BKK to Cambodia
Well after a last, very frustrating day, in Bangkok I took the early morning bus to Cambodia. After many warnings i still got sucked in by the "scam bus". Basically you pay a decent price for a ticket that takes you from BKK to Siem Reap. The trick is that instead of taking you to the border to do you visa they stop at a restaurant and extract 1200 Baht for a "quick" visa service instead of the required 800. i stood my ground and said all i had was US20...that is what your actually ment to pay at the border. So they tell me that I will have to find my own way to Siem Reap because the bus wont wait for me..they have a schedule to keep. This is all a stand over tatic to get you to cough up the extra cash that goes in their pocket. When we get to the border I tell the bus driver to wait or refund me my cash for the onward trip...I reach the Visa department and some smug shit tells me it's 1000 baht or if i pay with US it's 2 hours. So i say I'll wait! What did i have to lose the bus driver was leaving without me anyway! Only half an hour later I get my visa and on my way to the arrivals desk for my stamp. Mind you I didn't resist telling smug bastard to "have a nice day" so venimously he almost fell of his chair!
I get outsid arrivals and low and behold their is my bus with every other sucker who had cought a scam bus too. We get ushered onto a small bus only to go 200 meters to get off. Finally the heard you back onto a bus according to where they think you will be staying. For every person they get to stay at a guest house, after much pleeding and sometimes a little aggression, they get a commision!
My bus had no air con or suspension and the 7 hour trip was down a red dusty dirt road that looked like a moon crater. It was the most awful thing i have done to date.....and I am exhusted!

1 Comments:
Ah Liz, I know it's difficult but you just have to remember that they are so desperate, they will try anything. And besides, you have Americans to thank for their behaviour - they're the ones that dish out cash like they're chocolate wrappers - because it's so cheap for them!
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