Jackgolf's 'v I P' Service

[Lodestone]

I just did a 7am Bangkok to Aranyaprathet/Poipet border run using Jackgolf and now JG's fee is a flat 2200 baht for everyone. The 'added value' for this 200 baht price hike is now everyone gets the 'VIP' service. This essentially boils down to no longer having to personally deal with immigration on either the Cambodia, and now, with VIP, the Thai side.

After getting off the JG bus, we alternately walked and were shuttled by car until we got to a spot in the shade by a building entrance and waited for 20 or 30 minutes. Meanwhile our passports, previously given to the JG staff, were taken, site unseen to us, somewhere off to immigration and collectively stamped out of Thailand. The passports were then all given back to us and as a group we trooped over to Thai immigration were hustled through the last aisle (6 - 'group tour') without having to flash the passport photo page or provide any other kind of confirming identification.

After entering the Cambodia side we again handed our passports over to a Jackgolf person to take care for us all of the Cambodia visa, entry and exit stamps -- just as before when I've crossed at the Ban Laem border. After a bit more waiting we got into some more cars to shuttle us to the Tropicana Hotel/Casino for the included buffet lunch, though I don't think it was much past 10:30am.

After lunch around noon we were again rounded up for entry back into Thailand. A JG guy again returned all our passports and I checked mine to find, in addition to that morning's Thailand exit stamp, two previously blank pages now used. One completely taken over by a Cambodia visa sticker and another more than half used with Cambodia entry and exit stamps, and, wait for it, a Thailand entry stamp. Yes, incredible to me at least, for the first time ever in too many years of traveling to Thailand I had just been granted entry into the country without even an obligatory face-to-face scrutiny -- and certainly no immigration counter photo. The only immigration contact we had at all was after we were led through the Thai immigration 'group tour' aisle again and flashed our passport photo page to a girl wearing a yellow polo shirt (rather than immigration uniform). I guess Jackgolf finally found the right person to pay off (hence the higher price). And certainly now in a more efficient manner than the bogus 200 baht bus tickets that have to be forked over for at the Ban Laem crossing.

[poolie]

Cheers for the insight mate, very informative. Thought it would take longer than 3.5hrs to the border. Not dealing with the officials is a bonus though!

[poolie]

Oh forgot to ask. Does this VIP service get round the issue of showing an air ticket if you are receiving a 30 day VOA. Maybe, proof of onward travel isn't an issue, dunno, just wondering thats all

[Lodestone]

Does this VIP service get round the issue of showing an air ticket if you are receiving a 30 day VOA.

Yes, that seems to be the case. The bogus 200 baht bus tickets at the Ban Laem crossing were (is?) how it's done there. At Poipet it seems they've now just gone the simple direct old fashioned route of outright bribing some immigration guy to get around the air ticket requirement. Maybe it's all part of the new Samak government, same as how all the late night Sukhumvit sidewalk bars now openly serve beer again and how Foodland no longer has signs in the liquor aisle saying you can't buy booze after midnight and instead now freely lets you.