This trip was another incredibly enjoyable journey because I went with three of my friends, making us a group of four. Initially, this trip had been planned almost a month in advance, with the intention of going together during the long weekend of the Makha Bucha holiday on February 20th-22nd, 2016. We had planned to take a bus to Rong Kluea Market (Thai : ตลาดโรงเกลือ, the place near to boarder of Thailand and Cambodia at Sa Kaeo Province) or drive by ourselves to park at Rong Kluea Market, then cross over the land boarder and find transportation to Siem Reap. However, everything fell through when each member withdrew due to various commitments and obligations. I thought this trip was not going to happen anymore. But then, about 10 days before Makha Bucha, the lovely friend who initiated the trip messaged me with a polite and heartfelt message saying, “Let’s go to Sreem Reap during Makha Bucha Days.”
After that, we immediately started looking for party members, and eventually, we were able to gather a total of four people. We wasted no time and quickly began searching for travel information, hotels (we agreed to stay in a hostel since this trip was all about backpacking), and tour guides. Finally, we had a rough itinerary like this:
Day 1: We left Bangkok early in the morning, around 5AM, to reach Rong Kluea Market checkpoint by about 9AM. After crossing the border and finding transportation to Siem Reap, we checked-in at the hotel and then went out to explore Siem Reap City Center.
Day 2: We had a guide pick us up at the hotel around 5AM to witness the sunrise at Angkor Wat. After that, the guide took us to explore various temples within the Angkor complex throughout the day.
Day 3: Our guide took us to visit more temples and different places in Siem Reap in the morning. Later, they dropped us off at Rong Kluea Market checkpoint around noon, and we drove back to Bangkok in the afternoon.
We managed to take care of the preliminary expenses even before the trip. The hotel cost was 5 USD per person per night (booked through www.booking.com). We chose to book the Hostel Salakamreuk because it was affordable and had excellent reviews (8.6 rating). The two-day guide fee was 60 USD (averaging 15 USD per person), which we paid on the last day. We also exchanged currency in advance, each exchanging 4,000 Baht/person, which amounted to approximately 115 USD. Overall, we were well-prepared financially for the trip and ready to enjoy our journey to the fullest.
All participants of this trip
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After we had meticulously planned everything within a short timeframe (because we’re pros and can handle anything on the go, LOL), the day of the journey finally arrived. I left my home by driving and picked-up everyones since 4AM. We took the Suwinthawong Road route, passing through Chachoengsao Province, Prachinburi, Sa Kaeo, and the Thai-Cambodian border, reaching Rong Kluea Market around 9:15 AM, our first destination where we would park our cars immediately. Once there, we parked our cars at a nearby car parking facility close to the immigration checkpoint. The parking fee was a reasonable 100 THB per day, considering it had a secure roof and a ticketing system. We paid the parking fee upon our return. After parking our cars safely, we managed to find some breakfast near the market area. By around 10.30AM, we bid farewell to Thailand to cross the border and explore Cambodia for about three days. Crossing the border here only required a single passport (for Thai citizen), but the queue might be a bit long due to both tourists and gamblers making their way to the Poipet Casino.
After crossing the border and passing through the casino district, we set foot on Cambodian area. If anyone wanted a Cambodian SIM card, they could easily buy one here. There were numerous shops and street vendors selling them, and they could even speak both Thai and English. The SIM card with data top-up of about 2 GB cost around 250 THB (about 7.50 USD). As we walked to find a regular bus to Siem Reap, we quickly learned the taste of traveler in Cambodia. A man approached us and spoke English, saying he had a Shuttle bus that would take us to the bus station for free. It was a well-air-conditioned bus. I asked if we had to wait long for the bus to depart, and he said it would leave as soon as we, a group of four, were onboard. We were thrilled and responded, “Perfect!” We boarded the bus, and within five minutes, it departed. It took about 10 minutes to reach the bus station. The first thing we noticed was… Hey! Why didn’t the bus station have any buses or public transportation? So, we went to the counter to inquire, and they informed us that the next bus would leave at 4.00PM (it was just after 10.00AM). If we wanted to go right away, we had to hire a taxi for 35 USD, which would take us directly to our destination. In our minds, we thought…..alright, maybe we were being scammed here because our initial research indicated that there were regular buses to Siem Reap for only 7 USD per person. We expected the Shuttle bus to be somehow connected to the bus station. 😦 Anyway, upon calculating, 35 USD for a taxi divided by four was 9 USD per person, which was acceptable (more expensive than the bus by 2 USD, but it provided privacy). So, we agreed to take the taxi. However, for those traveling alone or in pairs, this was quite a hefty price. Finally, after our trip finished, we found that after we crossed the border and walked a bit further, we would discover that there was an actual shuttle bus (the real bus) at the roundabout that would take us to the real bus station with regular buses to Siem Reap throughout the day. That’s right, dear readers……In summary, we fell for a scam right from the moment we stepped into Cambodia. 😦
After deciding to use an independent taxi service from the bus station, the car immediately took us on our journey. It took us approximately 2 hours and a bit to reach Siem Reap. However, the scam festival struck again. Initially, the taxi driver said he would take us to our hotel, but then the winds of deception happened. Suddenly, he took us to a place where there was a queue of tuk-tuks (motorbike taxis with seating cart for up to 4 people, according to Cambodian definition). When we arrived, we informed the driver that this wasn’t our hotel. He responded by saying the tuk-tuk would take us to the hotel. Initially, we thought it was free. As we hopped on, the driver swiftly drove off. Then the tuk-tuk driver came to us and said he would take us to buy tickets for the Angkor Wat complex first because the ticket counter closed at 5PM and opened agian at 8AM. If we wanted to see the sunrise, we had to buy the tickets today. The cost for the ride to buy the tickets was 20 USD. After purchasing the tickets, he would take us to the hotel. At that moment, we looked at each other and understood, “Here we go again… another scam.” Fortunately, having studied at a certain level, we knew that the ticket counter opened at 5AM. So, we told him to take us directly to the hotel without buying tickets. We would purchase them ourselves. He reluctantly agreed and said it would cost an additional 8 USD for the drop-off. (Oh well… we thought it was free, but wherever we go, we keep getting scammed. Let’s just pay and get it over with.) So, we reluctantly hopped on the tuk-tuk, and the distance to the hotel was only 3 kilometers. It took less than 10 minutes. We were seething with anger. It was a day full of scams, indeed. That’s the story for today.
