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bus journey

Inside bus to Mui Ne Vietnam

Vietnam: Taking bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Mui Ne

Date: 28 October 2019

After spending the last few days exploring Ho Chi Minh City and going on day tours outside of the city, I decided to take a break from the city and visit the coastal town of Mui Ne.

An travel agent bus tickets Saigon
I had purchased my bus ticket to Mui Ne from this travel agent near Bui Vien street, which is from where the bus departs
Inside bus to Mui Ne Vietnam
I paid 150,000 VND (₹475/$6.5/€5.2) for the ticket to Mui Ne. Oddly enough, I bought my return ticket from Mui Ne back to Ho Chi Minh City… and paid 130,000 VND for a similar bus -_-
Saigon highway apartment Vietnam
We got on the highway to exit Ho Chi Minh City
Saigon river bridge view Vietnam
This is Saigon river

The journey from Ho Chi Minh City to Mui Ne is over 4 hours long with a stop in between for a break.

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Siem Reap to Bangkok by bus… my experience at the Thailand border

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.

Giant Ibis bus to Bangkok
We booked the 7:45am bus via Giant Ibis. Tickets costs $32 per person. The bus was hardly full.
Green fields Cambodia
It’s not that flights from Siem Reap to Bangkok are much more expensive. I just never crossed international borders by road before so I thought I’d get to experience something new.
Cambodia public school
I also wanted to see more of Cambodia’s countryside and the way of life out here (pictured is a public school)
Hill Cambodia countryside
But much of what I saw were farmlands
Giant Ibis bus rest stop Cambodia
We would stop once along the highway for a rest stop break
Poipet road Cambodia
Closer to noon, we had reached the border town of Poipet
Happy Mart Cambodia highway
Poipet isn’t big but it is the most developed town I had seen along the way since leaving Siem Reap
Cambodia Thailand border crossing
The bus would drop us here and then pick us up again from the Thailand side. We were all given badges and asked to follow our guide.

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.

Poipet departure Cambodia border
That green structure is the Cambodia immigration for departures

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.

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Cows on road Cambodia

Cambodia: Phnom Penh to Siem Reap by bus

Date: 12 May 2018

Once we were done with our visit to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, we walked back to our hotel to have our breakfast.

Buttercup Tree Phnom Penh Cambodia
Our hotel was near Botum Park
Cambodia Vietnam friendship monument
I had seen this monument from afar and wanted to know what it was.
Cambodia Vietnam Friendship statue
It was the Cambodia Vietnam Friendship Monument. Installed to commemorate Vietnam’s role in liberating Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge.

Once back in the hotel, we packed up, had our breakfast and took a taxi to the bus company’s office.

Luxury apartment Phnom Penh
We took a short ride to the Phnom Penh Night Market area where private bus operators are all located
Mekong Express bus to Siem Reap
We bought tickets at Mekong Express since we just wanted to leave as soon as possible. But even after 30mins of the scheduled time, the bus failed to show. Eventually we boarded and were on our way. The bus has a toilet inside.
Mekong Express snack box
Tickets cost $12 for the Phnom Penh to Siem Reap journey. You even get a snack box (came with a sausage roll and a cupcake). They also give each passenger water bottles.
Roadside restaurant Cambodia
I was looking forward to seeing the Cambodian countryside and get a glimpse into local life
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