The driver pulled over to the side of the road and told us it was as far as he could go— the border crossing can only be done on foot.

“If you hold him [the immigration official] to the price on the sign over his head, though, he’ll probably ask for anything from 100-300 baht as an expedite fee, and if you decline that, he’ll angrily tell you the wait is “long time” and stare off into space or simply shut the window and go back to sleep” –WikiTravel

Given that the border crossing into Cambodia can take several hours unless you are willing to bribe the immigration officials leaving Cambodia was relatively pain-free. Thailand awaited us…. just not quite yet.

We had arrived in Poipet, a border town located in a no-man’s land between the Cambodian and Thai immigration checkpoints. Poipet’s location also accounts for its main industry (well, at least its main official industry): gambling. Gambling is illegal in Thailand, so Poipot has become a hit with Thai tourists who can come and gamble in Poipot without having to technically cross into Cambodia and deal with Cambodian immigration. If you’ve ever seen Star Wars, picture the Mos Eisley cantina and you’ll understand what Poipet is like. For those of you who haven’t seen Star Wars I’ll again leave it to WikiTravel, “Other than gambling, whoring and lowering one’s opinion of humanity, there are no sights or activities in Poipet… The most rewarding part of any tourist’s visit to Poipet is leaving the city.”

Believe me, we were actively attempting to leave. Unfortunately things proved to be a little less straightforward than the travel agent’s instructions of, “go to the Grand Diamond Hotel lobby and wait for the bus to Bangkok .” As we entered the hotel we found ourselves transported to into a seedy version of Las Vegas. The hotel was overflowing with slots machines, roulette boards, cheap bars, and desperate looking gamblers (and it was only 9:30AM). What we didn’t find was a sign for our bus to Bangkok.

“Bus to Bangkok?” we asked in our best pigeon English. No answer, confused stares. The staff looked at each other; what were they to do with the confused Westerners with large backpacks, who were obviously not there to gamble.

Eventually we spotted a grungy lobby with a group of bored looking foreigners sprawled out on chairs. It turned out we had indeed found the departure point. A short time later a few representatives from the bus company came to wrangle us from the hotel across the Thai border. We probably should have suspected something was amiss when we were lead past the passport control center without getting our passports stamped. It wasn’t until we came to a sudden stop, and the bus representatives took off for destinations unknown that we thought to ask our fellow passengers what was going on.

A side note about our fellow passengers. Unbeknownst to us we had been booked on a visa run bus (foreigners living in Thailand on tourist visas are required to leave the country every few weeks). At some point they had ventured to Thailand (for reasons that with a little imagination I’m sure you can guess at) and it looked like save the bi-monthly visa run to Poipet they had never left. All in all they were one sketchy group.

Back to the passports. It turns out everyone else, experts at this by now, had handed their passports over to the bus employees who were now off getting them stamped. When they returned we explained the confusion. Not a problem. They took our passports and several minutes later returned, stamped passports in hand. I’m still not entirely sure what was going on, since I’ve never heard of immigration stamping a passport for entry without the passport holder present, but it seems like that’s how things are done in Poipet. Next to security, where they pat you down and search your bags in an attempt to stem the flow of drugs into Thailand. In theory. In reality I could barely get the border guard to stop doing whatever she was doing long enough to wave me through with little more than a passing glance.

Finally we were in Thailand, and ready to board the bus. The bus was two stories high and bright green with tropical designs. I have to say it is one of the nicest buses I have ever been on; the seats were roomy, and each passenger was allotted ample legroom. The buses I took in India would have managed to fit at least fifteen more people and a few screaming babies into our compartment. I was a little concerned when we first boarded and the TV kept flashing the word “porno,” but it turned out our on-board movie was actually Transformers 2. All in all once we got out of Poipet, getting back to Bangkok by bus proved fairly painless.

The bus