Tips On Travelling Across the Thailand/Cambodia Border Overland

Travelling to Cambodia for the first time? Good for you - it's an amazing country made up of incredibly friendly and brave people, with jaw-dropping sights and a history that everyone in the western world should know more about. If you're planning to travel overland into the country then please read on for a few short tips on how to handle the border crossing.

If you travel across the border into Cambodia the first impression is not always a good one, which is a shame. For a country so diverse and awe-inspiring, the con artists masquerading as immigration officials invariable taint first impressions, and as everyone knows, first impressions can last a long time, sometimes for the entire duration of your stay. Again, a crying shame.

So how do you handle them?

Firstly, if you’re approaching the land border from the Thailand end, do avoid the Khao San Road scammers by taking a public bus to the border - this is easily organised from local tourist areas in Bangkok.

Secondly, other travellers and, yes, the good old Lonely Planet, will tell you not to engage with any touts, tuk tuk drivers, children or, well anyone really, when you get to the border – listen to them! Approach the border without making eye contact and with your backpack locked. Yes, this feels as anti-social as it sounds but it’s a simple way of not complicating your border-crossing experience so it’s well worth heeding.

You may or may not pick up on the traveller’s grapevine that the Cambodian tourist visas on the border are officially $20 USD (at time of print) , but that the Cambodian officials will absolutely try to swindle more out of tourists like you. Also true. My particular exchange on the border went something like this:

Immigration Official (nonchalantly): 35 dollars for visa.

Me (politely): No, 20 dollars.

Him: OK 20 dollars, 200 Baht.

Me (pointing to a sign above his head stating, “Cambodian Tourist Visa $20”): No, 20 dollars.

This went on for some time until finally the official lost interest and wandered off. After a while he returned and we played out the above exchange once again, like a well-rehearsed script. Eventually he took my documents, muttering that I would have a three-hour wait in that case. I took a seat in anticipation of the long wait ahead and precisely three minutes later he emerged with my visa.

OK, so it’s a tiny bit scary having to stand up for yourself in a foreign country, particularly to people of an ‘official’ nature, but being polite and firm really worked. Nobody had told the German couple behind though; the man, who must have been in his late forties but who had the scared look of a four year fearful of being scolded by his mother, was clutching a wad of US dollars. At the immigration official’s nod he just kept handing over more and more notes. You could almost see the dollar signs in the official’s eyes. Managing to catch the attention of the man’s companion before moving on, I mouthed to her not to pay more than $20, but who knows what they ended up paying? So do help your fellow travellers out, obviously as safely and discretely as you can.

It isn’t the money of course (200 Thai Baht is equivalent to about £4). Like many travellers, I don’t mind paying more than locals at restaurants, markets or on public transport – it’s all part and parcel of travelling and really not a problem in those situations – but when your first experience of a country is of the immigration police trying to rip you off at the border, I draw a firm line. Yes, yes, of course it happens all over the world all of the time, but if you don’t fancy it happening to you, follow the above advice and enjoy the beautiful scenery and people that make up Cambodia.