Thailand beyond solo backpacking: Poipet

At 6:30am,the skies over Phnom Penh was already very bright.
I have booked a bus ticket to Bangkok through my guesthouse with a free pick-up this morning.

The mini-van came around 6:45am and sent me to GST bus company near Psar Thmey.

The 7:00am bus for departure was already on standby.

The Cambodia's Airport tax was a hefty USD25.00 while my bus fare to Bangkok was USD18.00 and travelling overland provides opportunities to see more of Thailand.

My homebase was easily accessible by road. I was just wondering why the local airport management needed a Malaysian government linked company to manage its small airport .That's the reason for the high airport tax.

You'll be surprised that this man who own the floating casino near Sisowath Quay is the economic adviser to the Cambodian prime minister.
His company was rejected from applying for listing in the Stock Exchange of Singapore for fear of money laundering.
No wonder this country has a very good ally.

At the corner Street 217 and street 67, was a M'sian owned bus company--Ho Wah Genting which is now renamed Sorya Bus Company.
15 minutes after leaving Phnom Penh city,the bus travelled beside the Tonle Sap Lake .

There were a few garment factories and some light industries seen along the way.
The bus was just half filled with many vacant seats.
At a small town called Udong,the bus stopped and picked up some passengers.
It seemed that this aircond bus was not an express bus.

Udong was the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire about 40 km northwest of Phnom Penh.
Understand that there were many stupas and shrines housing the remains of former Khmer kings around here.

Nearly 2 hours travelling,the bus made another stop at Kampong Chhnang.
Along the route here were some mosques and many Muslim commune.

The bus seats were now completely filled.There were passengers having to stand for the onward journey to Poipet.

Somewhere near Pursat town(186km northwest of Phnom Penh) ,we had our lunch break at a food outlet possibly owned by the bus company.

Feeling hungry since not having any breakfast this morning,I ordered 2 plates of rice with some veges,pork and chicken to fill my stomach.
Imagine I was slapped with a bill of Baht140, a blardy daylight robbery taking advantage due to language barrier.

Earlier I've requested paying in baht as I was short of the riel. With that kind of price,I could have a sumptuous lunch in a restoran in Bangkok.

Ok,so what's great about Pursat town? Pursat would have been mentioned less without the tomb of a Khmer national hero Kleang Meung, who sacrificed his life and defeated the Thais in a battle in 1482.
Eco-tourism is also the main attraction.

As we arrived in Battambang,the bus stopped at the company's office to fill up gasoline.
Battambang is 94.2km from Poipet.
Bus Stop Guesthouse in town centre is USD20.00(aircond room).Located at 149 2nd Rd next door to The White Rose Restaurant.

In the town centre roundabout was a statue of an ancient Khmer King holding a stick which he used to quell rebellions in the Battambang area.

Battambang places of interest includes:
1)Phnom Sampeu, a hill with the Killing Caves of the Khmer Rouge.
2)Wat Banan, the so-called mini-Angkor wat.
3)Wat Baydamram, a temple where hundreds of fruit bats.
4)Wat Ek Phnom, another Angkor-type temple ruin, about 15km north west of Battambang.

Finally around 3:30pm,the bus reached Poipet town and stopped beside a shop where the journey ends.
Most of the other passengers proceeded on their own way leaving behind myself,a French guy and four other Cambodians who have bought a direct Bangkok ticket.
There was no bus terminal around here. Now we were all in a dilemma.
The bus company in Phnom Penh didn't inform us about transport switching across the border.
Again communication barrier,the bus driver seemed to have no concern about Bangkok ticket holders.

A few minutes later,a "company representative" came and told us to hang on while he contacted the taxi people.
He got the chick to say no taxi available.
Looked like he was taking everyone for a ride.
Minutes passed and it was nearly 4:30pm,
Poipet town was a very quiet place,few vehicles with the wide roads
.Finally he came and said transport available so we all jumped into the cyclo for a 1km ride to the border.
Again we (myself and the gentleman from France) made a damn silly mistake.
Forgot to ask where should we meet after the immigration formalities.

Beside where the bus stop was a chinese owned hotel:-Phkar Chouk Meas Hotel.

Quite a new building.

Kim Hock Guesthouse along the same row.

Chav Phaya Guesthouse.

This building is the Viroch Hotel near the entrance road to the many casinos and the border immigration office.

Premium hotels near the traffic circle.

The first sight is the Tropicana Resort and Casino Arch.

One has to pass by all the casinos buildings before reaching the Cambodian immigration office.

An onion shaped dome top that resembles a worship place but that couldn't be as gambling is against that particular religion.