Visa-run Report To Cambodia

[welo]

It's been nearly a month since my last visa-run to Cambodia, nevertheless here my report...

• Used an agent from Poipet for 2500 THB - pickup at border on x + 2 (2 nights)
  
• Single Entry only
  
• No red stamp
  
• Visa on Arrival office on Cambodian side of the border is beeing rebuilt and temporarily relocated. See pictures below
  
• New bus terminal with publicly announced bus and taxi prices. More info below
  
• Applied for Cambodian eVisa and was issued one after 5 hours processing time
  

Agent

I had some friends come over to Thailand for visit and we timed our visit to Angkor Wat so I can do my visa run.

I used one of the semi-official touts on Cambodian side for 2500 THB. I had to fill the application form and provide a photo, and of course the passport. Pickup was 2 days later at noon time at the same place. No problems. The agent spoke good english and gave me his Thai telephone number so I could contact him to pickup my passport on arrival at the border.

Just ask the touts (that will approach you anyway) after you exit Cambodian immigration.

Advice: Bring a copy of your passport main page, and take a picture of your Cambodian Visa and entry stamp - just in case.

Cambodian Visa on Arrival

The VOA booth is beeing rebuilt and moved to a temporary building (container) just BEFORE the stone arc, still on the left road side, immediately after you do the health check. It's actually easy to spot but I was so conditioned to ignore everyone and everything around me and head to the old location that I missed it. I first ended up in one of the containers AFTER the old location on the right road side where one of the immigration officers had already prepared a staple of immigration cards to cash in on confused tourists. I then noticed the lack of any signs and left, finally spotting the relocated booth with the 'Visa On Arrival' sign mounted on the backside

Bus terminal

The bus terminal looks newly renovated and is proudly labeled 'International Tourist Terminal' with an area for 'arrivals' and 'departures'. Inside you find a shop and a little restaurant, a money exchange and a ticket counter with advertised prices for buses and taxis. Maybe it has been in place for longer already, but the tout told me that 'everything changed and everything is new and official now'.

Prices to Siem Reap are 9 USD for the bus and 12 USD for the taxi. The latter is for a shared taxi of course, not sure whether for 3 or 4 persons sharing (the price for 3 would be acceptable, for 4 people overpriced - 36 vs 48 USD for the taxi where Siem Reap to Poipet can be had for as low as 30 USD).

The bus is overpriced for sure. There are two different bus companies selling tickets with identical prices, none of them is one of the major bus companies that I know (GST, Paramount Express, Sorya, Mekong Express, etc.). I know that a ticket from Battambang to Poipet is 3 USD with one of those crappy buses, however, at the bus terminal the reverse direction costs 10 USD (interestingly the taxi to Battambang is the same price)! Even more interesting is the price advertised in Riel: 22.000 which is 5.50 USD?!

So to me it all looks like Poipet is still the place where too many people want to get their share of a simple bus or taxi ticket, and the money exchange scam (who needs Riel when even the ATMs hand out dollars?) is now institutionalised with a brand new money exchange booth.

eVisa

Checkout the forum to learn more.

Edited November 4, 2009 by welo

[thaiphoon]

Thanks Welo for the updated report. I am sure many will find the information useful.