Wednesday 21 September 2011

Nightmare border crossing

Day #38 - Journey to Cambodia, what a nightmare

You know how when you have one bad experience, it can practically ruin a whole trip for you, or your image of a country?


Unfortunately, A few thai people have tinted my image of the kind hearted, smiling people i once knew.

Here's what happened.

Our day started as many others where we had to get up early and head to the bus station to catch the bus to the border between Thailand and Cambodia. Yes, there is a fight availalble, but considering its closer than toronto to new york, i couldnt justify paying $300 for a flight (one way).

The bus ride was approximately five hours long, picking up random people along the way. We also had "passport checks" a couple times. The first time was a man coming on the bus and only checking people at the back of the bus (where we were sitting). He didnt even glance at us. One of the men on the bus who didnt have a passport was kicked off. Trying to catch stowaways? The second time, the same thing happened, but the skipped over coleman...and checked my passport instead. The guy flipped thru my passport and halfway through flipping, coleman says "oh shit" and hands the guard MY passport (turns out we had switched them). The guy didnt even are it wasnt my passport and just gave it back. I seriously question whether he could even read the "CANADA" on the front.


The bus drops us off at the bus station near the border, but according to the internet, ppl say its about another six km away so we have to take a tuk tuk. We get in a tuk tuk and it takes us about one or two km to a building that says VISA PASSPORT CONTROL. But the border was still a ways away. The internet had warned us there would be fake passport control selling fake visas. Coleman told the driver to stop wasting our time and drive us to the real border. The guys kept saying this WAS THE REAL BORDER, YOU HAVE T GET YOUR VISA HERE. Coleman stayed pretty calm but i got sooo angry, and almost started yelling...and they were so insistent that this was wheree yiu HAD TO GET YOUR VISA. Then they told us we could go ask the police man stqnding nearby. No doubt this guy was a fake too. The tuk tuk driver (asshole) refused to drive us to the border, so we got out with our bags and walked. The guys asked us where we were from and said "i have never seen travellers like you!" saying that we were unbelieveable blah blah blah.


We walked about five minutes and reached the real border, real passport control and real visa desk. Thanks thai people at the border, you left a bad taste in my mouth. Only good thing that came up ws this pic from the bus.


Anyway, when we got to where you get the Visa, we were told to pay $20usd and 100thai baht. The cost of the visa is $20. The 100thai baht is a "fee" you pay to the border agent for "convenience".................I had lost my visa photos so he said this was to "take care of me"...although coleman, and the other foreigners at the border had to pay the same. Sketch.


After passing the border, we had to get a "two hour" taxi to get into Siem Reap at a cost of $48usd, which is more than a months salary for a school teacher in Cambodia.
The two hour taxi ride was sketch:
-The air con died half way through and we were dying of heat.
-The driver was falling asleep and had to make several stops to wake himself up.
-The taxi was filled with bio fuel, ie. not real fuel for driving.
-The drive did not take two hours as advertised. Instead it took closer to four. Liars.

Some pics i took when the driver was getting his pick-me-up:








Needless to say, my journeynto Cambodia was not a pleasent one, but we finally made it to our hostel and all was good. The city was much more developed than I initially thought, I guess that makes sense since its such a tourist town.


My first meal in Cambodia was Korean food. Lol. It seems that during each of my trips I tend to have more international cuisine than at home. It was delicious tho, more pricey than normal food in Cambodia, cheaper than Toronto. And we got free grilled yam and pork belly. Yum









After stuffing myself with all the food my body could handle, coleman took me to a spa he discovered suppoedly very good. Considering the one hour massages offered in the nearby market were $3, this place was quite expensive at $25 an hour, but a steal compared to what we normally pay.


I can say that it was the most amazing massage of my life, and ive had quite a bit. So relaxing, especially after such a frustrating and angry day!


All in all, a tiring and not-so-amazing day. At this point, I am looking forward to what Cambodia truly has to offer.

Location:Border crossing, Thailand to Cambodia

1 comment:

  1. hi hi! :) Visiting your blog for the first time! Its interesting and nice to see you traveling around!

    BTW, really nice to have dinner with you justnow(tonight)! :)

    ReplyDelete