Recent drives into Cambodia ?

[turgid]

I want to drive into Cambodia  from Thailand (my car, Thai driving license).  Plan is to cross via Cham Yeam , do Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and return via Poi Pet. 

I've driven into Laos twice  so can manage basic border negotiation.

Anyone done either crossing by car recently and have any advice, warnings or suggestions?

Is there likely to be any problem crossing and returning by a different checkpoint?

Is the compulsory insurance in Cambodia similar to Laos and do you buy it at the border ?

 

[phuketrichard]

last drove in may at Osmach, exited at Palin. went all over; SR steung treng, Banlung, PP, Kampot, Kep,

Easy driving, just a pain to pass cars, dont drive at night,  Be extra careful in PP,  stay off monivong road unless u want get stopped and have to pay a fine,

You need ur blue book to get ur temp export doc for Thailand, u cant get insurance so .......

 

[turgid]

OK this imploded . Not sure there is much helpful here to anyone but this is what happened. If you dont want to read the whole thing in summary to cross  we needed to pay Visas plus  600 Baht per day "car admin fee"   and leave the blue book  with Cambodian border staff. So we came back. 

 

We started New Years eve at 5AM from Samrong. Great drive, zero trucks,  good road  light traffic had an excellent freshly cooked breakfast at one of the PTT stations. We made two stops to see what the beaches were like at the bottom of the narrow bit   (the tide was in so  no beach but the Sea was the clearest and cleanest I’ve seen in Thailand) and for a photo op at the "Narrowest Point in Thailand”. Lots of checkpoints after Trat presumably because of the difficult to manage border but we weren’t stopped at any of them.   Arrived at the Border crossing  about 11:00AM, about 400KM in all in a great mood. The last bit of the road is  under construction but it does look like the intention is to eventually have dual carriageway all the way from Bangkok to the Border

Had to park about 500M back from the crossing due to people parked up for the market and presumably pedestrian traffic to Cambodia. But only one car in the queue to cross (this should have been a clue!).

 

Thai Process -  took about 45 minutes

Passport stamp out

Car export document (didn’t want to see my shiny new car passport – refused to look at it) -  given a “completed process” card. Because we were in the computer for previous export no check was deemed necessary.

Customs form  - given a “completed process” card.

Total costs 70 Baht in Fees and 20 Baht for Photo copying

Handed in “process cards” and showed passports at crossing.

 

We them moved into no mans land – the barrier to the Cambodia processing area was down and the guy stood next to it said in excellent English we needed to process first. Took our passports and came back with completed visa forms. I then realised he wasn’t immigration. From this point on I’ll call him BC (Bribe Coordinator).   BC asked me how long and where we were going and I said Phnom Penh for  7 days.  He said we would need special permission to go there as we could only travel to Koh Kong. He, of course, could help us arrange this. I wanted to understand the “process” before I committed to an expensive visa otherwise would turn round and go back.  He said very sensible.    

There were 3 sit down meetings including one with an immigration staff member and a further with what appeared to be five other BC type characters.  Note again this is inside the immigration area where in most places only authorised people are allowed. .

 

 In summary, this is what we were told.

The people processing the export document wanted 200 Baht per day

Customs wanted 400 Baht per day

BC wanted 100 Baht per visa processed and 200 Baht each for “arranging” export and customs.  

We had to leave the Blue Book with the export team in case we “overstayed” at which point we’d pay another 600 Baht per day. We get a red sticker which was supposed to give us un-harassed travel outside of Koh Kong .

Total “admin” cost including 2 visas for 7 days driving approx. 7000 Baht.   I had almost justified paying this based on time invested and that we really wanted to go.  The sticking point was leaving the Blue book.  I mean if you can’t trust a corrupt Cambodian official with the proof of ownership document of the valuable vehicle you are driving around Cambodia who can you trust? But even so.  Also it meant we had to leave by the same crossing which obviously gave them the opportunity to gather more processing money  but also messed up my plan to return via Poi Pet.

