Seng Horn 168

A good experience but too many stops

The driver on the Cambodian side was quite insame, the way he drove

The bus was supposed to arrive around 2:30 pm at my destination and we did not get there until after 5pm when banks were closed. Apparently according to operator this is the normal time and the time on your website is incorrect

My journey from Siem Reap to Don Det started off well, with the driver arriving on time and the van being comfortable and air conditioned. The main source of disappointment for this trip was when the driver stopped at a restaurant on the side of the road about an hour from the border into Laos. We were stopped at the restaurant for around an hour, with the staff pressuring us to purchase a slew of items: passport photos, currency exchange, SIM cards, boat tickets. After telling them that we didn’t need any of these items, they told us that there wouldn’t be another opportunity to purchase what they were selling, which was a blatant lie. They told us that we wouldn’t be able to purchase boat tickets to Don Det once arriving in Nakasong, and told us their $5 ticket was our only option. When we arrived at Nakasong, we found that not only could you purchase boat tickets there, but they only cost $1. The same was true of the SIM cards and the passport photos- restaurant staff telling foreigners that buying overpriced items from them is their only option or else they’ll be stranded with nothing while attempting to cross the border. This practice is predatory and wrong. The rest of the journey was marred by unexplainable delays, where our van would sit idling for an hour before moving again, with no explanation given to us. We were supposed to arrive at Don Det around 2pm and didn’t arrived until around 7pm. I’d like to hope that this type of predatory practice isn’t a part of future 12Go journeys I take.

The pick up location was wrong. It felt like we've found the real one by coincidence, and the real one was not such a good experience as one woman wanted us to change money with her with a bad currency exchange. Furthermore, the bus left 40 minutes later. However, the ride and the organisation of the connections in Laos were really great!