My (first) contribution to a website that helped me find what I needed for my trips in the past year.
We live near Chanthaburi (Central-East) and planned a 5-day trip to Banteay Chhmar (North-West Cambodia) crossing the border with our Kawasaki KLX250 at Ban Prakkad (Called Prum in Cambodia).
There is no sign in English on the 3227 and if you go without GPS, as we do, take the turn to the border just outside Khlong Yai. The custom office is at your right, opposite the border trade centre, a couple of hundred meters before immigration. A friendly officer was reading his newspaper outside; he took our copies of the passports and the green book and disappeared in the building. After 20 minutes a window opened and he asked us to help him fill out my name etc on his computer. (You better check twice!) I signed the printed documents (Simplified Customs Declaration Form), one of which has to be returned to the custom officer coming back from Cambodia, and I also had to put my name and signature in a ‘big book’.
This form needs to be copied twice, free of charge at right hand counter 7 next to immigration (Only Thai indication). With the original and the copies, plus 2 copies of your passport and green book, proceed to counter 1 (also only Thai indication). You will have to sign a lot of documents and leave the counter with the original custom form and copies of a document called Information of Conveyance and Crew List (although we were two on the bike, only my name was put on the form)
For normal immigration procedures proceed to the next counter and join all the visa runners. Whatever they tell you afterwards, this is it, just sit on your bike and cross the border.
The Cambodian immigration did not know what to do with our Thai bike, and sent us to the customs building across the street, where we found an officer who also did not know what to do with the documents we showed other then copy them and thanking us for our visit.
When we thought we were through we got on the bike but were stopped again by somebody in uniform who thought we could not take the bike into Cambodia, but after some discussion at a counter changed ideas and let us go.
The road to Pailin and Battambang is smooth, from Battambang to Sisophon still fine, but busy.
From Sisophon to Banteay Chhmar it was a 50 km challenging road, a dirt road in bad shape. They are upgrading the road, but that does not make it better for the moment, on the contrary. The ruins of Banteay Chhmar are worthwhile, it will be the second Angkor Wat one day, but today we were the only visitors….fabulous. There is a home stay if you want to stay the night (we did, very pleasant experience) and food needs to be ordered upfront, if you want to dine that day. There is only electricity for a couple of hours in the evening.
Returning to Thailand: after the Cambodian immigration (nobody asked about the bike) we crossed into Thailand, parked the bike at immigration and walked pass immigration to counter 7 again, this time for our arrival card and copy of passport and photo. Then back to counter 6 for immigration, and customs again, where the same officer took the Simplified Customs Declaration Form and let me sign off in the ‘big book’.
Border crossing was fast (efficient) and friendly, both ways. Into Cambodia, less than 1 hour, back to Thailand 30 minutes altogether.
Homestay Banteay Chhmar
Customs in Thailand
Customs in Cambodia
We live near Chanthaburi (Central-East) and planned a 5-day trip to Banteay Chhmar (North-West Cambodia) crossing the border with our Kawasaki KLX250 at Ban Prakkad (Called Prum in Cambodia).
There is no sign in English on the 3227 and if you go without GPS, as we do, take the turn to the border just outside Khlong Yai. The custom office is at your right, opposite the border trade centre, a couple of hundred meters before immigration. A friendly officer was reading his newspaper outside; he took our copies of the passports and the green book and disappeared in the building. After 20 minutes a window opened and he asked us to help him fill out my name etc on his computer. (You better check twice!) I signed the printed documents (Simplified Customs Declaration Form), one of which has to be returned to the custom officer coming back from Cambodia, and I also had to put my name and signature in a ‘big book’.
This form needs to be copied twice, free of charge at right hand counter 7 next to immigration (Only Thai indication). With the original and the copies, plus 2 copies of your passport and green book, proceed to counter 1 (also only Thai indication). You will have to sign a lot of documents and leave the counter with the original custom form and copies of a document called Information of Conveyance and Crew List (although we were two on the bike, only my name was put on the form)
For normal immigration procedures proceed to the next counter and join all the visa runners. Whatever they tell you afterwards, this is it, just sit on your bike and cross the border.
The Cambodian immigration did not know what to do with our Thai bike, and sent us to the customs building across the street, where we found an officer who also did not know what to do with the documents we showed other then copy them and thanking us for our visit.
When we thought we were through we got on the bike but were stopped again by somebody in uniform who thought we could not take the bike into Cambodia, but after some discussion at a counter changed ideas and let us go.
The road to Pailin and Battambang is smooth, from Battambang to Sisophon still fine, but busy.
From Sisophon to Banteay Chhmar it was a 50 km challenging road, a dirt road in bad shape. They are upgrading the road, but that does not make it better for the moment, on the contrary. The ruins of Banteay Chhmar are worthwhile, it will be the second Angkor Wat one day, but today we were the only visitors….fabulous. There is a home stay if you want to stay the night (we did, very pleasant experience) and food needs to be ordered upfront, if you want to dine that day. There is only electricity for a couple of hours in the evening.
Returning to Thailand: after the Cambodian immigration (nobody asked about the bike) we crossed into Thailand, parked the bike at immigration and walked pass immigration to counter 7 again, this time for our arrival card and copy of passport and photo. Then back to counter 6 for immigration, and customs again, where the same officer took the Simplified Customs Declaration Form and let me sign off in the ‘big book’.
Border crossing was fast (efficient) and friendly, both ways. Into Cambodia, less than 1 hour, back to Thailand 30 minutes altogether.
Many thanks Helge from Norway