Chong Chom / O'Smach Border Update

[pseast]

Just did Chong Chom. Got a minivan from Surin bus terminal. They leave every 15 min. For 45 baht. Takes about 1.5 hours. I've done Poipet a number of times, and know the routine for people who "tout" and scam over there including officials who want extra money if using Thai baht to pay for visas (the usual fix is to refuse to pay the inflation, wait it out, and they will give the honest price eventually). This O'smach/Chong Chom border is much quiter and it is difficult to arrange affordable transportation from the Cambodia side. My Thailand friend arranged a bus run by a Thailand company called Amm Co Bus. It's 350 baht to Siem Reap from the border and runs early in the morning and at 4:30 pm. Surprisingly I was greeted by a man who called my phone when i arrived and had an "AMMCO" badge around his neck. It was convincing enough at the time. He hurried me to exit Thailand and get my Cambodian visa at inflated prices. I asked him about the bus since the visa wasn't his business, and asked why the visa price was so high (1500!?). He then proceeded to lie about exchange rates and didn't seem to be sure of the bus schedule... at least I got to use his pen to fill out my forms . I waved him off and called my Thai friend who alerted that the proper representative's name was "Two". He came and delivered my bus ticket to me while I waited in the casino coffee shop. All this after I paid the proper 1100 THB for the Cambodia visa. How that guy got my number is still a mystery. Maybe they're secretly in cahoots. Two said he was the only rep for Amm Co. Any who, if you call Amm Co Bus at 044-520-174 and go to their ticket counter on the Thailand side of he border before leaving Thailand, you can arrange a bus to Siem Reap. Just be sure to get the name of the proper representative when you call before meeting them cause they are a savvy bunch. You can then cross to no man's land, get your Cambodian Visa, then wait in the O'Smach Resort casino. Have a coffee from viewing distance of where the bus will park to collect customers. My bus should arrive at 4:30. So if you don't hear back from me, I've either made it or I'm dead.

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[pseast]

Only 2 people on the bus. Was quite luxurious. The Thai woman on the bus said the Amm Co staff had her pay extra for her visa. Seems they're fond of dishonest extra (and redundant) service fees.

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[pseast]

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[mike2011]

thanks, that's excellent info. Any chance to get the details for the morning bus?

[pseast]

You can add this guy on facebook: https://mobile.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010960847958&fref=ts

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[pseast]

Make sure they give you the proper arrival and departure stamps. They are very careless when it comes to border control in Cambodia, and you could enter by simply walking by without problems until you decide to leave. No one would care. Not the same for Thailand.

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[mike2011]

I have been to the border a few times. First time a visa run more than a decade ago after that I exited several times as I like visiting the northern area - Pusingh is, however, my favorite.

The chaos at the checkpoint beats Poipet with people running around and trying to do some business when they see a long nose.

I like the info becos this opens a speedy connection to Surin. I was aware of the PP-Osmach bus once a day but that's very limited and likely to be delayed and arriving at Osmach rather late in the day. Then leaving at an early hour for PP making it impossible to catch it when coming in from Surin. Not ideal. Plus I would anyhow stay in SR for a day or two. No need to break my lower back.

The visa guys wont be happy with me as I got an annual visa. No tea money coming along their way....

THANKS again this is really very helpful

[Tomtomtom69]

Make sure they give you the proper arrival and departure stamps. They are very careless when it comes to border control in Cambodia, and you could enter by simply walking by without problems until you decide to leave. No one would care. Not the same for Thailand.

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When I went through that border last August with my Thai wife, she was supposed to receive a 14 day stamp. Instead, they charged her 100 Baht in "stamping fees", which a Cambodian fellow [guide] at the border said she shouldn't have paid and received a 2 day stamp instead. This was spottted by the Cambodian guard manning customs 300m down the road as we stopped to have our documents inspected. We drove our car into Cambodia on that trip. The guard asked us to go back to immigration and get her stamp "corrected", which was kind of nice of him, but considering how much time we had wasted waiting for 20 odd British backpackers on some kind of Thai-British "study tour" to get their visas (it took over an hour), it was particularly infuriating to have to go back to the very people who you would have expected to perform their jobs properly. They promptly corrected the error, but for some reason didn't want me watching them doing it? Yet they had no problem with me peering inside their window at the time they made the error? Of course it was my mistake for not checking my wife's passport promptly after it was stamped as I would normally do.

The good news is that the Cambodian visa people made no attempt to charge me or any of the backpackers extra. Tourist visas were charged the usual US$30, while ordinary visas cost US$35. It seems they think ASEAN area tourists are more gullible hence they tend to fall for this stamping fee trick as my wife did (who had never previously been to Cambodia). Not to mention that at the Lao borders, they have more reasonable 25-40 Baht "overtime" fees issued with receipts during non-peak hours, so it would have been easy for Thais like my wife, who had been to Laos numerous times before, to be deceived given that one country [Laos] charges an official stamping fee, so why wouldn't Cambodia be the same?

Well, clearly it isn't.

[Tomtomtom69]

I have been to the border a few times. First time a visa run more than a decade ago after that I exited several times as I like visiting the northern area - Pusingh is, however, my favorite.

The chaos at the checkpoint beats Poipet with people running around and trying to do some business when they see a long nose.

