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bkk to Angkor bus/scams???



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 23rd, 2003, 04:50 AM
Joel Smith
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Default bkk to Angkor bus/scams???

anything I shold be aware of if I take the bus from Khaosan Rd to Cambodia
(Siem Reap/ANGKOR)
are ther still scams, delays. ripoffs??
Are the roads better?? faster??
suggestions on guest houses????
THANK YOU !!!! joel


  #2  
Old October 23rd, 2003, 08:11 AM
Michael Christoffersen
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Default bkk to Angkor bus/scams???


"Joel Smith" wrote in message
link.net...
anything I shold be aware of if I take the bus from Khaosan Rd to Cambodia
(Siem Reap/ANGKOR)
are ther still scams, delays. ripoffs??
Are the roads better?? faster??
suggestions on guest houses????
THANK YOU !!!! joel

Hi Joel,

"Scam, ripoffs"? Like what? Mayby you would elaborate?
"Are the roads better/faster" eeeh, than what?

You should know that the deal is like this in case you choose the Phoiphet
Route: You get picked up at your GH/hotel in bkk. In a van you are
transported to
Poiphet on the thai/cambodian border. You will make a stop and have lunch at
a restaurant of the operator`s choice.
In my case we were let off a a very attractive open air restaurant some 5
kilometres from the border. Prices and food were just fine.
From here you will board a Songtaew that takes you to the border, you will
have to go through immigration on your own and if you don`t have a visa in
advance your guide will take care of that for you.
Once you have been cleared through immigration there will be a bus waiting
for you. No AC, open windows etc. "Well, this isnt Kansas Dorothy".
The road is still dreadfull and the 150 kilometres will most likely take
some 6-7 hours unless you arrive during the rainy season. There will be a
stop at a restaurant for dinner. And of course the driver will decide the
place. Not likely that any of the passengers will know anything about
restaurants in this area anyway. Of course the driver will have a deal with
this specific restaurant, but I have definitely no problems with that as
long as I am satisfied with the quality and price of food/beverage etc. On
the entire journey we had a local english speaking guide with os.
From here you will brought to a designated GH in Siam Riap. The manager of
the GH has paid the KSR people 10 dollars a head to make them bring the
guests to his GH - Hello Guest House. But there were in my place plenty of
GHs in the vicinity had we not liked this one. But this one was a very good
deal. Brandnew, very clean with double rooms at 4 Dollars. Everybody from
the bus some 12 persons checked in here.
The price was of december 2002 100 baht. And if you can make it on your own
you will probably pay 3-4 times that amount. You will most likely do the
trip somewhat faster.

Have a nice trip.

Cheers
Michael Christoffersen










  #3  
Old October 23rd, 2003, 09:10 AM
rob mendes
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Default bkk to Angkor bus/scams???

Hi Joel

Tyhe best thing to do asa advice of a tourleader (which Iam ) is just take
the the local bus from the busstation to Aranyaprathet buy ur visa at the
border (1000 Baht) and arrange ur transport in Poi Pet It will take u
cheaper and faster to Siem Reap
Dont pay anything at the border besies the visa and check ur entry stamp!!!
otherwise u will get problems later when u leave the country .. u were there
illegally and will be fined!!!
The bustickets that are sold at KS Road are cheap but you will transported
with a fully packed bus to Aranyaprathet where they will drop u off 3 km
from the border where they want u to wait and pay extra 1300 baht for the
visa so this will be the first 300 baht u pay extra and the delay is
terrible
After that they will drop u off at a sort of bussstation where they probably
want u to go with 20 others in a small truck to save up gas so the more they
can pack in one car the better and u have a hell of a ride The road improved
and can be done by minivan which is the best option so ask for that! 300
baht is fee pp and dont pay more! All the negotation will only cost time and
count on at least 6 hours from the border to Siem Reap (150 km)
They will drop u off at a guesthouse or hotel where they get commission
which of course u pay
A good and cheap hotel is Angkor hotel only 5 usd per night ( without airco)

Have fun

"Joel Smith" schreef in bericht
link.net...
anything I shold be aware of if I take the bus from Khaosan Rd to Cambodia
(Siem Reap/ANGKOR)
are ther still scams, delays. ripoffs??
Are the roads better?? faster??
suggestions on guest houses????
THANK YOU !!!! joel





  #4  
Old October 23rd, 2003, 12:40 PM
Michael Christoffersen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default bkk to Angkor bus/scams???


"rob mendes" wrote in message
news:R_Llb.9790$n03.976923@zonnet-reader-1...
Hi Joel

Tyhe best thing to do asa advice of a tourleader (which Iam ) is just take
the the local bus from the busstation to Aranyaprathet buy ur visa at the
border (1000 Baht) and arrange ur transport in Poi Pet It will take u
cheaper and faster to Siem Reap


It will not. Faster most likely, cheaper? no.
The best thing IMHO is to do is to listen to fellow travellers who has been
there done that.
You being a tour leader or not doesnt mean much unless you have been a
tourleader on this specific trip. Besides being a tour leader and a
passenger on the same trip is not the same. The passenger may very well have
a very different perception of how the trip turned out than that of the tour
leader.
Just out of curiousity according to the Alien Occupations Law of 28 July
1978 act 23 it clearly stipulates that a foreigner working as a tour guide
in Thailand is against the law as it is a occupation reserved for thai
citizens. So I just wondered are you working illegally?
I got my visa while in bkk 1.000 bht as did the rest of my fellow
passengers.
We got picked up at 8 am at our GH and arrived 12 hours later at 8 pm in
Siam Riap. Total cost 100 bht. Now you try to beat that! I wish you luck

Cheers
Michael


  #5  
Old October 23rd, 2003, 12:57 PM
ExpatNL
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Default bkk to Angkor bus/scams???

