How to: Going to Siem Reap from Bangkok via Land

Much debate and discussions surround taking the infamous bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap for years now. Conventionally, the bus was known for its notorious scams; I’ve heard many stories about visa officers or bus companies harassing passengers extra amounts against vulnerable passengers. For those that are doubtful, I highly recommend that you book yourself a air ticket right now. 

But for the more adventurous (and tight budgeted), there are ways to get by. The easiest and most efficient way to avoid trouble is to have a Cambodian visa prior to border entry. You can do this online although it will cost a few more dollars extra.

Second is getting the tickets. Although you can buy it directly at the Mocchit North Bus station,  you can buy also buy it online.There are only two small buses per day so if you find out at the bus station ticket office that they're both full, you will have to wait a whole another day. It's truly a drudge when you dragged all your luggage over to the station. Even though there’s a small surcharge when purchasing online, I highly recommend it just to be safe (and you can choose and your seats as well).  Case in point: when I booked my ticket 2 days before, it was only a third full but by the time the bus took off, it was a full bus. 

Next is picking up the tickets. Pickups are available in several locations but I picked the ticket station at the ZEN mall. It’s a little bit had to find but it in the back of the men’s shoe section. The hand off and payment was smooth. 770B ($24) total for a one way ticket.  

Getting to the bus station is a bit more trickier. Do note that the station is not directly linked to the Mocchit BTS station. It’s about a 30 min walk or a 5-10minute taxi ride away. Since my bus left at 8, I would be hitting rush hours plus I had a 50lb suitcase with me. I took a taxi which turned out to be a bit pricey, around 250B (appx $8 which includes highway toll). Many taxi drivers prefer to directly negotiate the price rather than turn on the toll meter when I was there since many roads unexpectedly close down due to the protests. Otherwise, it might be a bit cheaper.

The station is enormous and clean. There’s numerous eateries, 7-11s, and shops to grab food so no need to worry about that. 

The bus has AC, and though it’s a bit old it’s good enough for a $24 ride (compare that to a one way $200 plane ride). The trips takes about 7-8 hours with about 1-2 hours spent going through immigrations at the border.

 

 Surprisingly, they gave us a small breakfast (cookie, coffee,  mini orange juice, muffin) and lunch (fried rice) so don’t worry if you forgot to stock up on food. Although for any typical Westerner, the portion will definitely not be enough. We did stop at a 7-11 twice so not to worry. 

 

After a smooth 4 hour drive, we stopped at the tour company for the non-visa people to process them. We then headed another half hour to go to the border. 

 

This was a grueling process as we first had to clear through Thai immigration, walk about 500m over to the Cambodia side and then line up again to go through Cambodian customs. 

 In all we waited in line for about 2 hours. I ran off to get some dtuk empou (sugarcane juice) as my other fellow bus mates who had no knowledge of Cambodian stood in line in the sweltering heat.  

 

Another 2 hours of driving finally got us into Siem Reap.

In conclusion, if you have the money definitely take the plane. But if you want to be a bit more adventurous or save on money there’s no doubt that bus is the way to go. In either case, just make sure you have your all your papers and do a bit of research.

I always tell tourists that people get scammed not because of con artists but because people are unaware and lack knowledge. I like to give the example when you are a restaurant and they ring up a lower price on the bill because they forgot that you ordered it. In this case would you honestly tell them or would you keep quiet and pay the lower price? It’s the same for the people that try to charge you a higher price –they are merely taking advantage of the fact that you are not aware. If you were, they are sure to lower their prices. So do your homework beforehand!
Also please note that I’ve never gone from Siem Reap to Bangkok; sometimes the stories and situations differ vice versa