 

Depressed and defeated I advised BC we were going back to Thailand. At which point he smugly told me we could not. We had left Thailand, we would have to enter Cambodia. We’d have to pay Visas and at least one day car. And leave the Blue Book.  On that basis he knew we couldn’t go back so don’t be silly.  Said for more money might be able to waive the Blue Book requirement.

 

So now angry I got in the car and drove back to the Thai border. It’s fair to say they were a bit annoyed, but also helpful. Initially they told us we’d have to go into Cambodia.  We explained that we didn’t want to leave the Blue Book or pay 2500 Baht to the Cambodians as a fee for re-entering Thailand. As a point of principle I’d rather pay Thailand.  He said they’d started to hear of the Blue Book holding as a requirement. They had a discussion and after about 30 minutes we got our passports back with the outgoing stamps cancelled.   No fees charged.  

 

Was cheered up by an excellent mid afternoon lunch just north of the border and  spent the 7000 Baht towards  a new years eve dinner and couple of nights in a very decent hotel in Chao Lao. I always wanted to drive the Sukhumvit road to the end and see the narrow bit, so that was all good.   But I feel like someone in Cambodia needs to know they missed out on probably 30000 baht spend into the economy because of the processing shambles at the Koh Kong crossing. And the car passport renewed on the 28th December was a waste of 35 Baht

 

Edited January 5, 2018 by turgid

[my friend I]

There is a B.C. or 2 at a lot of Cambodia border crossings. I just ignore them. Possibly best to say you are just going to Koh Kong.

You probably did the right thing in the end.

 

 

[phuketrichard]

Didn't bother reading the whole thing past

Quote

BC asked me how long and where we were going and I said Phnom Penh for  7 days

YEP, u made the mistake of saying ur were going to PP, I have stated NUMEROUS times that ur only told u can stay in KK province,  BUT no one cares if u drive elsewhere, have entered many times at KK and never paid more than 100 baht/day i told them i was staying. Never paid for a "helper"

 

They take ur temp doc export paper and give u a red plastic plate which ur supposed to place on ur dash (i have 3 of them now  :-) ) when u return to KK  ( i exited elsewhere) they take the plate an give you back ur temp export doc
if you had read my posts u would have had no trouble

 

Osmach is much easier as no day charge, they dont take ur temp export doc, no hassles at all.

[turgid]

25 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

They take ur temp doc export paper and give u a red plastic plate which ur supposed to place on ur dash (i have 3 of them now  :-) ) when u return to KK  ( i exited elsewhere) they take the plate an give you back ur temp export doc
 

Curious to know how you leave by a different place if they took your export document. The Thai side told us no problem exiting at Poi Pet as long as we had the export document. If we lost it we'd have to come back to Hat Lek  to reenter Thailand.

 

As you stopped reading you wont have read the part about the Thai side acknowledging that the Cambodian side were now asking to hold  the Blue Book which was used as my reason for not entering Cambodia and cancelling stamps. Refusing to pay a bribe wasnt sufficient.   

 

 

 

 

 

[phuketrichard]

each them i told them lost it, ( exited at Pailin and Poi Pet) never any trouble or problem, made me up a new one, all u need do is smile, Once i had my thai car in Cambodia 8 months....

Cambodians can do whatever they want, its Cambodia

 

In SE asia.....  better to ask forgiveness than permission...  worked well for me for the past 32 years living here and travel extensively  throughout the region.

[GJBTH]

FYI Tried to take my car through Ban Hak Let (Koh Kong) border yesterday. I was asked for the original car registration "blue book" by the Thai immigration official. I didn't have the original and the photocopy was not accepted so I was not allowed to take the car through.

[phuketrichard]

of course they ask to see the original Blue book in thailand..( customs NOT Immigration) .  They always do at every border......

Edited February 22, 2018 by phuketrichard