Poipet

[georgegeorgia]

I have this fascination in the last few days of going to Poipet.

There is a Guesthouse Business for sale.

Only thing i saw many posters write that its a dangerous place etc some describing it as the "Wild West" etc

Last few times in Cambodia i loved it but never went to Poipet...now is it really dangerous?

Isnt it full of backpackers?

I would love to get the bus up there from Pattaya.

[stat088]

It us d to be like the wild west but is much better now.

Having said that it's not a good place for a heavy drinker.

People lose their money in the Casinos and they get desperate.

Just like anywhere you have to keep your wits about you.

[koo wallety tourist]

from a western christian view point yes it would be very dangerous

[georgegeorgia]

from a western christian view point yes it would be very dangerous

I could make a few jokes about that ..but i wont.

[sanuk711]

There's more danger from the women there than much else, georgegeorgia.....a bit like playing Russian roulette.

.

I don't know about a guest house, I have not stayed across the boarder for quite a few years, but the Thai side Aranyaprathet (for me) is more preferable to stay on , & just walk across for whatever I need. Now the markets are all on the Thai side, other than Casino's not so much there.

Edited February 15, 2015 by sanuk711

[Sheryl]

There are not many backpackers there unless you count people who immediately enter a taxi or bus upon crossing the border. Unless you like gambling in casinos,. there is nothing to attract in Poipet. It is a poor area with more than average levels of crime and lots of unsavoury characters hanging about (smugglers, human traffickers,etc), no good hotels or guesthouses (unless you count the Casino hotels) .

Avoid is my advice. But if you don't believe this then go, it will not take very long for you to decide to move on.

[stat088]

from a western christian view point yes it would be very dangerous

If you are looking for sinners to convert it is a great place.

[Tomtomtom69]

Poipet isn't dangerous, it's just dusty, boring and a place to pass through, not really hang around in. I've travelled through there at night, heading into/out of Cambodia always between Bangkok and Phnom Penh and always in one day so I never had any need to stay overnight there but I don't think it would be dangerous by any stretch of the imagination. Far more trouble apparently occurs in Sihanoukville or even Phnom Penh, where there are far more tourists than in Poipet.

[Tomtomtom69]

There are not many backpackers there unless you count people who immediately enter a taxi or bus upon crossing the border. Unless you like gambling in casinos,. there is nothing to attract in Poipet. It is a poor area with more than average levels of crime and lots of unsavoury characters hanging about (smugglers, human traffickers,etc), no good hotels or guesthouses (unless you count the Casino hotels) .

Avoid is my advice. But if you don't believe this then go, it will not take very long for you to decide to move on.

It's poor alright but I disagree about the dangerous part. Since there are so many tourists in town, and due to the border now opening between 6am and 10pm (previously 7 or 8am? to 8pm) it means that tourists are in big supply near the border crossing all day long and apart from some minor scams and rip-off attempts it's pretty safe though it does feel a bit dodgy with all the dirt roads in the suburbs, dirt poor people and beggars everywhere and very poor infrastructure in general.

Any "dangerous" activity probably occurs away from watchful eyes and I highly doubt any smuggling activity would occur across Thailand and Cambodia's most important international checkpoint, instead preferring back roads which there are plenty of not too far away. All goods entering Thailand there are now x-rayed and you can't get a Thai car across without permission no matter how hard you try even if you were to offer a bribe (although there are reportedly occasional exceptions and they mostly occur without the offer of paying any money). Thai buses and trucks are allowed across the border, but they are part of an official agreement between Thailand and Cambodia.

But, from what I've seen none of the accommodation looks very inviting and I think even the casinos don't offer very good accommodation compared to what you can find further inside Cambodia or even just a km across the border in Aranyaprathet.

[TheSiemReaper]

Poipet's a dump of epic proportion; I have no idea why anyone would spend more than a minute in that town than they have to. It is a place of petty crime, filth and the worst casinos on earth and that's it. Arrive and get straight on a bus to somewhere nice in Cambodia instead.

[stat088]

I like Poipet. It's a fun place. I like to go there and play roulette and baccarat and i get a nice complimentary room and good complimentary food. Late at night i go out to the night clubs and have a few drinks and chat to the pretty girls then go back to the Casino and gamble until the sun comes up. They have the best Casinos in the world in regard to the table odds and your chances of winning.

Edited February 20, 2015 by stat088

[mike2011]

I doubt that there are many tourists in the evening. Never saw many and the few were headed to the border or to the overnite bus. For a guesthouse there is little need. Aran has many places for those heading into Thailand. The SR crowd wont stay and with a big 'maybe' some people bound for PP might stay but this is also unlikely.

Not promising for a guesthouse.

I also doubt that the artificial world of the casinos reflects the reality of Poipet.

[stat088]

I doubt that there are many tourists in the evening. Never saw many and the few were headed to the border or to the overnite bus. For a guesthouse there is little need. Aran has many places for those heading into Thailand. The SR crowd wont stay and with a big 'maybe' some people bound for PP might stay but this is also unlikely.

Not promising for a guesthouse.

I also doubt that the artificial world of the casinos reflects the reality of Poipet.

The reality is the Casinos made Poipet. If you had seen 15 years ago it really was the wild west and Aran was not much better.

[cgphuket]

Its a good place for expats who are too deviant and dysfunctional to live in Pattaya.

[BKKSnowBird]

Its a good place for expats who are too deviant and dysfunctional to live in Pattaya.

