Crossing Boarders

Nobody wants to tell you about the train in Bangkok. On the map you can take it all the way to Phenom Phen. But nobody seems to know for sure what happens at the boarder. You do hear stories about hustlers and cheats and crooked cops. You hear about people being forced to stay at terrible guest houses or being charged outrageous fees. The tour companies can't make any money off of the train. So there is a constant refrain of the bus, the bus, the bus.

I decided to at least get to the boarder by train. I had to go to the station to get a schedule. There was one at 6:30am and another at 1pm. I left the next afternoon at 1. I needed time to have a proper cappuccino. I figured I would spend the night in Aranyaprathet.

Train was only three cars long. It was old and well beat but ok. There were only third class seats but I like that. I like open windows and hordes of schoolkids in blue and white uniforms, smiling at you, eager to practice their English. The ride was six hours long. The schedule said five but at least we left on time. Six hours across a long flat wide plain. Rice fields in either direction to the horizon, little jungle outcroppings, grass shacks and the occasional sunblackend farmers in conical straw hats.

I met an American couple and we decided to throw in together. They were a pair of tatooed Seattlites named Chuck and Kendra. When we got to the end of the line on the Thai side of the boarder a group of Dutch boys tried to convince us to press on to Siam Reap with them, but we were in no hurry to cross into Cambodia, especially in the gathering darkness.

The little town turned out to be quite ok. A tuk tuk driver tried to take us to a horrid little shack of a guest house but we politely refused it. You could see through the holes that rats had gnawed in the floorboards to the swamp below it. Forget about the frogs croaking all night. How would you survive the mosquitoes?

We walked around in the fast coming darkness following signs to the Inter Hotel. It was actually the only hotel in town. It was quite ok. A business hotel for Chinese robber barons looking to make a quick buck across the boarder. The price was right though at 800 bhat per night or about 24 bucks. A small fortune in that part of the world.

There was lots of nice things to eat in Aranyaprahtet. Lots of clean little diners, we had excellent Dim Sum. You could get fresh squeezed orange juice with not too much sugar put in it. Fresh fish, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, nobody looked like they were going hungry in this small working class town.

The boarder did turn out to be a horror though. Once you passed through the Thai checkpoint you passed over a bridge and were greeted by throngs of filthy cripples and beggars. A slow stream of over loaded tractor trailers made up one line. The other line was filled peasants and ox-carts piled high with goods for markets on the other side. Immediately a hustler attached himself to us offering us his services, promising a fair price and a safe trip. He would not look me in the eye. Chuck had covered up his tattoos for the days festivities. To my surprise they were able to get a visa within minutes. By spending the night in Aranyaprahtet we were able to arrive at the frontier early enough to beat the crowds.

We persevered and managed to book a car to Siam Reap for thirty dollars. The shocks were gone and it was filled with mosquitoes but it ran ok. Chuck and I had a slapping party and were able to decimate most of the flying parasites. The road was unpaved and filled with potholes. Luckily it had not rained in a day or two so there was no mud and while we ran rough, we ran true. The town faded behind us and soon we were back in the broad ricelands.

Four hours later we arrived in Siam Reap. We had a hotel destination that we had insisted on from the beginning so we did not have any battles with the driver. He took us to Earthwalkers, a guesthouse run by a Dutch co-operative. A little bit too far out of town but clean and friendly and safe.