TheSiemReaper

You might want to consider heading to Cambodia - where these things are appreciably cheaper than Thailand. I saved 15% on camera kit buying it in Siem Reap rather than Bangkok and laptops are much cheaper here too.

Thailand, a paradise for tourists terrorists. Let's hope that some community minded soul notices how much trouble terrorists cause Thailand and helps this one to understand how unwelcome he is in South East Asia.

Since you're not sure I'll help you along a bit.

The reason is its part of a pattern, not an isolated incident, just another one. Mainland Chinese tourists are seen and reported behaving poorly, far more so than any other nationality I am aware of, even factoring in the population size.

From stealing life vests and crockery on planes, to screaming and shouting and fighting, we hear the stories all the time. But even if there isn't a "scene", on every flight I've been on they tend to ruin the trip for other travelers because of talking and shouting extremely loudly and moving about the plane. Off the plane their behavior is often equally disgusting and inconsiderate and ill mannered, including spitting, shouting and causing disturbance of the peace wherever they go, to public defecation, to throwing tantrums, to pushing and shoving and cutting into queues.

And it doesn't stop there. They have a reputation for greed and dishonesty in business, those that are wealthy often display their wealth in the most vulgar fashion and we frequently learn that they have gained that wealth through either corruption or cheating.

Yes, yawn yawn yawn, I already know what your going to say...don't generalize...it's not all...well, we know not all, we know there are probably many who are decent and considerate, but the frequency of terrible behavior is prevalent enough that their image is now deservedly bad. If they want to improve their image, and I doubt they really care, then relying on idiot apologists won't get them far, because the only thing that will help is to start behaving decently and respectfully towards other nationalities and in other peoples countries.

Hope you get it now.

Thank you, I always enjoy being patronized by a racist ignoramus for breakfast. It's good to see the world through your own prejudiced lenses just so I can be thankful that no matter how much of a git I am today; I will still fall short of your own dramatic standards.

You may "hear stories all the time" but whilst there's no doubt that the Chinese are a bit rude by a Western yardstick; they are not particularly given to violent outbursts on planes any certainly not more so than any other nationality. You may be laying in wait to blame everything on Chinese people; the more rational of us tend to ask sensible questions like; "Which total plonker judges 1.3 billion people by the behaviour of 4 members of that group?" Sadly, I actually got an answer to that question. My condolences to you - life must be a wonderful place when you can see in ignorant black and white based on the occasional newspaper article.

I'll say it one more time as you are clearly very slow and require remedial tutoring. I said the incident was part of a pattern. Nobody is judging an entire nation based on 4 people, but they are judging based on a pattern....a very clear one, if you are too stupid to see the pattern then too bad. If you object to judgement based on a pattern then you are just blinding yourself to the facts. The facts are very clear but it needs a certain level of intelligence to see them. As for your comment about being a bit ruder than Westerners...LOL...they aren't a bit ruder, their rudeness is totally off the charts. As for your comment about racism, you just expose your own stupidity and bigotry there again, relaying in worn out platitudes to attack with. I said mainland Chinese, I didn't actually paint all Chinese with the same brush at all, so no racism there matey. And I know quite a few non mainland Chinese who find the behavior of the mainland Chinese even more disgusting than I do. Now go and put your dunce hat on.

While I don't want to get involved in this "cyberfight" I should let you know that over on the Cambodia section of the forum TheSiemReaper openly said that "China was the worst place he ever lived, the people are rude etc." whereas I defended the place saying it's actually not bad, but you do have to know the language etc. but he ignorantly rebutted and said "I don't have time to waste learning the language of every place I live in, when I might not live there forever". Strangely on this thread he's defending the place to the core, even accusing others of racism as if he were some sort of spokesperson for the Chinese. The fact is, political correctness and racism do not translate well into Chinese. The Chinese themselves don't care for these "western" concepts and won't hesitate to call something what it is, so no matter which way this argument goes, nobody will care. But without going too much off topic, I think paddyjenkins has made some good points.