"Michael Christoffersen" wrote in message
...
It will not. Faster most likely, cheaper? no.
The best thing IMHO is to do is to listen to fellow travellers who has

been
there done that.
You being a tour leader or not doesnt mean much unless you have been a
tourleader on this specific trip. Besides being a tour leader and a
passenger on the same trip is not the same. The passenger may very well

have
a very different perception of how the trip turned out than that of the

tour
leader.
Just out of curiousity according to the Alien Occupations Law of 28 July
1978 act 23 it clearly stipulates that a foreigner working as a tour guide
in Thailand is against the law as it is a occupation reserved for thai
citizens. So I just wondered are you working illegally?
I got my visa while in bkk 1.000 bht as did the rest of my fellow
passengers.
We got picked up at 8 am at our GH and arrived 12 hours later at 8 pm in
Siam Riap. Total cost 100 bht. Now you try to beat that! I wish you luck



Cheers
Michael



hi micheal, how long did it take you to get cambodian visa in bkk? i got
lao visit in bkk within a day, but took a long time to find the bloody
consulate. i paid the most [1600B!] for lao visa as every nationality has
its own price. it's just a flat 1000B for cambodian visa? tak!


  #6  
Old October 23rd, 2003, 03:32 PM
Michael Christoffersen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default bkk to Angkor bus/scams???


"ExpatNL" wrote in message
...
"Michael Christoffersen" wrote in message



hi micheal, how long did it take you to get cambodian visa in bkk? i got
lao visit in bkk within a day, but took a long time to find the bloody
consulate. i paid the most [1600B!] for lao visa as every nationality has
its own price. it's just a flat 1000B for cambodian visa? tak!

Hi ExpatNL,

I paid a "rush fee" to have it ready I believe the following day. That was
1.100 bht. A standard price was 1.000 baht but that would take like 2-3
days. A travelling agency in bkk took care of that for me. Obviously you
have to deposit your passport with them to have the visa stamped in it.
A lao visa 1.600 bht.? Yes, rather expensive. I seem to recall paying 1.100
bht at the Mitraphap bridge in Nong Khai a couple of years back.
Every shop in the Khao San Road area will offer visa services and probably
offer the best price as the competition is pretty stiff around there.
The cambodian embassy in Thailand is at 185 Rajadamri Road, BKK 10330, phone
254-6630 fax 253-9859. Mayby they would supply you with the visa the same
day, dunno.


cheers
Michael Christoffersen


  #7  
Old October 24th, 2003, 09:25 AM
rob mendes
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default bkk to Angkor bus/scams???

Hi Joel

The best thing to do as an advice of a tourleader (which Iam ) is just take
the the local bus from the busstation to Aranyaprathet buy ur visa at the
border (1000 Baht) and arrange ur transport in Poi Pet It will take u
cheaper and faster to Siem Reap
Dont pay anything at the border besies the visa and check ur entry stamp!!!
otherwise u will get problems later when u leave the country .. u were there
illegally and will be fined!!!
The bustickets that are sold at KS Road are cheap but you will transported
with a fully packed bus to Aranyaprathet where they will drop u off 3 km
from the border where they want u to wait and pay extra 1300 baht for the
visa so this will be the first 300 baht u pay extra and the delay is
terrible
After that they will drop u off at a sort of bussstation where they probably
want u to go with 20 others in a small truck to save up gas so the more they
can pack in one car the better and u have a hell of a ride The road improved
and can be done by minivan which is the best option so ask for that! 300
baht is fee pp and dont pay more! All the negotation will only cost time and
count on at least 6 hours from the border to Siem Reap (150 km)
They will drop u off at a guesthouse or hotel where they get commission
which of course u pay
A good and cheap hotel is Angkor hotel only 5 usd per night ( without airco)

Have fun
Rob




  #8  
Old October 24th, 2003, 06:55 PM
Super...Attak
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default bkk to Angkor bus/scams???

Have you seen the Bangkok airways site? They have an airpass for $50 from
bkk to SiemReap.
The only thing is that you must buy 3 passes togheter for any destination in
Thailand or whatever the fly.
bye
Giorgio

"Joel Smith" ha scritto nel messaggio
link.net...
anything I shold be aware of if I take the bus from Khaosan Rd to Cambodia
(Siem Reap/ANGKOR)
are ther still scams, delays. ripoffs??
Are the roads better?? faster??
suggestions on guest houses????
THANK YOU !!!! joel




  #9  
Old October 25th, 2003, 01:54 AM
Eric Edwards
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default bkk to Angkor bus/scams???

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 16:32:12 +0200, Michael Christoffersen wrote:
I paid a "rush fee" to have it ready I believe the following day. That was
1.100 bht. A standard price was 1.000 baht but that would take like 2-3
days.


Rush fees are unnecessary. Skip the middlemen. Go to the embassy in
the morning. Pay your US$20. Collect your passport with visa in the
afternoon. US$20 was about 1800 baht when I was there in April.

--
Use the From: header. Sending mail to
or
will only result in frustration.
  #10  
Old October 25th, 2003, 08:12 AM
smegg
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Posts: n/a
Default bkk to Angkor bus/scams???

" US$20 was about 1800 baht when I was there in April."

where do you change your money, by your reckoning this makes 1 US = 90 Baht
rates from bank April, 1 US = +- 42 Baht
source,
http://www.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory


 




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