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25-Aug-2005
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This is a 3-part article with photos about a trip taken in early October 2004.  Things are changing FAST in both Cambodia and Thailand so be prepared for the unexpected! Please feel free to email me with comments or updates at chasinasia@yahoo.com . Thanks! Charlie

Bangkok to Aranyaprathet/Poi Pet - 2nd Leg

Bangkok’s Eastern Bus Station to the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet and the Cambodia side, Poi Pet. 

Although the signage in front of the bus terminal indicates it is the “Bangkok Bus Terminal”, most folks refer to it as the “Eastern” or “Mo Chit” bus station as it is on the east side of Bangkok as well as being located next to the largest and most famous market in Thailand, Mor Chit.  It is also the area where you will find the terminus of the Skytrain and an interconnect point with Bangkok's new subway.

I have traveled the world and have ridden every form of transportation known to man, including days on buses across Turkey (which has some of the largest bus terminals I have ever seen), but nothing compares to the scale of this terminal east of Bangkok.  As such it can be overwhelming and intimidating, as it was for me the first time I made this trip to the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet.  

The secret however is to realize that there are TWO terminals, one for arrivals and one for departures, just as there are in most modern airports.  Once you know this, the rest is easy although if you have some heavy bags, the walk to the bus departure terminal is a bit of a hike as there are no carts to ease the journey between terminals nor are there any porters to assist you. 

As I had arrived right at 9AM, I quickly grabbed my laptop, rucksack and small bag and quickly made my way down the long, winding, fenced corridor that separates the terminals, crossing the entrance way for departing buses.  The signs now however are referring to this area as the “Eastern Bus Terminal” instead of the Bangkok Bus Terminal.

Although you will find literally hundreds of windows, each with a destination in either Thai or English or both, you need to head to the large, centrally located Information Kiosk and directly opposite that you will find a “blue window”, labeled with the number 26 to Aranyaprathet. 

You should be aware that the difference between the orange and blue windows is mirrored in the colors of the buses as well.  Typically, blue means “express” with orange translating to “local”.  In reality, this simply means that the blue buses are express in that they won’t normally be picking up passengers randomly as they travel their route (although they will make stops at pre-designated points) while the orange buses will.  As far as dropping off passengers is concerned, either bus will drop you wherever you want whenever you want. 

I am also fortunate this particular morning as the next bus to Aranyaprathet departs at 09:30 and after indicating my preference for a window seat and paying my 164 baht , I get my ticket and am told that the bus will depart from “116” which just happens to be located just outside and behind this window. 

As this is my last day in “civilization” for awhile with all its franchised junk foods that Cambodian doesn’t have (including ATM machines…) , I scan the numerous signs in the terminals for KFC, Dunkin Donuts, etc. and opt for the early morning donut route.  After 76 baht and 4 donuts later, I drop off my small clothing bag in the baggage hold and board the coach.  One of the bus stewards escorts me to my seat and after climbing over a uniformed Thai Air Force airman, I settle in for the 4 to 5 hour trip east to the border.  At 09:37 after another ticket check the bus backs out and we start the second segment of this day’s journey to Phnom Penh. 

The bus is completely full (how do they do that every time?) and only a few minutes later the bus steward is dispensing our free boxed breakfast of hard toast, condiments and water.  Once again, as we exit the city east we are under another elevated highway and as I watch out the window and notice a lone Thai Air Force F-16 Falcon climb out of Don Muang Airport and turn east into the early morning haze.  I’m thinking that’s not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning… 

Fifteen minutes after leaving the terminal, we are passing the numerous airport terminals that line the road east out of town and the runway from the which the Falcon had departed from.  Once again Bangkok’s commercialization and urbanization is overwhelming with western franchise after western franchise lining the roadway including Maserati, Mercedes and Ferrari dealerships as well as the expected KFCs, Office Depots, Swensens, etc.   