Around 2PM , we finally arrived at the hotel. We immediately checked in to drop off our belongings and relax. We consulted with each other and decided to rent bicycles from the hotel for only 1 USD each, so we could explore the streets of Siem Reap. We set off at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Let me tell you, cycling on the right side of the road here was trickier than we had anticipated, as it’s different from driving in Thailand. We had moments of confusion and uncertainty. Thankfully, the cars and motorcycles in Siem Reap didn’t drive too fast, and the roads weren’t too wide, allowing us to wobble and weave our way through. 🙂
The first place we visited was a Wat Damnak which was not far from our hotel. It took us about 10 minutes to cycle there. Overall, it was quite similar to the temples in our hometown in Thailand. It had a pavilion, a monastery, and Buddha statues inside the temple. The architectural style of this temple resembled the temples in the northeastern region of our country. This temple also served as a school and had a library inside. Overall, the temple didn’t have many remarkable attractions, but we entered to see what the Cambodian temple was like.
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We spent about 20 minutes exploring and taking photos at this temple, and then we continued our journey by grabbing our bicycles. Our next destination was to visit the souvenir shops and the liveliest area in Siem Reap, called “Pub Street.“
When we arrived at Pub Street, we found a place to park our bicycles and our first task was to explore the souvenir shopping area. Overall, it didn’t feel too unfamiliar because the items sold in the various shops were similar to those in Thailand. It was as if we were strolling along Khao San Road, Silom Road, or Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. This made us shift our focus from exploring souvenirs to exploring the foods. It was starting to get cooler, and we were getting hungry. The restaurants around Pub Street had relatively high prices, mainly targeting foreigners, and they mostly served Western and local Khmer dishes (similar to Thai food). However, there was one thing that was much cheaper than in Thailand, and that was “beer.” It started at just 0.5 USD per can only. But if it was imported beer, it was a bit more expensive. We wandered around a lot because we didn’t know what to eat. Many of the restaurants on Pub Street were quite pricey, and the menus weren’t particularly enticing. It was almost 6PM, and we finally decided to go into a local Khmer restaurant that had similar prices to others but offered more interesting dishes (the menu was quite similar to Thai food). When the food arrived, we felt like we were having authentic Thai cuisine, such as Stir fried pumpkin with egg, Chicken panang curry, and Fish-amok. Maybe it was because Cambodia and Thailand are close neighbors, and their food cultures have a lot in common, making it hard to differentiate them.
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After we had indulged ourselves and enjoyed a satisfying meal, we took a leisurely stroll to soak up the atmosphere on Pub Street for a while. In general, the street was filled with shops and cozy hangout spots. However, it was already around 8 PM, so we agreed that it was time to head back and rest. Tomorrow, we had arranged for a guide to pick us up at the hotel at 5AM to witness the sunrise at the temple city (Angkor Wat). So, we decided to postpone our full-fledged exploration of Pub Street to the next day. On our way back to the hotel, we stumbled upon a mini-mart and couldn’t resist going in to grab some snacks and little treats (and beer, of course). While browsing the store, we noticed that perfumes and liquor from outside Cambodia were significantly cheaper. They were lower than half the price compared to Thailand. However, none of us were in the mood for liquor, so we passed. As for the perfumes, they seemed like a great deal. Similar brands, similar bottle sizes, priced at 45 USD each in Thailand, but here they were only 25-30 USD. It was hard to tell which ones were authentic or fake, so we decided not to buy any. In the end, we settled for the joy of savoring our snacks and enjoying the taste of Angkor beer, which had a pleasant aroma, upon returning to our hotel.
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In conclusion, today was a day filled with all flavors. It was fun, tiring, hot, and filled with laughter with friends. We even got scammed, which added an unexpected twist. After we arrived at the hotel, separated and took showers, we gathered again to sit and chat for a while. Eventually, we went to bed, but not before realizing that today was one of those rare days where we hadn’t been caught up in the responsibilities of adult life. It allowed us to fully embrace the fun and truly indulge in a good night’s sleep.
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Written By : SHIPY SIWARIT TIASUWATTISETH
Shipy-Ship 