Painful border crossing

Trip Start Dec 03, 2009
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20
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Trip End Apr 08, 2010


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Flag of Cambodia  , Bantéay Méan Cheăy,
Monday, February 8, 2010

I'd heard that the border crossing into Cambodia can be painful and it lived up to it. Things actually got annoying in Bangkok as I had paid for a shared taxi for the Cambodian leg but was told in the morning that it wasn't possible. As the agency i'd booked through wasn't open didn't have much but to say fine and go along with it or miss the bus.

I'd gone for the visa service which cost 1300 baht - almost double the official $20 fee - as I'd read that you usually end up paying more at the border anyway and didn't want to deal with the hassle. As it turned out a couple hadn't gone for this option and they ended up paying the sane at the border anyway.

At the border they do everything they can to part you from your cash. Just to get my passport stamped - I already had a visa - took over two hours; given that it was apparently 38 degrees this was painful. However there wad an "express lane" where if you paid the police 200 baht they'd go down and get your passport stamped and let you through. Didn't go for this, principle or something and don't want to encourage the bastards. A few people did go fir it though.

Once through the guy who was taking us through kept asking if I wanted to upgrade to a taxi which really pissed ne off ad I'd already paid for this. Straight after the last time I said no he said it was time to go and bundled me into a taxi anyway. Turned out they didn't have enough people for a bus so sent us in a taxi so it did eventually sort itself out though no thanks to guys organising it who had tried to squeeze more cash out till the last.
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