I think I was pretty clear in this thread that China's not my favorite place on earth. But neither you nor Paddyjenkins actually have a point; except the racist agenda you both seem to delight in pursuing. There are 1.3 billion people in China and 4 of them behaved badly on a plane. If you got all the internet videos of bad Chinese behaviour together... you might find 1,000 miscreants. These people no more represent China than a British football hooligan represents the people of the UK.

Yes, the Chinese are rude but by and large their rudeness does not endanger people's safety. Sometimes you have to wonder why people can't manage to understand the point being made and then you remember - it's because they're not having a conversation but would rather say; "Look at me! I am so clever that statistics, fairness, etc. does not matter." and "I am so special because I learned Chinese!" neither of which are in fact true. 1. Statistics and fairness matter in order to stop people drawing conclusions from spurious and minimal data. 2. 1.3 billion Chinese managed that too - it's not special but in fact decidedly ordinary. Get over yourself now.

Thank you, I always enjoy being patronized by a racist ignoramus for breakfast. It's good to see the world through your own prejudiced lenses just so I can be thankful that no matter how much of a git I am today; I will still fall short of your own dramatic standards.

You may "hear stories all the time" but whilst there's no doubt that the Chinese are a bit rude by a Western yardstick; they are not particularly given to violent outbursts on planes any certainly not more so than any other nationality. You may be laying in wait to blame everything on Chinese people; the more rational of us tend to ask sensible questions like; "Which total plonker judges 1.3 billion people by the behaviour of 4 members of that group?" Sadly, I actually got an answer to that question. My condolences to you - life must be a wonderful place when you can see in ignorant black and white based on the occasional newspaper article.

So all posters living/working in China are lying??

The Chinese government supply their outbound tourists with a booklet "How to behave", because even the Chinese authorities acknowledge the problem!!

This is not racism, but sometimes you have to call a spade a spade, even if it doesn't fit into your lovely political correct la-la world!!

This poster lived in China for 3 years until he moved to Cambodia. I have a pretty good idea how China works; I ran a business there. This isn't about political correctness. This is about stupidity. You cannot say that "all English women are whores" because an English girl went down on a load of blokes in a Magaluf nightclub for a shot of alcohol; any more than you can say "all Chinese are evil" because 4 of them acted like idiots on a plane.

There simply is no correlation, nor pattern that would make these events statistically significant enough to tar all Chinese people with the same brush.

Oh, I also married a Chinese person. She'd never, ever behave like that.

Here we have a perfect example of a Straw Man Argument http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

You set up the Straw Man = any more than you can say "all Chinese are evil" (Nobody but you said this)

Then you knock the Straw Man down = You cannot say that "all English women are whores" because an English girl went down on a load of blokes in a Magaluf nightclub for a shot of alcohol Who would argue with that? Right?

As an American, I am stereotyped as a gun-loving, bible-thumping, war-mongering, racist, loud mouth who feels especially entitled. I accept that enough Americans who are that way that people are right to presume it is partly true until proven otherwise. Other posters with different experiences in China than yours were just sharing their own experiences in the interest of balance. I'm happy you got to live in a bubble during your time in China.

p.s. Stop defending China. It is the world's largest economy and we all may be spitting and pushing in line in the future.

I never defend China. My own views on living in the country are on record in many places. I have never been happier to leave somewhere in my life. That still doesn't change the fact that you cannot tarnish an entire nation by the behaviour of four clowns. If you had read what I had written rather than responding to it with your own agenda; you would see this is a response to someone who suggested that that was an entirely appropriate way to behave. And thus there's no straw man at the table - it's the demolishing of the argument in front of me; rather than the one in your head - which is much harder to argue.

Thank you, I always enjoy being patronized by a racist ignoramus for breakfast. It's good to see the world through your own prejudiced lenses just so I can be thankful that no matter how much of a git I am today; I will still fall short of your own dramatic standards.

You may "hear stories all the time" but whilst there's no doubt that the Chinese are a bit rude by a Western yardstick; they are not particularly given to violent outbursts on planes any certainly not more so than any other nationality. You may be laying in wait to blame everything on Chinese people; the more rational of us tend to ask sensible questions like; "Which total plonker judges 1.3 billion people by the behaviour of 4 members of that group?" Sadly, I actually got an answer to that question. My condolences to you - life must be a wonderful place when you can see in ignorant black and white based on the occasional newspaper article.

