Visa Run 16 Sep 2010

[jaywalker]

Have done tons of visa runs to Cambo, but normally drive myself.

I decided to give the visa run companies a go this time. These days I go thru around 3,000 THB in fuel, plus the 1500 baht or so for visa fees, plus the touts bugging me to death, plus the strain of driving 7-8 hours in one day, plus I usually get at least one 200 baht ticket from the BIB for God knows what, so almost 5,000 baht if I do it myself.

Waiting till the last minute, I called up 1st Class Visa Runs (Soi 6/Queen Vic hotel) at 6:00 PM last night. I needed to checkout of LOS no later than 17 Sept.

Nice lady said they were full, but would check with her "friend" & call me back. 3 minutes later she calls me back & yes, they have a seat open for today (16th). Same departure time (arrive between 0600-departure at 0645....we got back at 1500 hrs), same price, which was 2500 baht. Included were all visa fees, breakfast, lunch, a couple jugs of water, & 1 free beer in the pub upon return.

She had me booked with 5 Star Visa Runs (Soi 13/Sportsmans Pub). We met up with another van at our first stop (1st Class Visa van I think), and it was a 6 seater, but had 3 seats in a row, with 3 seats in a row right behind it. Ours was 2 by 2 by 2 seats. Far more roomy. Also there were only 3 passengers on our van.

Nice 17-19 inch or so screen for the DVD player & a good selection of movies was played (we finished 3.9 total).

3.5 hours drive time each way & around an hour at the border, 30 minutes of which was standing in the Thai arrivals line. Several Khmer tried to jump the line, and were politely informed that the line starts at the f***king back of said line.

The driver was about 60. Spoke a smidgin of English, very careful, kept his speed to a max of about 110 kph. Nice guy and the van was super roomy and comfortable with great air-con so 5 Stars on that front.

Breakfast was a cultural thing. Set menu that was totally British. Nothing against Brits, but would prefer fried grasshoppers (almost) as opposed to sunny side eggs & baked beans & raw bacon at 0600 hrs. I wasn't hungry so no biggie. I had a bottle of water and a coffee.

Lunch was OK I suppose, but a ham & cheese sandwich could always benefit from a bit of mayonnaise at least. These were dry as a bone. Nice potato salad, a chunk of banana bread & boiled egg????? Baked beans for breakfast & a boiled egg with lunch??????????????????????????

So, if you enjoy English food, like flatulence & hate mayo, then it's great!

My food whining is minor. Completely relaxed the whole way & I'll most assuredly use this service again as it costs half the price of doing it myself at 1/10th the level of driving stress. Oh yeah they did all the paperwork as well.

Best,

Jay

Edited September 16, 2010 by jaywalker

[Maestro]

Thanks for your report, but you did not say from what town you were leaving. Pattaya? The free bottle/glass of beer upon your returns was a nice touch.

[ignis]

Putting '5 Star Visa Runs' into Google brings up Pattaya.

Why so expensive ? I use a Company from Bangkok a VIP mini bus, I believe they own one mini bus and hire others as needed, last trip 3 mini buses used.. Price is always the same 1.900 baht with Cambodia Visa + all the paperwork, a stop each way with free water, take sandwich made myself at home, Lunch in Cambodia pay yourself.. last time had fried rice with fried pork + salad + a can of Pepsi total price 70 baht. I have used this company now for 3 x 90 day visa runs.

Still if you like the service and are happy that is the main thing..

Lots of different Visa Run Services out of Bkk, my idea was to try them all, but the one I used 1st was so good have used them all 3 times.

[jaywalker]

Yeah, sorry. It was Pattaya that I left from. I figured the references to Soi 6 would be enough info for most folks to deduct as much.

No idea why it was "so expensive". It was half the cost of driving myself & I could've slept for 7 hours worth of the ordeal in a giant cushy captain's chair with loads of room to stretch out & recline, so I was tickled shit-less with it overall.

Edited September 18, 2010 by jaywalker

[hyperdimension]

Thank you for the report.

However you seem to have a problem with crucial details.

Yeah, sorry. It was Pattaya that I left from. I figured the references to Soi 6 would be enough info for most folks to deduct as much.

No, saying "Soi 6" is not enough. There are probably thousands of "Soi 6"s in Thailand.

What exactly was the name of the border on the Thai side and/or Cambodia side?

The origin and destination should be written in the subject lines of every visa run report.

Edited September 20, 2010 by hyperdimension

[ignis]

Yes would like to know where you went.... 7 hours from Pattaya ? or is that total of 7 hours ? [3 ½ hours each way?]

From BKK go to 'Ban Laem' Cambodia takes around 4 hours each way by mini bus.... last time took longer as heavy traffic in places + we got stopped 3 times by BIB [1x by over 30 mins], coming back slow as very heavy rain.