is no exchange office and bank at the border or in the city. Of course, we should not forget the thieves who have one hand in your pocket or purse.. All this has made this Southeast Asian border crossing very popular (!).
The 155 km road between Poipet-Siem Reap takes 2-3 by taxi.. The same road can take between 5 and 10 hours by bus, depending on the climate and many unimaginable situations.. It was time for me to leave Cambodia and return to Thailand.. Pat from Bangkok and his Japanese friend, whom I met in Siem Reap, and his Japanese friend, took a taxi ($28) arranged by the hotel where we stayed, and set off from Siem Reap to Poipet after breakfast.
I love Cambodia road routes.. You can witness interesting visual experiences in this country where there are settlements and life far from the lifestyle of modern life.. Not many, maybe a few decades later, these places will change completely and it will not be possible to get these experiences again. it will be impossible to find in an older taste. That’s why I always say; should start the trip from Far Asia. It is both cheap, easy and interesting.
We arrived in Poipet with a comfortable journey 2 hours after leaving Siem Reap.. Everywhere is filthy and a full-blown chaos prevails.. Thanks to my Thai friend Pat, who came from Bangkok to Siem Reap by road, we made the Cambodia-Thailand border crossing easily.. There are many backpackers crossing the border, those who cross this border alone can move together with other travelers they may meet here without worrying too much.
After overcoming the long queues, we bought our ticket from the bus company in Aranyaprathet and bought a ticket to Pattaya, Chon Buri (260 Baht, 15 TL). We were on our way to Koh Samet, one of Thailand’s famous holiday islands.. We got off near Pattaya, met up with Pat’s friend who was driving from Bangkok, and drove to Muaeng Rayong city with him.. We went to Banpee.
As the last ferry was at 18:00, we couldn’t catch it and found a hotel for ourselves.. Banpee beaches, only 2 hours from Bangkok, were very crowded due to the weekend.. While looking for a hotel room, we had a hard time finding a place.
We relieved the tiredness of crossing the border and a long journey by having a nice dinner at a coastal restaurant and drinking Thai beer Singha.
Day 634: Thailand: 1 Muaeng Rayong, Banpee, April 28, 2012
