The Siem Reap - Bangkok travel scam (Siem Reap)

Member Name: daddygratis

Product:	Siem Reap
Date:	03/10/01 (88 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: n/a, n/a, n/a

Disadvantages: Loss of money, Loss of time

In my slowly developing travelling scam series, I turn my attention now to Cambodia specifically the route you take from Siem Reap into Thailand ending in Bankgkok.

I will not spend time now dealing with Siem Reap as a place but for those that have never heard of it, it is in north western Cambodia and is the tourist mecca for visits to one of the great wonders of the world called the Angkor temples.

This is either the end or beginning point for most tourists in Cambodia. It was my last destination and so naturally I needed to get from Siem Reap back into Bangkok.

Like most tourist mecca's Siem Reap offers a plethora of travel agencies all selling cheap one way direct tickets to Bangkok.

True, the tickets are cheap and they do go to Bangkok on a direct route but the issue that many people will find with the journey is the time length.

I specifically paid more money to ensure that my journey would be at most 8 hours. Traditionally there can often be delays at the Cambodia/Thailand border where the Thai busses arrive to pick up those who have just come over from Cambodia and take them back to Bangkok.

I was assured that the bus in Thailand would be waiting for me when I got to the border. I was assured that I would be travelling ONLY with the people I began my journey with in Siem Reap. I was assured that there would be no waiting at the border and I was assured that I would be in Bangkok no later than 4pm.

I had a flight to catch that evening and those who have been to Bangkok will know that traffic is often non-moving for hours.

I should have seen the problems coming from the off. In the first instance the transport to pick me up from my hotel in Siem Reap arrived 1 hour late. I remained waiting though for fear of missing it.

The stop offs on the way are designed to rip you off, charging twice as much for a drink or food as you would normally have to pay and finally by about 11.
30 we arrived at the Cambodia border.

About three hundred metres away from it the transport stopped. A man from a building appeared and opened the door. He told us to get out as we were at the border. He said that all the paperwork could be done in his office to avoid queuing at the border itself.

We got off, I accepted that something was not right but gave him the benefit of the doubt.

He fumbled around in his office looking for the papers, claimed he had run out and asked if we could wait while he got more. He asked us for our passports which some of us handed over. I refused on account of my overt paranoia. Needless to say when he re-appeared ten minutes later he claimed that he had left the passports at the copy shop and would have to go back. By this point it was now about 12.00pm. It became quite obvious to me that he was stalling. I assumed it would simply be because he was in fact waiting for others to arrive and we would indeed be bundled together with others on the Bangkok leg of the journey.

I was correct about this point but I could never have guessed what else we had in store for us.

The man went off and about ten minutes later, another man appeared. He told us that if we wanted our passports back we would have to pay $50 US each. We all thought he was joking but when he explained that unless we paid our passports would be destroyed people began to get quite concerned.

Of course there was no copy shop. THe other travellers were due to arrive over two hours later and this they felt gave them enough time to squeeze us for as much money as possible.


Some people began to get quite angry over this, naturally and demanded their passports back.

The man laughed and at one point actually spat towards one of the group who was protesting.

As time marched on and no one wanted to pay, I decided that I would try and see where the other man had gone. I found him reading in a small
roomat the back of the shop. Clearly on the table was a pile of passports.

By the time I got back, some people had actually paid the money. After severe protesting they gave us back our passports but refused to give the money back.

There was no option but to accept this fate since everyone had to get across the border.

The border itself is a vibrant and dizzy sight with people all over the place begging, selling or just standing around and watching others. Be wary of these people. THey are ones who have ulterior motives.

Having to actually still do all the paperwork at the border (the earlier story told to us was a lie) we then walked across the fifty metre bridge which marks the cross over point of the tow countries.

THree of our group were carrying a lot of bags and behind them two groups of three men were walking very close. In what seemed like a matter of seconds, the three people in our group had had their bags slashed and the six men had run off back over to the Cambodia side.

They had managed to take money and TC's, having watched us take them out and put them back at passport control. Clever guys.

Needless to say the loss was a right off. No one to complain to. THe Thai side offered no hope. THe guy who brought us over claimed we had refused to pay money for our fare (the $50US) and we actually had to show receipts to keep the police of our back.

THe journey was an agonising seven hours from the border, having to wait another two hours for the bus.

In a nut shell the whole operation was a complete sickening disaster. I missed my flight and trying to hold anyone responsible is an impossibility. EVeryone's anonymous. No one remembers who you were and they really couldn't give a shit.

They know you're too far aeway to anything about it and assum they can get away with it. THe only thing I can do in return is to warn others of this potential knightmare.
Be wary, make sure you get names, numbers and check with them exactly how long things will take.

Push them for the real times. Say you don't believe them if you have to. Do whatever you can to get them to admit that to you how long the journey will really take. NEVER give out your passport. Never stop until you get to the border and NEVER pay more for something you have already paid for.

FInally when you cross the border keep all your money on you NOT in a bag and watch you back at all times.

This is not meant to scare or deter people from travelling to Cambodia. It is a wonderful country with some fascinating sites and offers some unforgettable truly wonderful experiences. THis is just a warning. A point of caution so that others do not get suckered like I am sure so many have done before.

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