Tour bus leaves tourists stranded

[jaideecm]

Just returned from my fitness park 8 kilometers from the Chiang Mai city center. In a field next to the park about a hundred tourists were left stranded from 4 different buses that arrived within a 30 minute period between 6 and 6:30AM on the Lampang - Chiang Mai highway. Talking with some of them they all bought their bus tickets from agencies and guest houses on Khaosan road in Bangkok. To get onto town they had a 5 kilometer walk to where they could catch a songteaw into the city. I tried to help by phoning a few of my friends who have songteaws but they were busy transporting children to school and would not be free until after 9AM. There were 3 families with small children in tears and 2 Thai people who exercise at the park had pick up trucks took the families into town.

WARNING: Get all you bus tickets to Chiang Mai from the Mor Chit bus station or companies who say you need to go to Mor Chit bus station to get your bus. The illegal bus companies who operate from Khaosan road do not have permits to go into the city. You have been warned.

[craigt3365]

Wow. That's incredible. I bought a bus ticket from KSR many years ago, to Siam Reap. It was a horrible experience. Mini bus to the border and from there...the back of a pickup truck. The agency promised an air con bus the whole way.

Thanks for the heads up!

[ronthai]

another job for the junta to handle. and they are so busy already

[Briggsy]

LOL. This scam has been running for 30 years. They have probably been using the same patch of waste ground outside Chiang Mai for all that time.

[ggt]

This too will get the Military's attention in due time...as corruption is on the immediate radar...this will come to an end...IMO

[Wat dee]

This too will get the Military's attention in due time...as corruption is on the immediate radar...this will come to an end...IMO

Good to see so much optimism in the air

[tracker1]

Same happened to me and my daughter and a few others on a bus transfer down south No Connecting bus left stranded at some intersection in the middle of nowhere. Was told a connecting bus would be along within the hour , if we didnt manage to get a songtel we would still be waiting there to today !

[Jimbolai]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Wow. That's incredible. I bought a bus ticket from KSR many years ago, to Siam Reap. It was a horrible experience. Mini bus to the border and from there...the back of a pickup truck. The agency promised an air con bus the whole way.

Thanks for the heads up!

Same thing happened to me 10 years ago. From KSR to Ranong. The bus 'dropped' me someplace on the East coast and I finished up having to get in a pickup truck. Crooked bastards give Thailand a bad name.

[Grindting]

I've heard that on the KSR to Cambodia trips they also raid all the luggage somewhere along the way and steal anything of value.

Me and my mrs will be taking the train tomorrow and making our own way. Not lookin forward to the boarder crossing with all the scum bag touts

[jaideecm]

I've heard that on the KSR to Cambodia trips they also raid all the luggage somewhere along the way and steal anything of value.

Me and my mrs will be taking the train tomorrow and making our own way. Not lookin forward to the boarder crossing with all the scum bag touts

What they do is have one of the boys ride in the luggage compartment to raid the luggage while in route. He gets out when the bus makes a bathroom stop or just before a police check point to see if the driver is drunk or on drugs. The passangers never know.

[hanno]

Poipet is not that bad anymore, just keep your wits about you. You do NOT need to change money at the border, you do NOT need to get your visa on the Thai side, and you do NOT need to go to the "tourism center" on the Cambodian side.

[keestha]

It cannot be stressed enough that tourists should buy their tickets at a bus/train station and not at a travel agency. Buying a ticket at a travel agency can lead to what is described above, or for instance being put on a bus which goes off in the wrong direction, and then endlessly waiting for a minivan which initially also goes the wrong way, having to pick customers up in another place.

[Grindting]

Train ride was fine. 45 baht I believe

The tuktuk driver asked for 100 baht to the boarder, fine by me. He did though try to take us to the fake visa office, I knew what was going on and I just told him we both already have visas, and he immediately turned around and said ok fine. Cheeky bastard

They had helpful Cambodians pointing the direction of things and how to get across, and told us there is a free bus service to the main bus/taxi terminal. Getting stamped in was easy, $20

There was a group of 4 British pseudo hippy backpackers (with the semi dirty clothes, new dreds and tie dye Sarongs and head scarfs) all arguing with the immigration and holding up the queue, because none of them brought a passport size photo with them, so the immigration agreed to photocopy and cut the photo from their passport and paste it to the visa on arrival form.. For $1.. They are arguing about paying the 1 dollar!!! Saying that it is a scam and they refuse. Luckily the Cambodian staff held our hands and pushed the hippies out of the way and very quickly processed me, I smiled and said thank you. As I walked away the pseudo hippies (who were actually typical london Slones. I know as I grew up with the type) were still arguing. &lt;deleted&gt;

We took the free shuttle bus to the terminal and joined with a Dutch couple in a shared taxi, $12 each. Took us directly to our hotel

Siam reap isn't cheap though! It's closer to UK/US prices. I don't like everything is in dollars, I feel sorry for the tourists/genuine backpackers, those looking for a cheap holiday will be disappointed. A dollar for a bottle of local shit water in 7-11! 60p, same as a bottle of Evan back on london

[Mrjlh]

Did they (anyone) report it to the local police? With the current situation i don't think the police will look the other way. Especially if NCPO hears about it.

