Cambodia forum

When traveling in Cambodia, AVOID, do NOT take Goldline bus company. I paid for a $17 bus ticket from Siem Reap to Kep through my friendly hotel, Mandalay Inn. I paid for a VIP bus and the one shown in the picture is a nice two story bus with comfy seats that recline and ample storage space. The nice bus in the picture shows up and promptly pulls away with NO ONE in it. Another bus, more akin to an elementary school bus pulls up and the conductor tells everyone to get on this much crappier, NO reclining seat, NO place for luggage so it's crammed into my leg space and up and down the aisles. EVERYONE on the bus is up in arms complaining. THIS bus is NOT what anyone paid good money for. No reclining seats is not normally an issue, except this is a 6 hour journey to Phnom Phen leaving at 12 midnight when you would expect to be able to sleep on a bus. After twenty minutes of arguing with various Goldline employees on the bus and in the office, they finally agreed to refund my ticket price. I stayed in Siem Reap another night never to make the horrible mistake of taking this bus company again.

I think Bangkok to SR via travel agent is probably worse than the other way round as Cambodia requires you to pay for a visa on arrival, which extremely friendly bus company representatives will offer to arrange for around 1200 baht - a lot more than the $20 (plus 100baht bribes) the border officials ask for.

On the other hand this moneymaking opportunity for the bus companies backfires if you politely insist on keeping your passport and crossing the border yourself. Chances are their bus will wait for you on the other side even if you refuse to employ their services in which case you're laughing at how little the bus journey cost. If they don't, you've only paid 250 baht, you've got your bags and you'll probably still get to Siem Reap for less than the extra visa cost those that stayed with the bus paid.

Its recently been reported that direct bus services between Thailand and Cambodia are going to be permitted which should make things easier still. Now if only Cambodia's government was willing to recognise how badly other aspects of that Poipet border crossing reflect on their country...

As for Lao, I'm willing to assume incompetence rather than malice after being sold a ticket for a connecting bus in the direction of Vietnam that didn't exist (and got my money back) by a confused Si Pha Don travel agent.