Cambodia Hat Lek parking my car.

[bberrythailand]

6 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

u paid 500,000baht to live in thailand 5 years??

I prefer to pay only 1,900/year for my 1 year extension       LOL

yep if u have that kind of cash get a 1 year Cambodian extension for $280-290
 

BUT if u enter at KK u pay 100 baht/day ur car is in Cambodia

and IF ur in a accident  ur royally  F#@ked

IF u get a upset thai customs official they can fine  you, if u rr car is out more than 30days, I have been lucky the 3 times i was way over 30 days but wont say u will be as lucky

 

Do NOT drive ur thai tagged car on Ekareach street in SHV, u WILL be stopped an fined ( rest of the country no problem)

 

Thank you ! I can also imagine that in case of accident one just needs to tow the car back to Thailand and then call insurance company :-)

 

 

 

 

 

[jimster]

On 8/9/2017 at 9:26 PM, bberrythailand said:

 

Thank you ! I can also imagine that in case of accident one just needs to tow the car back to Thailand and then call insurance company :-)

 

 

 

 

 

There is an official way of getting your car in and paying for insurance, but it's expensive and requires making some calls and contacting insurance companies in Phnom Penh and travel agencies etc. Most people just take the risk and most of the time you'll be fine.

 

Contrary to Phuketrichard's advice, my experience has been a little different.

 

I drove up Ekareach street, no problem. However, I've been stopped twice in Phnom Penh, once last year once this year. First time on Norodom blvd second time on Monivong blvd. The police in Cambodia (particularly in Phnom Penh and reportedly Sihanoukville though I didn't encounter any issues when I drove there last year) will use any excuse to stop you, driving a Thai or Vietnamese car seems to be one of many good reasons for them to extract a few extra bucks out of you.

 

The procedure is always the same - senior cop jumps in front of you, you're puzzled because you know you didn't do anything wrong, he then motions for you to pull over. Junior cop starts talking to you, maybe he says "sawatdee krab" in Thai or "Ses day" in Khmer and then, if you can't speak Khmer, usually immediately switches to decent English and explains he and his boss need US$10-20 for "drinks". He then brings it down to US$5, while you end up offering about US$3 and then you're done. Sometimes he might ask to see your licence and occasionally your passport. If you don't have the latter on you, because it's at an embassy or inside your hotel safe don't worry - they don't really care. It's the money that counts. Last time I was caught on Monivong I didn't have enough small US$ notes left cause I was heading for Vietnam. I only had a US$100 note, a few US$10 notes (which I made sure they couldn't see), a few Riel and the rest in Dong. So i gave the officers around US$3 worth of Dong, which they spotted immediately, you can probably do the same with Baht.

 

It's only a minor nuisance, however, I would recommend always have a few thousand Riel and some single US$ notes in your wallet driving around the main roads of Phnom Penh as the last thing you want is to be stuck with no money or a US$50 or US$100 bill, which the police can't change - if that happens, you'll probably have to park your car, find a shop and get some change. I've encountered similar shenanigans with the police pulling me over in Phnom Penh whilst driving locally rented motorcycles and cars, it's not just a Thai car thing but it makes you stand out more, no doubt.

 

Personally I wouldn't make a big deal out of paying a couple of $ here and there to a police officer - it seems that you won't have any problems in the countryside or smaller towns but Phnom Penh and SHV are places where you are likely to be pulled over sooner or later, so try to avoid Monivong and Norodom blvds in Phnom Penh during the day (after dark, no problem) and as Phuketrichard said, Ekareach st. in Sihanoukville.

Edited August 16, 2017 by jimster

[bberrythailand]

Thank you for the great report again.

Yes no problem to give few $$$, and usually I just laugh and give $1 which if of course not enough, but then knowing that I was ready to give so little, they are happy to get $3 !

And yes, whoever asks in this world, my passport is not with me !

 

Next time I will try to get a 1 year visa in PP and a driving license, I just don't know how many days are needed to get them. And I also don't know if I can get an ordinary visa (business visa?) at Kohkong border, any idea?

 

Thanks again.

[phuketrichard]

one thing i learned on driving in Cambodia,

take ur front plate off, as they dont know its a thai car coming (plenty of rhd cars)  and after u have passed ,  who cares   :-)

also if they ask for ur license   SHOW them,  but dont give it to them ( will cost ya more to get it back)

[bberrythailand]

42 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

one thing i learned on driving in Cambodia,

take ur front plate off, as they dont know its a thai car coming (plenty of rhd cars)  and after u have passed ,  who cares   :-)

also if they ask for ur license   SHOW them,  but dont give it to them ( will cost ya more to get it back)

 

Great idea ! Actually instead or taking off the plate, could it be possible to put on top a blank plate ? Maybe easier ?

 

 

 

 

 

[jimster]

1 hour ago, bberrythailand said:

 

Great idea ! Actually instead or taking off the plate, could it be possible to put on top a blank plate ? Maybe easier ?

 

 

 

 

 

You could do that but to avoid a possible fine of around US$3, too much trouble (although still better than taking off your number plates altogether) and even more so if you're just going on a short trip like I usually do. Also, I have Malaysian number plate stickers and the "T" stickers required to travel abroad (although only Laos really cares) if I wanted to make my car completely inconspicuous I'd have to remove those too - putting them back on after taking them off is unlikely to work because the adhesive won't stick as well so it's another 200 Baht for a new set of Malaysian stickers if I want to drive to Malaysia again, which is more than the fine I'm trying to avoid. Personally, I'll pass. As I've mentioned, I've been stopped driving Cambodian registered cars and fined the same amount and $1 for riding motorcycles. The police also like to pounce on visible foreigners driving, not necessarily only those driving foreign number plates. I have had this experience from the first time I went to Phnom Penh when I hired a motorcycle back in 2004. Gotted stopped 3 times in one morning! Although I only stopped the first two times, the third time the police couldn't catch me in time...

 

Avoid driving on certain major roads in Phnom Penh and SHV and the chance of getting stopped becomes minimal. Some years back the Lao and Thai police were equally likely to stop motorists to make a few bucks, but these days they'll only stop you if you actually did something wrong. In time, their Khmer counterparts will probably start following suit.

[bberrythailand]

I do not care the fine, I just don't like to talk about any cop anywhere in the world, and I like to cheat them to confirm how stupid they are. I will try to buy the black base for number plate and put it on top of mine, just to try :-)

 

 

[jimster]

22 hours ago, bberrythailand said:

I do not care the fine, I just don't like to talk about any cop anywhere in the world, and I like to cheat them to confirm how stupid they are. I will try to buy the black base for number plate and put it on top of mine, just to try :-)

 

 

Fair enough, but like Thai cops, Cambodian cops are funny and generally pleasant people. While it's possible to talk your way out of a traffic fine in Thailand, particularly if you speak Thai, the Cambo cops are a bit more greedy but a couple of $ will send you on your way.

 

Best advice is still to avoid major roads in these Cambodian cities. Except at night when the cops aren't working.

[bleble]

Had lek border car park charges Thai 100/day and foreigners 200/day. What a scam !

 

Send your Thai partner to park and pick up the car if you let is many days.