I had travelled to Siem Reap from Bangkok thru Poipet. I travelled with 2 other friends. As with other bros here in the forum, I follow the guide in
www.talesofasia.com. It is one of the best website on Cambodia. Any bros interested to know more about other websites, I shall post it later.
It is true that it is quite chaotic at Poipet. The journey can be divided into 3 parts from Bangkok to Siem Reap thru Poipet.
1. Bangkok to Aranyaprathet (the border town at Thailand side) - this part is the easiest. Took a coach from the Mochi bus terminal in bangkok and about 4 - 6hrs later will be at Aranyaprathet.
2. To cross the custom, had to take a tuk-tuk or motorbike from the dropping point (from the coach) at Aranyaprathet to the custom area. I suggest taking a lunch here if u start the journey in the morning. After lunch, proceed to the custom. The Thai side usually no problem. At the Cambodian side, that is the fun part. For Malaysian, there is no need for Visa. For Singaporean, a visa can be applied on the spot. Take note that the actual fee is 1000B or US$20. If calcuate, it is more worthwhile to pay in US dollars. But sometimes they dun accept and insists on bahts. And they will ask more than 1000B. Note that anything more than 1000B will be their pocket money. I paid them 1100B. Dun want to argue with them. Anyway noted that the person who ask u for the passport to be pasted with the visa and collect the money from u might not be in uniform. sometime they wear civilian clothes. just make sure that an uniformed one is nearby and make sure they see the transaction. After the visa, which is actually quite easy except for the pocket money, u might find someone following u. Dun be alarmed as they are mostly harmless but troublesome touts who try to get u to get into their "favourite" car for the transport to Siem Reap. I usually ignore them but they will still stick u like rice. Just ignore them and dun talk or look at them.
3. From Poipet to Siem Reap. For those not staying at Poipet for the night, you could take a transport from here. There are 3 types of transport. Coach, car and pickup. For those travelling on their own instead of buying the guided package from the tour agent in Khao San Rd in Bangkok, I think it is stupid to travel in the coach since in the first place, the reason for travelling on your own is to avoid being "sold" to a guest house in Siem Reap. Dun be alarmed by the word "sold". Will explained in my next post. For those taking pickup, it is a tough ride. And it dun go directly to Siem Reap. It will stop at a town and u need to change to another pickup. Choose pickup for the really adventurous. I choose car since I had 2 other friends. 3 of us shared a car and the whole car including the driver cost 1200 bahts. If 4 person sharing, each paid 300 bahts and it is quite worth it. Noted that the ride from Poipet to Siem Reap is a rough one and it take at least 6 hours. But at the end, in Siem Reap, enjoy the scenery at Angkor Wat, and experienced 4 hands massage - not found in Sg. hehehe...will continued with more info. on next post.