So all posters living/working in China are lying??

The Chinese government supply their outbound tourists with a booklet "How to behave", because even the Chinese authorities acknowledge the problem!!

This is not racism, but sometimes you have to call a spade a spade, even if it doesn't fit into your lovely political correct la-la world!!

This poster lived in China for 3 years until he moved to Cambodia. I have a pretty good idea how China works; I ran a business there. This isn't about political correctness. This is about stupidity. You cannot say that "all English women are whores" because an English girl went down on a load of blokes in a Magaluf nightclub for a shot of alcohol; any more than you can say "all Chinese are evil" because 4 of them acted like idiots on a plane.

There simply is no correlation, nor pattern that would make these events statistically significant enough to tar all Chinese people with the same brush.

Oh, I also married a Chinese person. She'd never, ever behave like that.

Here we have a perfect example of a Straw Man Argument http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

You set up the Straw Man = any more than you can say "all Chinese are evil" (Nobody but you said this)

Then you knock the Straw Man down = You cannot say that "all English women are whores" because an English girl went down on a load of blokes in a Magaluf nightclub for a shot of alcohol Who would argue with that? Right?

As an American, I am stereotyped as a gun-loving, bible-thumping, war-mongering, racist, loud mouth who feels especially entitled. I accept that enough Americans who are that way that people are right to presume it is partly true until proven otherwise. Other posters with different experiences in China than yours were just sharing their own experiences in the interest of balance. I'm happy you got to live in a bubble during your time in China.

p.s. Stop defending China. It is the world's largest economy and we all may be spitting and pushing in line in the future.

I never defend China. My own views on living in the country are on record in many places. I have never been happier to leave somewhere in my life. That still doesn't change the fact that you cannot tarnish an entire nation by the behaviour of four clowns. If you had read what I had written rather than responding to it with your own agenda; you would see this is a response to someone who suggested that that was an entirely appropriate way to behave. And thus there's no straw man at the table - it's the demolishing of the argument in front of me; rather than the one in your head - which is much harder to argue.

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China is one weird country with a billion people who have been brainwashed all of their lives.You would think communist (Socialist) countries would preach for an ordered considerate society. However due to the Chairman's purges it became dangerous to talk openly and keep company with anyone except immediate family so their social skills are non existent. China is also pretty much a lawless state, you only feel the power of the Government if you attempt to undermine or disrupt them.Offences against other citizens is pretty much unpunished. So their behavior in this case, although not excusable is an extension of the pushing in queues, driving with no thought of other road users, spitting and shitting in public, smoking in elevators and generally being obnoxious and rude. As my Mum used to say "Its the way they have been brought up"

Not a pop at Chinese as a Race , 60 years of communism has not done the People of PRC a lot of favours

From what I have read, pre revoulution was much worse.

Depends if you class 70 million dead in a few years as worse than what they had before. Its a massive ungovernable country

It's commonly understood in China that roughly that number of people (or more) would have died under the previous leadership too if the communists hadn't taken over. That's why there's very little genuine dislike of Mao in the country; they know what happened in his name and have chosen to accept that it was necessary because the alternatives were worse.

@Paddyjenkins - it is clear that no-one can win a battle of wits when their opponent arrives unarmed to the tournament. I bow to your lack of preparation and failure to understand "statistical signifcance" in the meaningful and commonly accepted manner and congratulate you on blaming "political correctness gone mad" for your racism. That's a tactic that no racist has ever tried before. Honest.

I'm not sure how the behaviour of 4 idiots is somehow supposed to reflect on their nation as a whole. The whole world is full of really stupid and often quite nasty people; this doesn't mean that you can start painting "anti-China" rhetoric on everything over an isolated incident.

God knows, I've lived in China and have some idea of how difficult the Chinese can be but this isn't typical or even close to typical Chinese behaviour and would be best ignored as an abberration.