At 10:05 we come upon a huge “super mall” at a large crossroads with countless stores around it.  This particular one is call “Future Park Rangsit” and it is here we make the first stop of what I know will be countless others.  Here another 15 passengers board and as all the seats are full, there is nowhere to go but the aisle.  One woman assessing the situation quickly, plops herself onto the roof of the toilet which is at the side entrance of the bus from which these folks entered.  I just wonder how far these people are going and what they are going to pay for the privilege, but I suspect no free breakfast meals or water will be forthcoming. 

As we travel Highway 7 out of the city we pass places with names like Krung Kavee Estate and Golf Course as well as the campus for Eastern Asia University at 10:20.  We seem to be paralleling a long and straight canal (klong) as well which was most probably at one point not in the not too distant past, the main “highway” in and out of the city from this direction. 

At 10:30 we make a stop to let someone off and only 7 minutes later, we do it again.  Oh how I hope this doesn’t continue as it will be a very long trip indeed.   

At 10:50 we stop the parallel track with the klong and do a 90 degree turn that within moments deposits us at a huge police checkpoint where we once again pull off, wait a moment and than move forward a few hundred meters and stop again, this time for the lady steward to starting selling 90 baht tickets to those standing in the aisle.  I guess standing is cheaper than setting as my ticket cost 164 baht but hey, I got some free toast and a water! 

This takes about 10 minutes and after she completes her work, she exits out the side door, re-enters in the front driver compartment from the outside and we continue.  I just wonder why she couldn’t have done this while we were heading to our destination on the road as no one got on and no one got off, except of course for her.

The bus is deathly quiet except for some Thai tunes coming from the speaker above me as is typical of Thai buses and most public transportation including city buses and the Sky Train. This fascinates me as Thais love to make noise and love their music LOUD!  One might think they work long hours and long days and they want to use these trips to relax and unwind.  Not really sure although I do remember one incident some years ago where an American friend of mine and his Thai girlfriend were chattering away for a good hour in their seats on the way to Pattaya from Bangkok where the man in front, turned around and told them to shut up, he was trying to sleep.  I guess that could be it… 

At 11:20 we veer off the divided highway and once again, we make a brief stop where folks are both getting off and on.  So much for the concept of “express”.  Sort of reminds me of the word “direct” in the airline industry which as most seasoned travelers know means we can stop as many times as we want as long as it is on the way to where the plane is headed.  English is a funny language… 

At 11:25 we stop at a "formal bus station" where of course no one seems to get on or off.  Why go to the bus station when you can get on in front of your house?  Makes sense to me but I don't think that was what was intended with the concept of an "express bus".

A few minutes later we back out and head back onto the the road, doing a Thai-style U-turn.  Never have really been sure what this town or bus stop is called as there are no English signs anywhere!  Guess we are off the beaten path a bit...

At 11:30 we are back on the divided highway, now 2 hours into the second part of the trip to Phnom Penh.  15 minutes later we make another stop at a quiet round-a-bout with folks playing chess under a rather large shade tree which dominates the intersection.

The road narrows now and we are soon seeing numerous government and military facilities along the roadway.  Noon comes and we make another brief stop but at 12:15 we make an unusual stop in that it is a police checkpoint where the drivers of each bus coming and going along this road must make an entry into a log book located in front of the small police station.  From what I can see however, there are no police anywhere to be found.

It is also interesting to note the white, spray painted outline of a motorcycle and driver painted onto the highway just in front of the log book stand.  This usually indicates an accident and a dead victim.  Wonder if someone didn't stop in time and got stopped permanently....

Five minutes later we make another brief stop and a young girl exits the bus....a  minute later we stop again while we wait our turn to cross a railway under repair.  Geeeee.....with only 75 people left on the bus, at a minute each to let off, we might make it to the border by dark!  This is really beginning to get ridiculous and I really don't remember it being this bad before.  Is it because it is Sunday?

At 12:30 we once again pull into our second official bus terminal along this segment of the journey and once again, there are no signs in English to indicate where we are.  Even the bus routes on the side of the buses are only in Thai.

It is here that I determine enough is enough and I exit to use the toilet as the aisles have been jammed and it is now or never as far as I am concerned.  I am aware however that this driver isn't going to be here long so after waiting patiently for the 15 or so departing passengers to exit before me, I rush to the toilet seeing the bus driver exiting the toilet and heading for the bus.  Obviously, with his own door, he was able to get things done far quicker than us mere mortals in the back.