LOL!! I think even lonley planet said the only good thing about Poi Pet was leaving!

[stat088]

Its a good place for expats who are too deviant and dysfunctional to live in Pattaya.

Do you speak from experience?

[stat088]

Its a good place for expats who are too deviant and dysfunctional to live in Pattaya.

LOL!! I think even lonley planet said the only good thing about Poi Pet was leaving!

Yes filthy backpackers should leave.

[BKKSnowBird]

Its a good place for expats who are too deviant and dysfunctional to live in Pattaya.

LOL!! I think even lonley planet said the only good thing about Poi Pet was leaving!

Yes filthy backpackers should leave.

I would rather be around filthy backpackers than filthy sexpats.

[wellred]

Its a good place for expats who are too deviant and dysfunctional to live in Pattaya.

LOL!! I think even lonley planet said the only good thing about Poi Pet was leaving!

Yes filthy backpackers should leave.

I would rather be around filthy backpackers than filthy sexpats.

Newsflash love. Most backpCkers these days are also sex tourists.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stat088]

Its a good place for expats who are too deviant and dysfunctional to live in Pattaya.

LOL!! I think even lonley planet said the only good thing about Poi Pet was leaving!

Yes filthy backpackers should leave.

I would rather be around filthy backpackers than filthy sexpats.

Not many sexpats in Poipet. Mostly asian gamblers.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

I don't think Poipet is going away soon. A friend sat with a Thai gambler on the return from Aranya-Poipet. He takes the minibus six days a week from Victory Monument to the border to gamble and come back. He was Thai Chinese.

I think the term "filthy" belongs to backpackers, having shared space with them on escalators, on the BTS and in cafes. Pattaya sexpats are just one-note Charlies, Changing their lives away. For example, there are five of them in my complex, drinking from morning till, well, morning. And that's no exaggeration.

[Tomtomtom69]

I doubt that there are many tourists in the evening. Never saw many and the few were headed to the border or to the overnite bus. For a guesthouse there is little need. Aran has many places for those heading into Thailand. The SR crowd wont stay and with a big 'maybe' some people bound for PP might stay but this is also unlikely.

Not promising for a guesthouse.

I also doubt that the artificial world of the casinos reflects the reality of Poipet.

Saw lots of Russian tourists at around 8pm in Poipet last year but they were all at Cambodian immigration (and then at Thai immigration moments later) so as you say they wouldn't be hanging around in town.

About 10 days later I was heading in the opposite direction but even though it was already 6pm, I had a hotel booked in Phnom Penh so took a taxi there arriving around 11.30pm. Driver was pretty sane, but it was a long drive and I was happy to get there. Only problem is we couldn't find the damn hotel despite having the address and being in the area, so I only arrived at my hotel at 1am.

It's still quite easy to travel between Bangkok and Phnom Penh in a day, even if you don't take the direct international bus or if you depart Bangkok a little later in the day, like I did. However, I wouldn't want to be travelling to PP much later than I did last year, so if it looks like it is getting late just stay in Aranyaprathet near the border, which has some pretty good looking hotels. In fact, the one closest to the border is quite new and cheap and has all the mod-cons.

[gk10002000]

I like Poipet. It's a fun place. I like to go there and play roulette and baccarat and i get a nice complimentary room and good complimentary food. Late at night i go out to the night clubs and have a few drinks and chat to the pretty girls then go back to the Casino and gamble until the sun comes up. They have the best Casinos in the world in regard to the table odds and your chances of winning.

I have made a few visa runs there and had lunch briefly in the casinos. I am interested in staying a few nights next time, if nothing else for the experience. Are the casino hotel rooms easy to book or get comped? I

[Tomtomtom69]

I like Poipet. It's a fun place. I like to go there and play roulette and baccarat and i get a nice complimentary room and good complimentary food. Late at night i go out to the night clubs and have a few drinks and chat to the pretty girls then go back to the Casino and gamble until the sun comes up. They have the best Casinos in the world in regard to the table odds and your chances of winning.

I have made a few visa runs there and had lunch briefly in the casinos. I am interested in staying a few nights next time, if nothing else for the experience. Are the casino hotel rooms easy to book or get comped? I

I doubt you would have any trouble finding a room at the casinos there. I would think they would rarely be booked out. Most Thais who go there come for the day, they don't stay overnight and why would they? The border only closes at 10pm and they can just find a much newer, nicer, cheaper and better place to stay on the Thai side if they needed to, but many of them would probably head back to Bangkok the same evening even if it means arriving back in Bangkok at midnight, 1 or 2am.

But you could always try www.Agoda.com to see what availability is like and book something, if you're concerned.

[stat088]

I like Poipet. It's a fun place. I like to go there and play roulette and baccarat and i get a nice complimentary room and good complimentary food. Late at night i go out to the night clubs and have a few drinks and chat to the pretty girls then go back to the Casino and gamble until the sun comes up. They have the best Casinos in the world in regard to the table odds and your chances of winning.

I have made a few visa runs there and had lunch briefly in the casinos. I am interested in staying a few nights next time, if nothing else for the experience. Are the casino hotel rooms easy to book or get comped? I

Buy 50,000 baht of promotion chips and get room. Buy in 100,000 and get the room for 3 nights. You have to turn over the promo chips into cash chips so you can cash out. This is the promotion i normally get when i go. Other Casinos might have better promotions, you can shop around.