Date: 16 May 2018
Today saw our tour of Cambodia come to an end. This journey began when I met up with my girlfriend in Chiang Mai, Thailand, then flew to Phnom Penh (Cambodia’s capital), then took the bus to Siem Reap, spent a day exploring Angkor Park and today, we depart for Bangkok. But instead of taking a flight, I figured we would cross international borders by road instead.
Our bus came with a guide who had a look at our passports before getting down from the bus and when I told him I was from India, he was like “oh”. He told me Indians and Chinese often face hurdles with immigration at this border. We were also told we would have to pay 100 baht to Cambodia immigration upon exit.
It was crowded inside but lines moved fast. The Cambodian immigration officer asked for the 100 baht but did not give a receipt or anything. I still wonder why we had to pay money upon leaving Cambodia… and that too in Thai baht.
Photography was not allowed upstairs but it was basically a few counters where we all had to line up and pass through after getting our passports stamped with entry permits. My girlfriend, who is Filipino, went through without any issues and little questioning, as did everyone else from our bus. When I approached the immigration officer, she looked at my passport, saw that I had already gotten a multiple-entry visa beforehand… but still asked me where I would be staying in Bangkok.
I was then asked to present a paper copy of my hotel reservation. I told her my hotel was already booked and showed her my reservation on my phone (made on Booking.com). She then asked me to step aside and wait for her senior. My girlfriend waited at the other end, saw all this but was asked by the immigration officer to not wait around and told her to wait outside the exit door.
After much waiting, finally the senior immigration officer started to question me on what my profession was, how long I would be in Thailand, purpose of my visit and so on. He then asked me show proof of my hotel reservation. I again showed him the confirmed booking on my phone. He said that was not good enough. He asked me to go back outside and get a printed copy of my hotel reservation! A bit taken back, I reminded him that up until this point, nobody had asked me for a printed copy of a hotel reservation as a prerequisite. Not when I first passed Thailand immigration at Suvarnabhumi airport, nor at Phnom Penh. But he didn’t care. He told me to get a print out and come back.
As annoyed I was, I was not going to argue with the one person who can decide whether or not I can re-enter Thailand. I quickly rushed outside and tried to call Gale… but no phone network! Mind you I was only a few hundred metres outside Cambodia and yet I was unable to call my girlfriend or message her to update her as to why it was taking so long. I rushed all around trying to find an internet cafe (yes, like they exist in 2018 -_-). I went from shop to shop asking who had a printer. Eventually I found a computer shop which had a printer and I was able to get a print out of my Bangkok hotel reservation. The guy even charged me 100 baht for a print out(!) but again, I could not argue with him because my main concern was passing immigration, reuniting with my girlfriend and getting back on the bus.
I rushed back all sweaty and waited to again pass through immigration. I met the same lady officer, showed her the print out of my hotel reservation, and this time I was asked to sit down by a desk… and wait. Beside me was a Malaysian (Chinese) and he was being questioned as well. He was sidelined because he had no hotel reservation to show. He said he was going to be staying at an Airbnb but could not produce a copy of that reservation when asked. When the immigration officer asked him to show a minimum of 10,000 baht, he merely told them he would withdraw the money upon arrival in Bangkok. Then the officer turned to me and asked me to show the money I had with me. I showed well over 10k and I was given the stamp to enter Thailand. The Malaysian was denied entry. He was told he would have to go back to Cambodia and fly into Thailand. There was no way he would be allowed in by land today.
I had no time to offer him my pity. After my passport was stamped, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and I quickly exited the immigration room. I came down the stairs to the sight of my girlfriend sitting on the floor looking at her phone. I felt so sorry seeing her like that and I apologized. I told her I’d answer her questions on the way to the bus. We met our guide who was waiting for me. I apologized to him too but he smiled and said it was fine because, as he warned me beforehand, he’s experienced this before. The guide escorted us back to the bus. I felt really bad holding up the entire bus… because this entire ordeal of mine lasted nearly an hour. I apologized to my fellow passengers as I entered the bus and we were then back on the road.
You could be reading this and saying to yourself: “Well duh, you should have carried a print out of your hotel reservation”. But like I mentioned, I already had a multiple entry visa stamped in my passport. I paid Rs. 10,000 for it back in India (applied through VFS) and got the visa by providing all the proofs for my entire travel itinerary. I applied for this multiple entry visa beforehand with the very assumption I could avoid any issues with Thailand immigration. The other reason is, visa on arrival via land entry to Thailand isn’t for every nationality. It’s a lot easier for Western passport holders, Japanese, etc. But as the aforementioned Malaysian guy’s denial can tell you, Thai immigration can scrutinize everybody. It’s up to them.
Mind you, Malaysians do not need a prior visa to enter Thailand, be it by air, land or sea. Citizens of ASEAN member nations do not require visas to visit each other. In fact many from Laos and Cambodia make use of border crossings to enter Thailand but then overstay and work illegally. And I have since read Indians and Chinese do this too nowadays. Thus the scrutiny by Thailand immigration. Thailand has even started to crack down on foreigners making visa runs, mostly used by Western backpackers who stay for extended periods of time in Thailand (some even working illegally as English teachers) by exiting via land or sea after 30 days, crossing into a bordering nation and then re-entering the same day.
All the other nations that are eligible for visa on arrival, that scheme only applies if you fly into any of the major international airports in Thailand. The same visa on arrival scheme is not valid for land entry. Thus my decision to apply for 3-month multi-entry visa beforehand. Alas, despite having a visa already in my passport, I still had to endure crap like this.
After the ordeal I went through, I was just happy to be in Bangkok, a city both me and my girlfriend love. I won’t be making another post from the days we spent in the city because there is nothing new to show.
So this concludes my Cambodia series. It was a good trip and I enjoyed my time in the country. Just wished the ending could have been stress-free.
Previous posts in this series:
Cambodia: Banteay Kdei – A Citadel of Chambers
Cambodia: Ta Prohm temple – the one famous for the tree roots
Cambodia: Bayon temple – the one famous for stone faces
Cambodia: Phnom Penh to Siem Reap by bus
Cambodia: Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh
Cambodia: Mekong River Sunrise Cruise… and an insight into Chinese investment in the region
Cambodia: Phnom Penh Central Market and Wat Phnom
Cambodia: S21, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
Cambodia: Choeung Ek genocidal center — the infamous “Killing Fields”
Cambodia: Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh Night market
Cambodia: Arriving in Phnom Penh