Since you're not sure I'll help you along a bit.

The reason is its part of a pattern, not an isolated incident, just another one. Mainland Chinese tourists are seen and reported behaving poorly, far more so than any other nationality I am aware of, even factoring in the population size.

From stealing life vests and crockery on planes, to screaming and shouting and fighting, we hear the stories all the time. But even if there isn't a "scene", on every flight I've been on they tend to ruin the trip for other travelers because of talking and shouting extremely loudly and moving about the plane. Off the plane their behavior is often equally disgusting and inconsiderate and ill mannered, including spitting, shouting and causing disturbance of the peace wherever they go, to public defecation, to throwing tantrums, to pushing and shoving and cutting into queues.

And it doesn't stop there. They have a reputation for greed and dishonesty in business, those that are wealthy often display their wealth in the most vulgar fashion and we frequently learn that they have gained that wealth through either corruption or cheating.

Yes, yawn yawn yawn, I already know what your going to say...don't generalize...it's not all...well, we know not all, we know there are probably many who are decent and considerate, but the frequency of terrible behavior is prevalent enough that their image is now deservedly bad. If they want to improve their image, and I doubt they really care, then relying on idiot apologists won't get them far, because the only thing that will help is to start behaving decently and respectfully towards other nationalities and in other peoples countries.

Hope you get it now.

Thank you, I always enjoy being patronized by a racist ignoramus for breakfast. It's good to see the world through your own prejudiced lenses just so I can be thankful that no matter how much of a git I am today; I will still fall short of your own dramatic standards.

You may "hear stories all the time" but whilst there's no doubt that the Chinese are a bit rude by a Western yardstick; they are not particularly given to violent outbursts on planes any certainly not more so than any other nationality. You may be laying in wait to blame everything on Chinese people; the more rational of us tend to ask sensible questions like; "Which total plonker judges 1.3 billion people by the behaviour of 4 members of that group?" Sadly, I actually got an answer to that question. My condolences to you - life must be a wonderful place when you can see in ignorant black and white based on the occasional newspaper article.

I'll say it one more time as you are clearly very slow and require remedial tutoring. I said the incident was part of a pattern. Nobody is judging an entire nation based on 4 people, but they are judging based on a pattern....a very clear one, if you are too stupid to see the pattern then too bad. If you object to judgement based on a pattern then you are just blinding yourself to the facts. The facts are very clear but it needs a certain level of intelligence to see them. As for your comment about being a bit ruder than Westerners...LOL...they aren't a bit ruder, their rudeness is totally off the charts. As for your comment about racism, you just expose your own stupidity and bigotry there again, relaying in worn out platitudes to attack with. I said mainland Chinese, I didn't actually paint all Chinese with the same brush at all, so no racism there matey. And I know quite a few non mainland Chinese who find the behavior of the mainland Chinese even more disgusting than I do. Now go and put your dunce hat on.

Mainland Chinese is clearly a racial grouping (races are defined by culture not just by skin tone or language). There is no such pattern. You live in the Far East where the Chinese out number every single other ethnic group combined. Of course you hear bad things about Chinese people - there are a lot of them and some of them are absolutely the suckiest people on earth. But... you have no pattern just a load of data that you are grouping into a pattern that suits you - if there was air-rage on a daily basis from the Chinese; then you would have a trend to derogate the people of China with but you don't because there isn't. It is a good idea to understand statistical significance and the norms for behaviour within a population before jumping on your high horse to condemn them.

I'm not sure how the behaviour of 4 idiots is somehow supposed to reflect on their nation as a whole. The whole world is full of really stupid and often quite nasty people; this doesn't mean that you can start painting "anti-China" rhetoric on everything over an isolated incident.

God knows, I've lived in China and have some idea of how difficult the Chinese can be but this isn't typical or even close to typical Chinese behaviour and would be best ignored as an abberration.

Since you're not sure I'll help you along a bit.

The reason is its part of a pattern, not an isolated incident, just another one. Mainland Chinese tourists are seen and reported behaving poorly, far more so than any other nationality I am aware of, even factoring in the population size.

