Visa Run

If you are going to stay in Thailand for any length of time over 30 days, most likely at some point you will have to go on a "Visa Run". You leave Thailand and cross the border into some neighbouring country and then turn around and re-enter Thailand. It is a pain, but that's what is required when your Thailand visa expires.

From Chonburi, the nearest border is Cambodia. It takes about 3 1/2 hours to get there. It is the most confusing border I have ever seen. There are people everywhere selling stuff, and it isn't very clear exactly WHERE the border is. There are buildings but the whole time we were just hopping from one building to the next, never sure when we actually crossed. Maybe the whole thing is intentionally confusing. That way, you feel the need to hire a guide, which will hold your hand through the whole process, for 200 Baht a person.

The most annoying part is that there is no free short term visa for Cambodia. When you enter Thailand, you automatically are granted a free 30 day tourist visa. For Cambodia, you have to pay 1000 Baht (about $25) and fill out a page long visa application, WITH a passport photo attached (I didn't know that, so I had to pay an extra 100 Baht). In a few minutes your Cambodian visa is added to your passport. Then you can go to the next building to get it stamped so you can get in.

Cambodia is a very poor country. My only memory of it was observing that they drive on the right side of the road. That's all I know because as soon as I got my passport stamped to get into the country, I walked across the street to the other building to get it stamped to leave. In total I was officially in Cambodia for 5 minutes.

I guess it's neat to be able to add another country to the list of places I've been, but I don't look forward to the day-long affair, the next time my visa expires.