Siem Reap, Cambodia to Bangkok, Thailand
The tour operator told us that we would leave Siem Reap around 8 a.m. and be back in Bangkok by 5 p.m. . This turned out to be far from the truth.
Around 8 a.m., we were waiting around for the bus to arrive. Eventually a very tatty minibus appeared and hauled us one block to the coach, where many passengers were already waiting. We got on and waited and waited. Meanwhile the bus driver was chatting amiably to passers by. Finally, he boarded and we took off at a slow speed toward the Thai border.
After an hour we stopped at a refreshment stall where the bathrooms were disgusting and smelled heavily of petrol. We were asked to pay for their use, but I refused. We did buy some more pineapple and mango which was freshly cut and handed to us inside a plastic bag; very skillful.
One more hour and we arrived at the same bus terminal we had seen on the way over to Siem Reap. It was only 11 a.m., but we were hungry and got some steamed chicken and noodles from the stands there. It wasn't clear why we were waiting here, but later it was apparent that we were only there to generate business for the stalls, because we got on and arrived at the border half an hour later. After the usual form checking and joining of four separate queues (two to get out of Cambodia and two to get in to Thailand), we arrived at the other side to find the tour operator waiting for us. He then proceeded to try and up-sell us onto a faster, smaller air-conditioned minibus. We were tempted, especially with the midday heat, but thought that the original bus would be fine and only get us in an hour later.
After trying to upsell the other 40 passengers who also declined, we trekked the few hundred yards outside the border post under the hot sun, to...an awaiting truck. We were herded on like cattle and many had to stand in the aisle with some hanging out the back. Luckily Carmen and the boys got to go up front in the cab. It was a half hour journey and we finally arrived at a tourist office. It was about 1:30 p.m. now and they were kind enough to provide lunch, for a fee of course. The food was quite good, but we all wondered how long we would be there and sat around waiting. About an hour and a half later, our new bus finally arrived and we boarded it to discover it had been sitting in the hot sun and was like an oven inside. Also, the AC didn't work too well; each vent blew a gentle warm breeze. Luckily I had about three liters of water with us, so as we sweated for the next three hours until the sun went down, we were able to stay sufficiently hydrated.
Around 8 p.m. we arrived at Khao San Road and took a taxi to our hotel. Moral of the story: take the train or private minibus to and from the Cambodian border!