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somtamslap

I hate visas, and passports and people. So, the fact that my visa expired today meant today would be a shit one..

I had to do a quick step over the border and back on the Thai/Cambodian border.

The journey from Pak Chong (Korat) was done at a leisurely pace, took roughly 3.5 hours in a Ford Ranger.

As soon as I stepped out of the limo at the border (Aran) a troop of very excited touts rushed up to me and seeing that my passport was British, gave me the ol 'alright geezer, lovely jubbly' routine..they love that do the Cambodians.. I on the otherhand find it tiresome and childish, so I picked the quietest of the bunch and stuck my passport in his hand..

He filled out the application for my Cambodian visa and the card for coming back into Thailand...

somtamslap

While he was doing that I decided to have a spot of lunch in here to give me the necessary stamina to work my way through the utter bullshit which is a step over..



Lunch was served promptly..

somtamslap

After polishing off lunch rapido..the bloke handed me my passport back and told me to follow...but first things first...we're going onto battle here, gotta put on the mask..



The tout walked faster than a winner of an Olympic Gold for speed walking, fuck knows why they do that, whats the hurry, chap.
So we arrived here..THE BORDER..

somtamslap

Normally this place is very quiet when leaving, but today I had to share a queue with some folk no doubt trying to 'find themselves' on their gap year..



Out of there without a hitch and you catch first site of Poi Pet, Cambodia.

somtamslap

The deal here is..you pay 500bt to the dude in th office and you don't actually have to enter the country..or you pay 200bt and queue up with the rest. I peeled off 5 100bt notes, lively.. Got the visa stamped 'in' and out of Cambodia and turned around...only to be greeted by this.

Welcome to Thailand..



Fortunately I didn't have 7 kilos of heroin stuffed up my jacky, so I briskly moved on to the next obstacle..



...a real hive of activity.

tjyflhol

Eh? What's this about? You don't have to pay anybody at the office there, you have a visa and are free to enter and leave without any charge.

somtamslap

Next was the long queue, about 45 minutes to get back into Thailand, not that many people were in the actual queue, you understand, but the majority of tourists here were of Asian decent and I'm not being funny but there's ALWAYS A FUCKING PROBLEM with them getting in.

The queuing finished and I was back on Thigh turf immediately greeted by this young lady who insisted I needed an umbrella held over my head. Today was overcast but not a drop of rain the air. Its like the ice crean man coming out when it snowing..



On the Thai side of the border you also have a very nice, cheap and big market..forgot the name..
So big that some like to rent these out for 150bt a time..



One more pic.. poor girl, growing up like that..



And that was that..

somtamslap

Not if your doing the 200bt enter the country jobbie, no.

withnallstoke

Lunch looked nice.

tjyflhol

200 baht on top of the visa you just bought?

Once you have a visa, there is no extra charges.

somtamslap

Fuckers.. Last time I went there I spoke to an immi official who said you can you can pay the 500bt and stay put not have to do nowt else or enter Cambodia sort the departure stamp myself and pay 200 for getting out the same day or somet..

How much do you normally pay in total?




Lunch made the day bearable..

dirtydog

There has always been an exit fee if you are not staying in Cambodia, varies in price at different border points.

somtamslap

I was hoping that was the case.

Gerbil

How far over the border are the casinos? My missus has suggested a run to the border at the weekend and I might tag along.

dirtydog

You can see the casinos in this picture, at Poipet probably less than 100meters from the border point is the first one.

Gerbil

Thais get a free border pass dont they?

(Not that it matters, as she'll probably be blowing a lot of cash in the casino )

tjyflhol

Wrong, it's a scam. I have never paid an exit fee for leaving Cambodia even if I am staying in the country for 2 minutes.

Unusual you had the problem at Poipet, they very rarely even ask for it, once I had some dude ask me for 100 baht but I just laughed him off.

Perhaps because you had your hired help they tried it on with you Somtamslap.

Did have trouble once at the crossing down by Patters though, they wanted 600 baht to start, and were willing to haggle with the "how much you want to pay?" line. I told them I wasn't paying anything, they had no right to keep me in the country and I'd call the British embassy if they wanted to detain a UK citizen for no reason in their country. They let me leave with no charge.

Quite surprised you got caught in that scam DD.

somtamslap

If its a scam then the two are working together and the hired help definetly gets a cut of the 500bt. When I got back into Thailand the hired helps' mates were asking me how much I paid to get back into Thailand on the same day etc, how much did I tip the helper?

Wankers...

Going to Burma next time..more trust worthy souls there.

dirtydog

I have never used a helper, some immigration checkpoints as your stamped into Cambodia they ask how long you are staying, if you say your not they ask then and there for the money and stamp you in and out, and others its on the way out as you get stamped out.

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withnallstoke

Run out of dodgy chinese penis pills again?