Knowing this joker isn't going to wait, I quickly find my 3 baht for the toilet's caretaker, do my thing and rush out only to find someone yelling at me the bus has left and to head the other way out to the parking lot! Shit man!  More Thai high drama! It seems however that common sense prevailed with this cowboy as other people were missing and running to the bus as well but we seemed to manage to get everyone back on board and were once again, plying our way slowly to the border.

After the massive exodus at the last station, we now only have a handful of standing patrons. The aircon is working, I've got a seat all to myself, a few donuts in my stomach and if all goes well, I'll be back in the Kingdom of Cambodia by night fall.  Life is good!

I do wonder however if it is still a Kingdom with no King?  Since King Sihanouk abdicated this week and as there is no constitutional replacement to select a new king, Cambodia has once again, rode to the top of the world's political drama and intrigue.

As this lumbering hulk of a bus speeds up and slows down and weaves its way around slower traffic, jerking itself back into the eastern bound lane only seconds before colliding with the oncoming traffic, it does at times feel like I'm in an amusement part ride although I wonder if I have to pay extra when we get there?

The ever present police posts seem to be magnets for people loading and unloading from these buses and once again, at 1PM, we let off even more passengers followed by only moments later pulling into the third "real" bus station, which this time has a sign in English declaring it the "Sao Kaeo Bus Station.

Once again, you better not leave this bus and driver if you are continuing on as within moments of stopping and letting the doors open, we are pulling out and heading for the highway.  It was amazing that the single, boarding passenger, a Monk in his gold robes, even had time to step aboard....

As I am watching the concrete road markers go by (slowing!), I notice that the first one we come upon indicates that the border and Anyaprathet is 51 kilometers away.  It is soon after this that the intersection for the road south to Chantaburi comes up as well.

A rather nice golf course appears quickly followed by some type of Thai military installation.  Guess the two go hand in hand.

We are finally getting close to the border and at 1:30, for the first time ever on this trip, we are both stopped and boarded by a Thai military ranger who goes down the length of the bus, looking at faces and checking identity documents.  Times have changed....

As near the border for the third and final leg of this trip, I have taken my passport out of its waterproof waist pouch, put $30 or do into one pocket for small money and a couple of thousand baht into another pocket for the the anticipated taxi to Phnom Penh.

As the US dollar is the actual currency of Cambodia (riel is used but only as "coinage"), baht is also used, especially on the borders as you might expect but the farther you get from the border, the worse the exchange rate will be.

You should also be very aware that counterfeiting is a huge problem, not only in Cambodia but in Thailand as well, especially areas frequented by Russians (...such as Pattaya).  Presently 1996 series $100 dollar bills are unacceptable to most money vendors, whether they are good or not.  Usually bills in larger dominations with "smaller faces" or worn bills will not be accepted as well and as this is the very last place you will be able to use your ATM card before entering Cambodia (...they have none, zero, zilch!), you better make sure you not only have enough cash but it will be accepted!

The Thai Queen's 3rd Infantry Battalion or the "Queen's Guard" comes into view at 13:45 and I know we are close.  We weave a bit more, going around construction and a short time later, we pull into the bus station on the outskirts of Anyaprathet.

As the border is still a few kilometers away, I find a motorcycle taxi and after refusing to pay the posted sign rate (outrageous), I settle on something more acceptable, grab my bags and head for the market area at the border. 

The driver dumps me in front of an area that requires me to walk a few hundred meters to the immigration posts and what I refer to as "no mans land" or "DMZ" between the two kingdoms.  It is from this point forward, you better have your wits about you and act (even if you don't) like you know what you are doing because if you don't, you will be overwhelmed with touts, beggars and hustlers.  Although the two countries and peoples are truly wonderful, this area between the two is the slime of the planet...

END OF PART 2

Part 1

Pattaya to Bangkok

Part 2

Bangkok to Aranyaprathet/Poi Pet

Part 3

Poi Pet to Phnom Penh