From stealing life vests and crockery on planes, to screaming and shouting and fighting, we hear the stories all the time. But even if there isn't a "scene", on every flight I've been on they tend to ruin the trip for other travelers because of talking and shouting extremely loudly and moving about the plane. Off the plane their behavior is often equally disgusting and inconsiderate and ill mannered, including spitting, shouting and causing disturbance of the peace wherever they go, to public defecation, to throwing tantrums, to pushing and shoving and cutting into queues.

And it doesn't stop there. They have a reputation for greed and dishonesty in business, those that are wealthy often display their wealth in the most vulgar fashion and we frequently learn that they have gained that wealth through either corruption or cheating.

Yes, yawn yawn yawn, I already know what your going to say...don't generalize...it's not all...well, we know not all, we know there are probably many who are decent and considerate, but the frequency of terrible behavior is prevalent enough that their image is now deservedly bad. If they want to improve their image, and I doubt they really care, then relying on idiot apologists won't get them far, because the only thing that will help is to start behaving decently and respectfully towards other nationalities and in other peoples countries.

Hope you get it now.

Thank you, I always enjoy being patronized by a racist ignoramus for breakfast. It's good to see the world through your own prejudiced lenses just so I can be thankful that no matter how much of a git I am today; I will still fall short of your own dramatic standards.

You may "hear stories all the time" but whilst there's no doubt that the Chinese are a bit rude by a Western yardstick; they are not particularly given to violent outbursts on planes any certainly not more so than any other nationality. You may be laying in wait to blame everything on Chinese people; the more rational of us tend to ask sensible questions like; "Which total plonker judges 1.3 billion people by the behaviour of 4 members of that group?" Sadly, I actually got an answer to that question. My condolences to you - life must be a wonderful place when you can see in ignorant black and white based on the occasional newspaper article.

So all posters living/working in China are lying??

The Chinese government supply their outbound tourists with a booklet "How to behave", because even the Chinese authorities acknowledge the problem!!

This is not racism, but sometimes you have to call a spade a spade, even if it doesn't fit into your lovely political correct la-la world!!

This poster lived in China for 3 years until he moved to Cambodia. I have a pretty good idea how China works; I ran a business there. This isn't about political correctness. This is about stupidity. You cannot say that "all English women are whores" because an English girl went down on a load of blokes in a Magaluf nightclub for a shot of alcohol; any more than you can say "all Chinese are evil" because 4 of them acted like idiots on a plane.

There simply is no correlation, nor pattern that would make these events statistically significant enough to tar all Chinese people with the same brush.

Oh, I also married a Chinese person. She'd never, ever behave like that.

I'm not sure how the behaviour of 4 idiots is somehow supposed to reflect on their nation as a whole. The whole world is full of really stupid and often quite nasty people; this doesn't mean that you can start painting "anti-China" rhetoric on everything over an isolated incident.

God knows, I've lived in China and have some idea of how difficult the Chinese can be but this isn't typical or even close to typical Chinese behaviour and would be best ignored as an abberration.

Since you're not sure I'll help you along a bit.

The reason is its part of a pattern, not an isolated incident, just another one. Mainland Chinese tourists are seen and reported behaving poorly, far more so than any other nationality I am aware of, even factoring in the population size.

From stealing life vests and crockery on planes, to screaming and shouting and fighting, we hear the stories all the time. But even if there isn't a "scene", on every flight I've been on they tend to ruin the trip for other travelers because of talking and shouting extremely loudly and moving about the plane. Off the plane their behavior is often equally disgusting and inconsiderate and ill mannered, including spitting, shouting and causing disturbance of the peace wherever they go, to public defecation, to throwing tantrums, to pushing and shoving and cutting into queues.

And it doesn't stop there. They have a reputation for greed and dishonesty in business, those that are wealthy often display their wealth in the most vulgar fashion and we frequently learn that they have gained that wealth through either corruption or cheating.