I like the info becos this opens a speedy connection to Surin. I was aware of the PP-Osmach bus once a day but that's very limited and likely to be delayed and arriving at Osmach rather late in the day. Then leaving at an early hour for PP making it impossible to catch it when coming in from Surin. Not ideal. Plus I would anyhow stay in SR for a day or two. No need to break my lower back.

The visa guys wont be happy with me as I got an annual visa. No tea money coming along their way....

THANKS again this is really very helpful

I've had the annual visa in the past when I would travel regularly to Cambodia for business. Will get another one again soon once business picks up and requires me to head east again regularly. I've found that entering Cambodia with the annual visa is a breeze, the immigration officers are friendly and even speak Khmer assuming I can speak it just because I'm the holder of said visa. No attempts at bribery and it makes short work of borders which are said to be difficult for those individuals that require a visa on arrival such as the Koh Kong border crossing, where overcharging is common.

[autoc]

Did you cross by car lately ?

 

Thanks.

 

[nibor]

is there a place to change Thai Bhat to riel and what would be the exchange rate?

 

[Sheryl]

Any moneychanger can do this but there is no reason why one would want to. It's US dollars, not riel, that you need. Riel is basically used as small change and you'll automatically accumulate some paying in dollars.

 

Hotels, restaurants, taxis, buses - all charge in USD in Cambodia

 

In the immediate border areas, you can pay in baht as well

[siam2007]

18 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Any moneychanger can do this but there is no reason why one would want to. It's US dollars, not riel, that you need. Riel is basically used as small change and you'll automatically accumulate some paying in dollars.

 

Hotels, restaurants, taxis, buses - all charge in USD in Cambodia

 

In the immediate border areas, you can pay in baht as well

 

 

Just for a same-day-return-Visa-run one certainly would not need or want RIEL, but for longer stays in Cambo I found it very useful to have a certain amount of RIEL with me as this will usually LOWER the prices for small purchases in many cases.

I usually change at some places in PP on the day of my arrival, just make sure it is not too much and you cannot get rid of it when you leave. Motodops, TukTuks, small purchases in Minimarts or in markets or eating in local hole-in-the-wall restos etc you can easily pay in RIEL, though the transport guys may not be happy about it but who cares. For them a bad deal (RIEL) is always better than no deal at all

[firewight]

Just did an in / out at Chong Chom, no more than 20 minutes all up if you hold a non-o multi-entry visa.

 

I paid one of the "guides" 200thb and he even filled in all my forms for me, cos I am lazy like that. He also speaks to the guys in the Cambodian Immigration, no idea what he says or if that speeds things up, but it was well worth the small amount.

 

Also, since my last trip, they now have the fingerprint scanners at both the in and out immigration windows on the Cambodian side. Nothing on the Thai sides though.

 

No hassle at all, highly recommended for those with multi non-o visas.

[SpokaneAl]

In mid March six of us will be doing a border crossing into Cambodia via this crossing to visit Siem Reap.

 

We would like an air conditioned van to transport us to our hotel in Siem Reap. We have already made the hotel reservations.

 

What is is the best way to do this? Are there vans available on the Cambodia side? Should be attempt to reserve transportation prior to arriving?

 

Thank you.

[phuketrichard]

I'd contact the hotel ur going to stay at and ask them to assist u and arrange it..
i hvae never seen vans at the border, only taxi's ( you could take 2, around $40-50 each)

[SpokaneAl]

I'd contact the hotel ur going to stay at and ask them to assist u and arrange it..
i hvae never seen vans at the border, only taxi's ( you could take 2, around $40-50 each)

Thank you.


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[Jip99]

23 hours ago, SpokaneAl said:

In mid March six of us will be doing a border crossing into Cambodia via this crossing to visit Siem Reap.

 

We would like an air conditioned van to transport us to our hotel in Siem Reap. We have already made the hotel reservations.

 

What is is the best way to do this? Are there vans available on the Cambodia side? Should be attempt to reserve transportation prior to arriving?

 

Thank you.

 

 

Manage your expectaions re ‘air conditioned van’. Standards are much lower in Cambodia and, unless you are being picked up by one of the 5 star hotels, the vehicle is likely to be be over 10 years. Air con will not be up to Toyota  Commuter standards.

 

 

[Jip99]

A quick though re Cambodian visas..... the visas should be $30 for non-Asians. The visa desk will undoubtedly ask for Baht - probably 1,200/1,500 Baht.

 

Best if you have Dollars and say that you don’t carry Baht.

 

You can stand there and insist on paying the ‘official’ amount of  $30. As a single traveler I may choose to do that, in a party of 6 I would wish to consider the option of paying $210 for the group.

[SpokaneAl]

A quick though re Cambodian visas..... the visas should be $30 for non-Asians. The visa desk will undoubtedly ask for Baht - probably 1,200/1,500 Baht.
 
Best if you have Dollars and say that you don’t carry Baht.
 
You can stand there and insist on paying the ‘official’ amount of  $30. As a single traveler I may choose to do that, in a party of 6 I would wish to consider the option of paying $210 for the group.

There are five Thais and me with my US passport.


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[phuketrichard]

thai's no visa for 15 day stay< Although they may ask for 100 baht
US  $30, never been asked for more there

[Jip99]

6 hours ago, SpokaneAl said:

 

There are five Thais and me with my US passport.


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That’s cheaper then..?..... $30/$35 for you and 100 Baht each ‘admin fee’ for the Thais.