Towns and cities

Sisophon and Poipet

Sisophon, capital of Banteay Meanchey province, is a transport hub. It is a small town, not without some charm.

Visit to Banteay Chhmar built by King Jayarvarman VII in the 12^th century. Banteay Chhmar is famed for its massive size, giant face-towers

The border of Poipet  10 kilometres from Sisophon, is a bustling market, where Thais and Cambodians trade.

With casino gambling illegal in Thailand, thousands of Thais cross the border every week into Poipet, where gambling is legal, spending fortunes. It can sometimes be very dangerous to walk at night. Sex shops and brothels make good business, though they may be difficult to spot. Most of their patrons are employees from the casinos, the beggars, the young men who trundle goods back and forth from Poipet to the Thai market in Aranyaprathet, construction workers and motorcycle taxi drivers, paying anywhere from $0.50 to $1.25 for a sexual encounter. Some have called Poipet the embodiment of all of Cambodia’s social ills.

Entering Cambodia over Poipet:

Poipet is also a popular entry point for backpackers on their way to Siem Reap.

There are some scams to rid visitors of extra cash at the Thai-Cambodian border. 

You do not need to buy vaccination certificates, though some immigration officers tried to scam the tourists with vaccination requirements. It may now occur less as the practise has caught the attention of the central authorities.

A recent scam has the tour guide of the bus announce that dollars are not accepted in Cambodia and they should buy their Riel in Poipet. This is a scam making you lose hundreds of dollars in one single money exchange. In Cambodia, for all practical reasons, dollars are the currency and Riels replace the cents, nickels, dimes and quarters. Coins are totally absent in the Cambodian economy.