Yes, yawn yawn yawn, I already know what your going to say...don't generalize...it's not all...well, we know not all, we know there are probably many who are decent and considerate, but the frequency of terrible behavior is prevalent enough that their image is now deservedly bad. If they want to improve their image, and I doubt they really care, then relying on idiot apologists won't get them far, because the only thing that will help is to start behaving decently and respectfully towards other nationalities and in other peoples countries.

Hope you get it now.

Thank you, I always enjoy being patronized by a racist ignoramus for breakfast. It's good to see the world through your own prejudiced lenses just so I can be thankful that no matter how much of a git I am today; I will still fall short of your own dramatic standards.

You may "hear stories all the time" but whilst there's no doubt that the Chinese are a bit rude by a Western yardstick; they are not particularly given to violent outbursts on planes and certainly not more so than any other nationality. You may be laying in wait to blame everything on Chinese people; the more rational of us tend to ask sensible questions like; "Which total plonker judges 1.3 billion people by the behaviour of 4 members of that group?" Sadly, I actually got an answer to that question. My condolences to you - life must be a wonderful place when you can see in ignorant black and white based on the occasional newspaper article.

Maybe these people should try other parts of Thailand? Hua Hin, Pattaya, Phuket... not really Thailand.

Never been to any of those places; can't stand beaches and sand anywhere. Thailand's was once the nicest place to be in Indochina but its days are numbered. Places change and old standbys are replaced by new hungry pretenders. Cambodia and Vietnam are in full flower and Myanmar and Laos become more tempting too... if you want to stay in the most expensive and least friendly part of the region - that's awesome but others are moving on now.

I came to Thailand to settle down there about 4 years ago now. I left after a month. I found it much harder than I'd previously experienced it. I also found that a large chunk of the easily accessible expat community were miserable being in Thailand. When asked where they would go if they were starting with a fresh slate they all said "to Cambodia!"

So I went to Siem Reap for a look round and have never really been back to Thailand for any extended period of time since; in fact the only reason I go to Thailand nowadays is to buy bigger sized clothing and footwear. I can get everything else I need in Cambodia for less money and with less hassle.

I thought Vietnam was amazing and despite the endless negative talk about the Vietnamese - outside of tourist central areas; I found them to be the most honest and friendly people in Asia.

Off to Laos in a few weeks for a butcher's hook and I expect to be fully charmed by that country too.

Thailand's lovely but it doesn't hold a patch on the rest of South East Asia for me. I will note that I would prefer to spend eternity in Thailand than another day in China though...

Phnom Penh: Chat and Chew (Street 172) and The Exchange were my favorites.

Siem Reap: Genevieve's, L'Annexe, and Olive are among the best.

I don't really eat much in the way of Khmer food so my recommendations on that side would be moot - I do like the Dara BBQ in Siem Reap if you want to eat like the locals and not the sanitized meat of the Pub Street area BBQ restaurants. Ox tongue anyone?

I live in Cambodia. The idea that Thailand is cheaper than Cambodia in any way is risible. Food, beer, accomodation, smokes, etc. are all cheaper in Cambodia. The only thing Thailand is cheaper for is electricity.

Most teachers here don't make $5 an hour - $8-$10 is more the norm for unqualified teachers in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh or Battambang at least (and that's where most teachers are). Fully qualified teachers rarely make more than $3k a month with several, in my experience, on around $1,300-$1,500. Part-time hours are very much the norm for first time jobs in Cambodia and yes, the poster above who says if you don't work you don't get paid is completely right.

It is much easier to get hired here, much easier to work legally (and indeed ilegally here) and visas are way simpler and less annoying than in Thailand.

On the flip side; it's much less developed here and shopping and services are much better in Thailand and you'd rather be ill in Thailand than in Cambodia because health services in particular suck here.

Over here in Cambodia it's definitely high season - this has been the busiest week of the year by a barnyard mile. No idea why no-one's hanging around in Thailand to be stopped and searched in the streets...

