havent posted much lately as I havent been anywhere lately. mostly work.
crossed at anlong veng (chong sa ngam) early april. got charged 5 bucks by cambodia customs for 3 bikes. figured it was the khmer new year and they just wanted cash. hope we didnt set a precident. they had us sign out and sign back in, but other than that really had no program. the thais on the otherhand were computerized.
hI, I'm Ed from Singapore and will be going to Cambodia thru Poipet and thru to Siam Reap...Is there any update on the Route from Poipet...to Siam Reap... and what kind of Petrol and how much per litre.. thanks...Any one out there willing to show me way...I'll be going in from Thai to Poipet on 10th Dec... Any kind of info will do...CHeers
This seems a silly question but. You can get all types of fuel, diesel, Regular Unleaded or Premium Unleaded. The cost of Regular is about $0.87 per liter depending on location of course.
You will have no problems with the road. It is not the best road but if you go slowly when it gets rough it is quite passable.
Thanks for the Reply... I'm travelling alone and there is no info on these so I thought i might ask b4 being dubbed when i got there>..Thanks... i can be contacted at +66 836586011 Thai No... Cheers...Any latest info pls update me....
Poipet is about the worst border crossing to take a motorcycle thru. If you have a choice try Osmach further north or Pailin in the south, or even go to Hat Lek. Believe me Poipet is the pits. Went thru Osmach a week ago, 5 mins at the border, no Cambo customs. Road is reasonable on a dirt/trail bike , would think twice to take a road bike. Osmach to Samrong and south highway 5 along 68 is all dirt. Once you hit highway 5 and turn towards Siem Riep it is a lot of road works but the surface is reasonable, turns to tar close to SR. Beware traffic into SR from the west is quite hectic at peak times (AM/PM).I don't know the condition of the road Poipet to Sisophon.
Another very good road is to enter into Cambodia just north of Anlong Veng, it is tar to AV and about 50kms past, then very good surface ready for tar most of the way to Siem Riep. Can PM me for exact details.
Crossed at Had Lek late September. Never was asked in the past if I had Thai insurance, but this time I was, said no and was on my way. I did get some cheap ins. later in the journey just in case I get hassled in the future.
I came back thru Anlong Veng.
The road from Bua Chet to the Chong Sa Ngam border crossing as well as the road down the hill into Anlong Veng have both become pitted with pot holes. Once out of Anlong Veng, there is a super highway by Cambodia standards and I was the only one on it. 40 out of Anlong Veng was paved and there was paving going on the rest of the way to Banteay Srey.
customs was happy to see me as they havent been too busy since Preah Vihear tensions.
I was there on Tuesday the 2nd and Wednesday the 3rd of December. Slept at the base of the temple just 50 m from the border in a policemans run guest house of sorts.
There were some tensions that night and the next day as one of the Khmers machine guns had blown up. The Thais quickly put their hands up and said "not me" but many of the market stall holders there quickly ran to the top of the temple. Some slept the night at the top and others bought tents the next day to sleep further away from the boarder as they were scared.
In reality both sides are being very non threatning and the main forces are 5-20km away. At the actual border crossing there was 1 AK and 1 RPG unattended.
Go now the road is good and the army add another dimension to the trip.
I live in Surin, so the closest border crossing is O Smach, which I used often when I had the XR650, but only in the dry season. Now I ride a Ducati Multistrada 1000, the perfect bike for Thailand, but not a dirt bike. So I tried the Chong Sa Ngam/Anlong Veng crossing 130 km further East. Early December, the checkpoint was almost completely shut down for lack of traffic, due to the still-simmering border tensions. The Thais were extremely friendly (not computerized), I signed off on my 3-mo. temporary import permit. Then an emissary from the Cambodian side came to inform me that the bike would not be allowed in. I went over to the Cambodian customs shack to negotiate and was politely but firmly rebuffed. I asked them to check with their superiors, which they did, and their position was confirmed. I needed to obtain permission from customs in Phnom Penh prior to admission with a motor vehicle at Anlong Veng, even a motorbike. I speak fluent Khmer, and I argued with them long and hard, even calling a friendly customs official in Samrong who confirmed that in his province (Oddar Meanchey) there wouldn't be a problem, but that Anlung Veng was a different jurisdiciton. I had him speak to his colleagues, but it was no deal. Must get permit from Phnom Penh. As a last resort I told them that I thought this was just a scam to squeeze some money under the table, which was no problem for me as I was a rich foreigner. At this, they got very offended and even menacing, so I retreated to Thailand. Got a new temporary import permit valid 30 days.
Next day, I went to Poipet, via Aran. There, the senior Thai customs officer was very rude, cursing bloody foreigners who evaded import duties by using the "loop hole" afforded by the damned temp. imp.permits, and blustering that this hole should really be nailed shut. But on the Cambodian side, nobody at customs even glanced at the bike, conspicuous as it is. No paper work aside from the visa.
Then, the worst stretch of road in all of Cambodia began, just after the roundabout. It had rained there that morning. For about 300m, there were trailer-trucks bumper-to-bumper, and every space in between was so jammed with motorbikes and the odd Camry or Land Cruiser that nobody could move. Grid lock on main street--now a 2-way track made of large broken rocks the size of basket balls, covered in 30 cm of very slick mud. It took me half an hour and 2 liters of sweat to make it through to the other end, exhausted but safe.
From there to Phnom Penh took all of 4 hours, the road via Battambang/Pursat was in the best condition I had seen it in in 15 years, or ever.
I went straight to the customs office to ask for a permit to enter by motorbike through Anlong Veng. I got it within 24 hours, at no charge and valid until end of March, although they're usually issued only 'till the end of the current year, I was told. Permit is renewable, valid only for this bike, actually consists of my annotated and stamped request, with chassis & engine nos. noted, photocopies of ppt & vehicle registration. It took me 4 trips to the computer shop to get the letter just right, proper typing, proper heading/form of address, proper information, proper length (must leave at least 1/3 of the page blank for comments and stamps, so cut out the crap about your sick mother-in-law and visits to your development projects).
The road from PP to Anlong Veng is about 430 km, branch off from the highway to Siem Reap. The new road is clearly visible on satellite images, but is not yet included in the road map overlays on MS Virtual Earth, for example. And believe me, this road is spectacular! A 4-lane highway through the jungle and hills, totally flat surface, mostly tarred at the time of this post, and practically no traffic at all. You could do 200+ km/h on some inclines with 2-3 km visibility. And seeing that, I realized that the requirement to obtain a permit in PP actually makes sense, as it would be extremely misleading to enter Cambodia on such a road only to then hit the usual Cambo roads elsewhere unprepared. Believe me, friends, Cambodian roads are still dangerous, Cambodian traffic is still deadly! I have experienced over a dozen road accidents in that country over the years, one of which ended up costing me my spleen. I paid my dues, I have the scars to show I earned my way to freedom. Oh and how sweet it is now!
I returned to Surin (560 km from PP to my home) in 6 hours. Everyone on both sides of the border extremely cordial. When I went back through there again a week later, the Cambodians made a photocopy of the permit, stamped that, and asked for it back when I left. I get to keep the original.
Has there been any latest developments with this border crossing into Cambodia? Is a permit from PP still required for motorbikes?
I came across this border back in December into Thailand. Thai side was efficient. Cambodia Immigration kept telling us to go to Customs. Customs Pailin gave no paperwork on entry and would not. So after getting stamped out of Cambodia we high tailed it to Thailand.
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