Visa Run... crawl?

I went to get a new Thai visa.  As I already had a Cambodian visa going there made the most sense.


I was shocked at the difference between Thailand and Cambodia.  I'd obviously know Cambodia was a little backward in terms of development given its recent history.  But I wasn't prepared to see and experience it.


My first stop was to Siem Reap where I'd read on the internet it's possible to get a Thai visa.  It took me a few days to find out it's really expensive to do it from here as it all gets mailed to the Thai Embassy in Phnom Phen.  And then again it's not assured you'll get the visa.


During this time I decided to stay for a bit and explore the ruins of Angkor.


Getting to Cambodia was quite easy.  At Poi Pet, the border crossing on the Cambodian side, there are a number of casinos and it's the main overland gateway from Thailand into Cambodia.  This makes the crossing "user friendly".


The road to Siem Reap is new.  The trip only took about 2 hours.  In previous times I'd heard it could take up to 6 hours to complete the 140km odd.  I also noted the new railroad still under construction.  The line which runs from Phnom Phen to Poi Pet is slated to open sometime in 2013.