An e-visa has the advantage in that you only get a stamp in your passport, not a full page paper visa, and then another page used for the stamps. The "printed" e-visa is removed when you return to Thailand

So if you are worried about using up your passport pages (as some here are) then an e-visa is for you

an the e-visa cost you $10 more than the normal visa

$37 charge on site and $3 cc fee

Regular visa at immigration $30

PS; just read on Pattaya Addicts someone just crossed at Poi Pet and was ONLY charged the normal fee no extra's

And how much is an extra page in your passport cost you ? Certainly more than $10 but hey it's your money so spend it like you want

For once I'm in full agreement with Richard. Even including the costs of a courier a page in a 48-page British passport comes to about $8 not $10...

Sorry to hear it; no-one should go that young. Condolences to his family.

Like many others though I have to say that Khmer440 is a palce where I wouldn't want to spend my time. His "contributions" to the "expat community" are in genuine need of careful examination at a later date...

You should try being British. I called the embassy in Cambodia and asked where I could collect my passport - they told me that was a question they weren't prepared to handle... Jesus Wept. If that's something I can't get an answer for from my embassy I'd love to know how they'd handle a request for a prostitute's tab...

I do this journey all the time; head for the border as early as possible 7 a.m. - 7.30 a.m. and you'll have almost no foreigners in the queue. Leave it any later... and expect the queues to keep growing and growing and growing.

Thanks for that. We were expecting to leave siem riep about 7.30 so that works quite well for us then.

Sorry, I meant arrive at the border for that time. I leave Siem Reap at 5 a.m. to beat the tourists I'm afraid.

ah, okay then!

back to the drawing board.

Any rough clue what it would be like circa 9.30am? Or is that already too late Will be driving ourselves.

From about 8.30 on it's mayhem - the tourist buses arrive seemingly without end. It's why I leave at the crack of dawn - I'm not kidding about the queue length differences. 7.30 a.m. - Max. 15 minutes. 8. 30 a.m. - Max. 3.5 hours.

It's worth noting that you can normally, but annoyingly not always, find a Thai "guide" who can arrange a "VIP" pass across the border for about $10... this allows the foreigner to completely skip the queues. I did this once and my Thai girlfriend then got stuck with an ******* on the re-entry desk and spent 2 hours being messed around by some spiteful so-and-so because she forgot the bit of paper they make you fill in when you leave Thailand (she'd been in Cambodia for 2 months by that point). So I waited for a long time on the other side of the border instead...

I do this journey all the time; head for the border as early as possible 7 a.m. - 7.30 a.m. and you'll have almost no foreigners in the queue. Leave it any later... and expect the queues to keep growing and growing and growing.

Thanks for that. We were expecting to leave siem riep about 7.30 so that works quite well for us then.

Sorry, I meant arrive at the border for that time. I leave Siem Reap at 5 a.m. to beat the tourists I'm afraid.

I do this journey all the time; head for the border as early as possible 7 a.m. - 7.30 a.m. and you'll have almost no foreigners in the queue. Leave it any later... and expect the queues to keep growing and growing and growing.

It's always a good idea to compare the per kilo price of dog food to the per kilo price of cheap meat. It's usually better to feed your dog meat and bones from a market; both for the dog's health and for the health of your wallet...

I lived in Cambodia in 2008-09 an have been traveling there Legally since the mid 90 an first visit was away back in 1988 overland

True out of 30 years in Thailand my home has been broken into a few times but not since i moved out of Patong in 1996

Please stop generalizing, although must admit many end up paying 1,000 baht at poi pet ( before it went to $30) for the visa, Unless u have other Cambodian stamps in ur passport or stick to the sign which said $20

Many, probably at least 75% of the people that i know that live in PP, SR, SHV, Batt and even Kampong Cham

have been robbed, at least once, if not more an had things stolen out of their cars /homes

Now, how long is it that you have lived there??

Been here 3 years, I know 2 people who've been burgled, and that's it. No muggings, stabbings, beheadings, terror attacks, etc. a couple of burglaries - it's better than back home in England that.

I maintain that most crime of this nature is a crime of opportunity - if you don't give someone the opportunity; they won't steal your things. That's why I pay a premium for security at home, why I don't wear "bling", why I don't hold my smartphone in public places, and so on...

As for demands for more cash at Poipet; they've never made any - though a Khmer officer once asked if he could fill in my arrival card for $1...