How To Get From Bangkok to Siam Reap

How To Get From Bangkok To Siam Reap

2 months ago I left Bangkok to go to Cambodia. I didn't really know what to expect. After 12 hours approximately on trains, tuk tuk, and buses I arrived in Siam Reap, Cambodia.

Bangkok to the Cambodian Border by Train

I left my hotel at around 5am to catch the train from Bangkok's train station which is called Hualamphong Station (Krungthep). At this time of the morning the train station was still busy with people coming back, and going to work.

My train was to depart at 5.55am and arrive at Aranyaprathet near the border at midday. This was a very long train journey. There was a lot of strange people laughing at me and trying to talk to me on the train, but I cannot speak Thai or Cambodian, so I blissfully ignored them.

The Cambodians were nice people but they departed the train before the border escorted by police. I think there was something illegal going on here! But who am I to judge! When the police arrived on this very old slow cranky train, it looked like something from a Bond movie - they were checking peoples passports and eyeing people up. It was very strange.

The train was comfortable but was very cramped with people. This is because the price of a ticket from Bangkok to the Border is around 50 - 60 baht - can't remember but very cheap!

The Border Crossing To Cambodia

When you get off the train there are many many Tuk-Tuk drivers, be aware of them. They try to take you to a fake tourist agency to get your visa for Cambodia. But you can avoid this.

You can get your Visa after exiting Thailand and before entering Cambodia. So when you get the tuk-tuk to the border - insist they only take you to the border. Ignore anything else they say.

Once you arrive at the border make sure you fill out your departure card. And go through. Once through you can then go to an office a few hundred meters up the road on the right. Here you can get your Cambodia Visa on arrival, most people will get the 4 week $20 visa.

Make sure you have changed your money into dollars before, if not you can pay for the Visa in Baht, but it will cost more. Fill out your forms, hand your photo's in with it and wait ten minutes for stamp. Once you are done, you can head to the Cambodian border office, where you will wait, and get your finger prints taken.

You are now in Cambodia. Please be aware of the Tuk-Tuks again. You can get a free bus from outside the Cambodian office. They will take you to a bus station where you can get another bus for $10 to Siam Reap.

Costs of Cambodian Visa and Travel

0 - 60 Thai Baht - Train ticket - Hualamphong to Poipet. 40 Thai Baht - Tuk - Tuk - Poipet to Border $20 - 4 week tourist visa for Cambodia. Free - Bus from Cambodian Border to International Bus Station $10 - Bus from International Station to Siam Reap.

Top Tips

• Ignore tuk-tuk drivers advice, tell them straight where you need to go.  
• Anyone that's nice and friendly and offer to help at the borders are trying to SCAM you!  
• Make sure you take passport photo's with you - the couple in front of me, they didn't have any and got charged $20 each to get them on the spot.

Liam Vs "Tuk Tuk" Driver

Before coming to Thailand I did a lot of reading up and watching program's about Thailand. I came across Tuk Tuk's which are 3 wheel motors with seats in the back for passengers. I always came across information about the famous Tuk-Tuk drivers.

A lot of the information I read told of how Tuk-tuk drivers rip off tourists, so I thought as i knew about this, it wouldn't happen to me. But guess what it did, and I didn't even see it coming!

The first night I arrived in Bangkok, I made my way to Khoa San Road, which is an infamous tourist street in Bangkok, full of highly priced restaurants and Del boy's selling knock off goods. I got here about 7pm and booked myself into a hotel for the night, the first one I seen as I was tired.

This cost 750baht (£14's-ish). It was a decent room air con, TV, shower - everything you need for a one night stay. The next moring I checked out at 12 o'clock. Went to the nearest coffee shop and hooked up to the free wi-fi to start searching for cheaper accommodation and my laptop decided to overheat and stop working! So I got my stuff together and went on a search for guest hotels.

Walking down khosan road tonnes of Tuk-tuk drivers were asking "where you you, you want ride" and it was very annoying! After a while I decided to talk to one of them. I told him I was after a guest house - his name was Chila, he said he would take me to Tourist Information and then onto a guest house - for 20 baht (40p).

I agreed to this as I was tired hot and just wanted to get to a guest house.
In tourist information the lady was very helpful and booked me into a guest house for 350baht (£7) per night for 7 nights, again I was happy with this. She tried to get me to buy more tourist tours off her, but I wasn't having any of this.

Chila then took me to my guest house, he wanted me to meet him later on that day so he could take me around in the Tuk-tuk for money of course but I said I couldn't.

That night I looked up my guesthouse on the internet as my laptop was working again. It was at this point I realised I had been ripped off. The internet said my guesthouse was 200baht a night, the Tourist Information charged me 350baht! The extra 150baht went into Chila's and the Lady from

Tourist Information's back pocket!
Tuk-tuk drivers are good for business here. They take tourists to shops and if the tourist buy items or rooms (in my case) they get commission.

The following day I decided to go for a walk and guess who i hear shouting "Liam, Liam", it was Chila. I went over and chatted to him. He told me he would take me on a mini tour in Bangkok to some of the Temple's and viewing areas for 10 baht - 20p!!!

There was a catch, he wanted to take me to different shops along the way in the hope that I would buy something - he took he to a jewelers and 2 fashion house's. But I did tell him beforehand I wasn't going to buy anything. I think he thought that the shops would persuade me to, but I didn't. Let's just say, after my 2 hour trip around Bangkok for only 20p! He was very unhappy when he dropped me off at the guest house. As the famous Beyonce song states "what goes around, comes around..." also a nice bit of Karma for ripping me off for the booking of my guest house.

Saying that the conversion rate here is very good, but i'm trying to spend like a Thai person and not a tourist. Plus I don't like being ripped off!!!