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| Angkor Wat - Siem Reap, Cambodia |
The story goes that Bangkok Air in cahoots with the Cambodia government conspired to keep the overland crossing from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia as grueling as possible, and then to seal the deal the Cambodia government granted a monopoly on air service to Bangkok Air.
A number of years ago I made this grueling over land trip and what a slog it was. The Thailand leg from Mor Chit II bus station in Bangkok onward to the Thai/Cambodia boarder at Paranya Prathetoipet wasn't all that bad but once off the bus the bad roared in like a pack of hungry, angry, tigers in search of a tasty bite.
When the bus landed us in Paranya Prathetoipet we stepped off to be greeted by a wild and woolly mix of motorbike, tuk-tuk and what have ya guys.
Thinking back the trek across town from the bus to immigrations was a blur so I can't remember how I ended up on the old raggedy bus that carried me onward to Siem Reap. My memory of the Cambodian leg is sketchy, except for the frequent stops the bus driver made to dose the front wheels with water (still wonder about that) and the time spent with the bus idling alongside the road, which I’m guessing was to let the engine cool.
However, now I've read that this stretch of Cambodian road has been upgraded, but guessing it’s still plied by the same decrepit, hot and overcrowded buses of the past. Anyway, if you take this land route even with the new and improved road you still have the unsavory experience of getting to the border from Paranya Prathetoipet to customs and wondering Poipet looking for transport to Siem Reap. Though I must add, even though this route, even with a better road is still uncomfortable but is still a cheap and interesting trip.
Just as a side bar it's possible to hire a taxi in Poipet to Siem Reap but guessing it’s a hell of a lot more expensive than the bus.
So up to date there weren't many options in getting to Siem Reap and Ankor Wat from Bangkok other than the cheap and adventurous land passage or paying big bucks to fly. Last I checked Bangkok Air with there monopoly to Siem Reap ha a price tag of around $300.00 for a round trip ticket.
However, there is also the around about third option of flying out of Bangkok to Phnom Penh on Air Asia. Their are probably numerous other carriers offering service but Air Asia is normally one of the cheaper options to get anywhere in the region. A round trip ticket is about $110.00. Once in Phnom Penh you then head over to the central market, Psar Thmei and buy a $ 6.00 bus ticket for the 4 or 5 hour bus ride to Siem Reap.
Which now brings us to the recent fourth option of using a new air service from Pattya, Thailand with direct flights to Siem Reap. Air Hanuman. As close as I can figure is/was an air charter outfit with big dreams for its future so started offering three scheduled flights a week from U-Taphoa International, located a short distance from Pattya and onwards to Siem Reap. Their inaugural fare, effective October 10, 12, 15 and extended to October 17, 19 and 22 was $ 199.00 round trip. Air Hanuman operates two, 144 seat B737-300’s and one 187 seat B737-500 for charter and I’m guessing these aircraft will be pressed into service for the Pattaya, Siem Reap route. http://airhanuman.com check it out.
That's all I've got for now but always thinking of you... Doug
