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Crossing the Aranyaprathet / Poipet Border ( Siem Reap – Koh Chang )

Aranyaprathet to Poipet border

Aranyaprathet to Poipet border

I thought I’d add a few photos of the Aranyaprathet / Poipet border crossing experience as a lot of people are now combining Siem Reap and Koh Chang in the same holiday.   A typical 2-week itinerary consists of flying into Bangkok then heading to Siem reap for a few days of culture, before moving down to Koh Chang for a week on the beach and finally a couple of nights in Bangkok for a bit of shopping before heading home.

The actual border is a few kilometres from the town of Aranyaprathet at Rongkleua border market.  The market is a huge place where all manner of goods – but mainly clothing and footwear – are brought over from Cambodia and then sold.  This is where traders from Bangkok and elsewhere come to buy their stock.  If you want to stock up on fake brand name items , this is the place to go.  The market is so big that many people rent golf carts to get around.

But, chances are, you won’t be visiting for the shopping – just as a means to get between Thailand and Siem Reap overland.  It’s the closest border crossing to Siem Reap and so the busiest of all the land borders between Thailand & Cambodia.  Which means that queues at Immigration are a regular occurrence.  You could be forgiven for thinking that the queues will be on the Cambodian side, which lacks the large air-conditioned offices that Thai immigration possess.  But they aren’t.  The queues coming into Thailand are often the stuff of nightmares.  It’s not uncommon to have to stand for 3 hours or more in a  queue in order to enter Thailand from Cambodia.  The reason is mainly due to the fact that there aren’t enough counters.  And of the four they do have, two are usually unmanned.  Add to that the Immigration officers feeling the need to extensively questions half the people coming through and it slows the process down to a crawl.

Ideally get a Cambodia E-visa online, this costs a bit more but will save you time and hassle at the border.

The main things to remember if you aren’t Thai or Cambodian, is that foreign tourists go upstairs in both the Thai Immigration offices.  Downstairs, Thais get to head into air-con comfort, without the need to climb a flight of stairs.  Whilst outside Cambodians with border passes, coming into Thailand to work, are left to queue in the sun.   And that you need to cross over the road when changing countries to get to the correct Immigration office.  In and out are on opposite sides of the road, but Cambodia drives on the right, whereas Thailand is on the left.

 

2 Comments

  • The time it takes to get into Thailand and the inadequate facilities for people queueing have been a problem for many years. It is a little better now, 10 years ago people queued outside in the sunshine for 3 or 4 hours during busy periods. But I think the government could have predicted border crossings would get busy again, now covid is a thing of the past, and at least ensured there were more staff on duty to process arrivals.

  • Yes I agree that the long unnecessary waits are trying to enter Thailand from Cambodia. Here is my recent experience;
    Took a bus from Siem Reap to Bangkok on Friday 26/01/2024. The exit from Cambodia was OK and only took 10 minutes. The entry to Thailand for foeigners was terrible and took 1 hour and 45 minutes with hundreds of people standing in a long queue in a small stuffy and poorly air conditioned room 20 metre x 25 metres. People had to stand the whole time with no seats available and no toilet facilities and no water to drink. I am a fit and healthy person and found it hard going but I did feel sorry for some who were struggling in the heat. There were only 2 Thai officials checking passports. THIS IS A DISCRACE TO TREAT PEOPLE LIKE THIS AND GIVES A POOR FIRST IMPRESSION OF THAILAND. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING TO SPEND MONEY IN THAILAND AND BOOST THEIR ECONOMY. THE THAI GOVERNMENT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO PROPERLY MANAGE THIS BUSY CROSSING AND PUT AN END TO THIS UNNECESSARY NONSENCE AND SHOULD FIX IT ASAP. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY THE TOILETS ON THE THAI SIDE AFTER ENTRY NEED A COIN TO BE ABLE TO USE THEM AND THATS ANOTHER TOTAL SHAMEFUL EVENT AS NOBODY IS GOING TO HAVE THAI COINS IN THEIR POCKET.

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Koh Chang Island Guide For Independent Travellers