Bus ride to Siem Reap from Arayanpathet

Date: 26th December 2015

The bus company has provided a free shuttle bus to it's main terminal, seated at the outskirt of Poipet area to all the passengers as highlighted in my earlier entry. I believe the "free shuttle" cost must have been added to the actual bus fare. Seriously, there's nothing is free in this world. By the way, the journey takes around  half an hour to reach the terminal where everyone has to get down and buy their next destination ticket respectively. I quite like the terminal as there's no sting smells there. The place has been kept very much clean and tidy too.

Inside the shuttle bus

We changed about USD100 into a local currency while paying for a bus fare of USD18 which is equivalent to 7,200 Cambodian money. Thereafter, we ordered food for lunch in a rush thinking that the bus would leave soon. We both did not finished our lunch thinking that the bus would leave anytime soon. It was not. They waited until the bus was full then only the bus is moved. All of us so anxious of leaving due to a hot weather. We all clapped when the bus was finally move.

There's nothing much to enjoy during the bus ride, beside the paddy field and small villages in between. But the road is not that bad. My family and I were on the highways from Kuala Lumpur to Cameron Highland during the Chinese New Year holiday. We were indeed very proud of Malaysia's infrastructure. Our highways are 1 of the best in South East Asia though mostly were on privatisation. My sons accompanied me to see the Mossy Forest in Brinchang Hill where the State Government has provided the road all the way up. No hiking is required for those who are not fond of jungle trekking like me. The state road however is not properly maintained though the area attracted many local and foreign visitors. I hope, the Transport Minister and the Tourism Minister could communicate better to enhance the state road to reach the famous Mossy Forest with the Perak State Government in the near future.

The remaining photos below were snapped when the bus made a stop for toilet break. Unfortunately, everything here requires purchasing (a scam between the bus transporter with the shop owner). You have to purchase at least a drink should you want to use their facilities, i.e. toilet. Simply because they knew that the bus is full of foreigners. They thought foreigner like us do not know how to check the fair price of all the snacks selling there. It was mark up to beyond imagination. Take my advise, just buy a small mineral water to use the toilet. Another advise is to remind the bus driver that it's time to move. Else, he will just take his own sweet time as if there's no rush to arrive.

We arrived in Siem Reap quite at late hours, took our luggage down and booked the tuk tuk without much negotiation. It was a tiring day from the moment we left the hotel in Hua Lamphong at an early hours and arriving at almost 22:00 hours, i,e, 10pm at night. We have travelled about 413km on 26th December 2014 with the following mode of transportation:-

By train - 255km
By tuk-tuk - 6km
By bus - 152km