Thai-Cambodia crossing?

Question:

A few foreigners were already killed after entering Cambodia from Thailand. Remember: The Thai-Cambodia-Border is Khmer Rouge area, and that is no fun ! — C++ is to C as Lung Cancer is to Lung

Response:

Alice Wang (who can’t wait til Ankgor Wat is really opened up!) Yup, Angkor is unbeatable. If you can tolerate moderate risk, it is worth going before it "really opens up".

Gosh, I was there just last November, and then already there was the occasional busload of 40+ tourists (mostly japanese) buzzing around me for few minutes in the otherwise peacefully _empty_ ruins (12 people, locals & tourists, per square km!!). In this regard: I hope Angkor never "really opens up". As for Alice: do go to wonderland Angkor now by all means if it fascinates you. The experience of those ruins outweighs the actually small risk you’ll be taking (not riskier than Rio de Janeiro, I say). Jochen — Jochen Bink, ISS/IAP/THD, Hochschulstr. 6, 64289 Darmstadt

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Alice Wang (who can’t wait til Ankgor Wat is really opened up!) Yup, Angkor is unbeatable. If you can tolerate moderate risk, it is worth going before it "really opens up". Gosh, I was there just last November, and then already there was the occasional busload of 40+ tourists (mostly japanese) buzzing around me for few minutes in the otherwise peacefully _empty_ ruins (12 people, locals & tourists, per square km!!). In this regard: I hope Angkor never "really opens up". As for Alice: do go to wonderland Angkor now by all means if it fascinates you. The experience of those ruins outweighs the actually small risk you’ll be taking (not riskier than Rio de Janeiro, I say). Jochen – Jochen Bink, ISS/IAP/THD, Hochschulstr. 6, 64289 Darmstadt

I spent a week in Angkor in January, and saw 34 of the 35 temple sites. The remaining one, Bantey Srei, was too far (25k) out of Siem Reap for our tastes (we had to buy off the troops and take one along with us when we went out to a site 15k out). Bantey Srei was where the American was killed the following week, so I guess it was a good call. That said, going to visit Angkor is relatively safe if you FLY to Phenom Penh and then FLY to Siem Reap. Do NOT go overland by any means (bus, train, or boat) either into the country or up to Angkor. This is how all the other travellers have gone missing and ultimately ended up dead. And of course, keep track of current events. Things can radically change overnight. But as it is now, I’d do it again. It is amazing.

Response:

Does anyone know if the Thai-Cambodia border is open or quasi open? Can is slip through? Is it safe? Just want to head in 100 miles or so to see Ankgor Wat. Maybe Thailand-Laos-Cambodia? Thanks! -Nick Dedicated to student/budget travel.

Response:

Don’t even think about it. I’ve heard of a few ways to do it but it’s too risky and the only people who do it are the locals. They have no other choice. Those 100 miles or so are probably the most dangerous to travel in Cambodia and it might be the difference between life and death. Cambodia is an excelent country to visit, especially if you make it to Angkor. It’s fairly safe but only if you use your common sense and stay out of the Khmer Rouge’s way. By this I mean, stick to to cities and don’t travel overland. — Manuel.

Response:

Does anyone know if the Thai-Cambodia border is open or quasi open? Can is slip through? Is it safe? Just want to head in 100 miles or so to see Ankgor Wat. Maybe Thailand-Laos-Cambodia?

As far as I remember there are organized tours into and out of Angkor Wat, but these are supervised and not open to change.

Response:

We tried to do the same thing back in ‘91 when we were in Bangkok. Knowing Ankgor Wat was just 150 miles away, I desperately wanted to go. Our Thai friend who lives in Bangkok strongly discouraged us. He said there are mine fields along the border and the whole area around the ruins is very unstable. I think the best bet is to go in through Vietnam/Cambodia. I recalled watching a PBS show about Ankgor Wat and could hear gun shots in the background. Alice Wang (who can’t wait til Ankgor Wat is really opened up!)

Response:

In rec.travel.asia you write: area around the ruins is very unstable. I think the best bet is to go in through Vietnam/Cambodia. I recalled watching a PBS show about Ankgor Wat and could hear gun shots in the background.

I was there in early 1992. There was occasional gunfire, to which our guide would always say, with a coy Cambodian smile "Oh, shooting bird". A few times there were very loud explosions, to which the guide would say "shooting big bird". Lots of UN soldiers around, so we a (false ?) sense of security. One has to laugh … Oh, he also had a funny story about why snakes (in the jungle) were a problem during the time of the KR, but not after UN occupation. Alice Wang (who can’t wait til Ankgor Wat is really opened up!)

Yup, Angkor is unbeatable. If you can tolerate moderate risk, it is worth going before it "really opens up". -Morgan

Response:

Cambodia is dangerous. Unfortunately, the greatest danger is of land mines (Cambodia is, with Afghanistan, on of the the two most heavily-mined countries in the world) and the pace of mine clearance is such that the overall danger is unlikely to be significantly reduced in the lifetime of anyone now reading this. According to a 1993 report by the Arms Project of Human Rights Watch in conjunction with Physicians for Human Rights, "Mines in Cambodia’s interior and especially along it’s 700-kilometer border with Thailand are so widespread, they now rank as one of the country’s greatest deterrents to economic development. The [U.S.] State Department calls Cambodia, ‘a textbook case of a country crippled by uncleared landmines.’ It notes that … the road network is so infested in some areas that civilians can only travel on the smallest footpaths… Soldiers… have saturated contested areas with [mines] on a scale unrelated to the actual militray need or objective. Unless the mines are cleared and destroyed, they will kill or maim Cambodians well into the next century…. "Cambodia… already has the highest percentage of physically disabled inhabitants of any country in the world… Experts estimate thaat one out of every 235 Cambodians has lost one or more limbs after stepping on a landmine. By comparison, approximately one out of every 2,500 Vietnamese is handicapped as a result of a mine explosion." Copies of this grim 500-page world report, "Landmines: A deadly Legacy", are available from the publications department of Human Rights For further details on the world campaign against landmines, see the human rights gopher maintained by these and other organizations: gopher://igc.apc.org:5000/1../ gopher://humanrights.org 1 Hallidie Plaza, Suite 406, San Francisco, CA 94102, U.S.A. +1-415-677-0799, fax +1-415-391-1856 1-800-956-9327 (1-800-9-LOW-FARE) toll-free in the U.S.A.

Response:

Filed under: Human Rights

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