Siem Reap to Bangkok: The Nattakan bus experience

Thursday December 28, 2017, 7 miles (12 km) - Total so far: 2,834 miles

(4,561 km)

Having scoured the internet for opinion regarding the various border-crossing options, we headed to Giant Ibis for starters. We knew the tickets were slightly more expensive than Nattakan ($32 rather than £28), but had also heard better things about the buses, drivers etc. However, as they wanted $25 PER BIKE, we exited sharpish, and headed straight over to Nattakan!

Actually, we couldn't find the office and had to ask a friendly tuktuk to take us there......we were dropped at what looked like a random travel agent, which did not fill us with hope. However, we were greeted by friendly and professional staff, who had our tickets sorted in a flash, and informed us that we needed to pay $10 per bike when we arrived at the bus station. We still felt nervous.

No need, as it turned out! We arrived an hour before the bus departed, paid our $10, and soon loaded our bikes into the luggage compartment. We had been fretting about damage to the bikes but this was completely unfounded - the compartment was large enough for the bikes to stand upright. We were glad we had plenty of bungee cords to secure them in place. The driver and attendant were nothing but friendly and helpful, and didn't mind Ed interfering with securing the bikes.

The bus departed pretty much on time, wasn't busy, was air conditioned......didn't drive TOO crazily (it's all relative!). We received a small snack and a bottle of water before the border, and plenty of instructions from the attendant as to what to expect and what to do. We were each given a card to hang around our neck so that he could spot us - it felt like a school trip but was very sensible, given the numbers of people at the border. The attendant stressed to us to basically get a move on!

The whole border crossing only took 90 minutes which seemed like pretty good going. Stamping out was a bit chaotic but fine; the thai side was a lot more orderly (and air conditioned!). We were stamped in for 30 days as we'd hoped (and read, but there's always doubt!).

A brief stop to pick up our packed lunches (veggie fried rice, couldn't believe it - small though so bring lots of snacks!) then our driver then put the pedal to the metal and had us in Bangkok just 8.5 hours after departing Siem Reap. Not bad. We didn't stop for the toilet, so make sure you go at the border - we popped into a casino. There is a loo on the bus, and I expect they would stop for more 'serious' urges. We stopped slightly randomly a couple of times - this causes the trip advisor brigade no end of angst but you won't bat an eyelid if you've been in Asia for a while. We dropped some people off at the airport on the way past, but it took no time at all (this seems slightly unofficial to the westerner, but probably not really by Asian standards).

A random guy helped us escape Mo Chit bus station, and the ride to our hostel in Silom was pretty straightforward. The traffic really isn't too bad compared with Ho Chi Minh, Phnom Penh and Vientiane....

We are staying at Home Base Hostel which was the cheapest (while still being acceptable!) I could find in Silom, where our friends are staying. It's ok but seems very expensive at £15 for a windowless box with no bathroom (albeit air conditioned) but I guess this is Bangkok. It's a pretty laid back place with a fridge and dining area - nowhere inside for bikes though, so we've left them in our friends' hotel's garage. It is down a quiet alley though, and there is a bench to lock them to.