[hanno]

For $1.. They are arguing about paying the 1 dollar!!! Saying that it is a scam and they refuse. Luckily the Cambodian staff held our hands and pushed the hippies out of the way and very quickly processed me, I smiled and said thank you. As I walked away the pseudo hippies (who were actually typical london Slones. I know as I grew up with the type) were still arguing. <deleted>

Not surprised, that is why I stay away from those clowns.

Siam reap isn't cheap though! It's closer to UK/US prices. I don't like everything is in dollars, I feel sorry for the tourists/genuine backpackers, those looking for a cheap holiday will be disappointed. A dollar for a bottle of local shit water in 7-11! 60p, same as a bottle of Evan back on london

Not cheap? I have lived here for 5 years and I think it is very cheap. I do not go to Pub Street for 50 Cent beers, but even away from Pub Street a beer is a Dollar or a Dollar fifty. Not many places in BKK I can think of with those prices.

Hotels are dirt cheap, as are Tuk-tuks. And sure, you can spend USD 60.00 on a meal, but you can also spend USD 5.00 and get a great feed.

[Grindting]

For $1.. They are arguing about paying the 1 dollar!!! Saying that it is a scam and they refuse. Luckily the Cambodian staff held our hands and pushed the hippies out of the way and very quickly processed me, I smiled and said thank you. As I walked away the pseudo hippies (who were actually typical london Slones. I know as I grew up with the type) were still arguing. <deleted>

Not surprised, that is why I stay away from those clowns.

Siam reap isn't cheap though! It's closer to UK/US prices. I don't like everything is in dollars, I feel sorry for the tourists/genuine backpackers, those looking for a cheap holiday will be disappointed. A dollar for a bottle of local shit water in 7-11! 60p, same as a bottle of Evan back on london

Not cheap? I have lived here for 5 years and I think it is very cheap. I do not go to Pub Street for 50 Cent beers, but even away from Pub Street a beer is a Dollar or a Dollar fifty. Not many places in BKK I can think of with those prices.

Hotels are dirt cheap, as are Tuk-tuks. And sure, you can spend USD 60.00 on a meal, but you can also spend USD 5.00 and get a great feed.

Those kind of hippies really are w4nkers. I mean me and my mrs are backpackers, literally, as we have packs on our backs as we make our way through asia on my well earned 4 months off. But I do come across such a high number of wank3rs in the backpacking community.

Going back to siam reap.. Well considering I used to live in Indonesia and my mrs is Indonesian, and we have come from Sumatra on this journey, I find the place overpriced. Laundry was 1.5 USD per kg. in Jakarta it's 10,000rp per KG at any laundry shop, that is double the price. Wife went to 7-11 and paid a dollar (receipt and all) for water (UK price, in fact it's only 5 or 7 baht in Thailand for the same crap, (5 times cheaper).

All the restaurants around here are quoting in dollars and it's working out more expensive than Bangkok for the same stuff

Beer is quite cheap. 65 baht for the local stuff (2 dollars) in the resto we are in right now, and I like it. So fair enough. Will be having a few JW GREENs shortly (discontinued and considered collectible!! But still available by the glass in Cambodia! Must not shift with all these slone backpackers around !)

I guess they are the tourist prices. But that's what gets me, as the tourists who predominantly will come to this part of the world don't want the westernised or tourist prices!! Or they could go to Spain or Greece! We want local prices! Or what's the point paying all this money to get here (for those coming from the UK on £650 flights and such)... Don't get me wrong, I'm not a cheap bastard, and for me i can pay whatever the cost i'm easy, but I like to play fair and I find something annoying about a dirt poor country charging me more than more developed places like Bangkok and Jakarta.. BUT! It is what it is.. My comment was really for the likes of people who expect a cheap holiday, it's not That cheap. So far..

Guesthouse was the same price and standard as BKK by the way. $30 a night. I'm happy with that but was expecting to be quoted cheaper. I thought cambodia would be say 30% cheaper overall than LOS, perhaps in line with Indonesia.