Singapore to Malaysia

This border is a nice easy one, and rightly so as it is frequented by thousands upon thousands of Malaysians and Singaporeans daily.

There are many options for crossing this border but for the sake of speaking from experience I’ll talk about catching the bus across.

I collected my bus from Changi Airport, however, there are multiple stops around town such as Queen Street and Bugis Street, so they’re convenient if you are already in town.

As I have been to Singapore numerous times I had no desire to visit the town again so from Changi was my best option.

You can purchase the tickets online, which was my original intention, however, the day before I was due to catch the bus, most of the early tickets were no longer available. I gave them a quick call and was advised that you can purchase them at the company’s booth outside the arrivals hall.

In fact, once I arrived and went to the booth, they just directed me to purchase the ticket straight from the bus driver on the bus.

The bus does most of the journey in Singapore and I was one of 3 people on the bus. When I say bus, it is a nice air-conditioned coach.

There is a causeway that links the two countries and you’ll complete your immigration checkpoint in Singapore at the Woodlands Checkpoint Land Crossing, just before the bridge.

The bus will drop you off and you must take all bags and belongings with you, and simply follow the signs for foreign passports, make sure you have your departure card filled in, and pass through. The bus will be waiting on the other side for you. Be quick because it only waits for 15 minutes, however, the whole process runs very quickly and smoothly. Other people may also jump onto this bus as well, people that may have walked over, so just grab any seat once back on the bus.

The next stop is in Malaysia to complete your immigration entry with those officers. This is done at JB CIQ, or Johor Bahru Immigration and Quarantine Checkpoint. Again, off the bus with all your belonging and follow the signs for foreign passports. I didn’t have any paperwork filled in and wasn’t asked for any. This process was also very quick and easy. Some luggage (on wheels) will get scanned here also, me and my backpack got waved straight through.

Because you are at the main bus terminal, Sentral/JB CIQ, the bus won’t be waiting for you this time, cos you’re at the end of the line, baby! From here you must find your own way to where ever you need to go.

For me, the next day I was catching a bus straight to Malacca from the other bus station in town, Larkin, so I just headed down the stairs of CIQ and found a bus with Larkin written on it and jumped on.

Facts

Cost

$10SGD

Journey

45-minute from Changi to Sentral/CIQ Station in Johor Bahru

Bus Company

Transtar

App/Website

Busonlineticket.com (this is a godsend in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand for buses, trains and ferry’s. Download it!)

Visa

No Visa is required for Australians in Singapore or Malaysia, so entering both countries is quick and easy (depending on the length of lines at immigration checkpoints)

Malaysia to Thailand

This journey I did by ferry from Langkawi Island to Satun and with the assistance of a travel company I found in Pantai Cenang. They are everywhere and it’s seriously just about choosing which one you like. They all do the same thing. I used one company to make the entire journey from Langkawi all the way through to Surat Thani on the East Coast of Thailand, and they took care of all the ferry and bus tickets.

Once at the ferry terminal in Kuah, one of the agents will take you to the ticketing window for your ferry ticket, you will need to show your passport here and you will also be given your entry/departure card for Thailand at this point. The agent then leaves you to it.

Follow the signs to the Satun ferry and join one of the lines to pass through immigration. Because there was no entry card to fill in when entering Malaysia there is no departure card, so show your passport, get your stamp then head to the luggage scanner. They scan all bags on your way out.

Sit back and enjoy your 1.5-hour ferry trip across to Thailand. They assign seats, but no one pays attention to this, so just sit where ever you like.

Once at the Satun ferry port, the first thing you’ll do is join the line for immigration. Be prepared for some pushing and shoving as you get off the boat, as everyone wants to be the first in the queue. I was certainly not the first off the boat but it took maybe 15 minutes to get through the checkpoint.

Hand over your entry card filled in and your passport, answer a couple of questions, get your stamp and you’re in.

All bags get scanned again after immigration, then you’re free to go where you want.

Facts

Cost

The cost is difficult to answer since I bought my entire journey from Langkawi to Surat Thani for one price 135Ringgit ($45aud)

The travel agents all have a list of possible destinations and the price guide next to it. You only need to walk up the street and review all the marketing or have a chat with one of the agents.

But considering the 135RM I spent covered 3 buses, a songthaew and a ferry, just the cost of the ferry will be very nominal

Journey

1.5 hours

Travel Company

Marine Waves Holidays (the streets are literally covered with these types of agents, you won’t have any trouble finding one and booking a ticket, or just get one from the office at the ferry terminal

Visa

No visa is required for Australian citizens entering Thailand

Thailand to Cambodia

This was the most interesting so far because everything I had read and heard from other travellers was that it was going to be an absolute nightmare.

I selected the land border crossing of Aranyaprathet, Thailand and Poi Pet, Cambodia. When applying for your entry visa into Cambodia, which you can do online now (an E-Visa), you must tell them which crossing you are using (airport or land border) and by what date, so you need to have decided this when making your visa application.

This land border crossing is the most popular, active and hellish according to all reports.

I’d been warned that immigration alone would take anywhere between 1-3 hours, on the Thailand side I would be harassed with Visa touts, men “offering” to help get you a visa for a cost and on the Cambodian side with transportation touts, tuk-tuks to the bus station or taxis to Siem Reap. Also, that there were all sorts of scammers on both sides and it was just a pit of despair.

I was not looking forward to it. Added to my mindset was the fact that my previous experience with Thai buses was they ran to their own “schedules” (I use that word extremely loosely) so I expected my bus from Bangkok to not in fact take the 5 hours I’d been informed but a lot longer.

I also didn’t have any transportation organised to Battambang once I was in Cambodia, however had read that the bus journey from Poi Pet to Battambang only took 2 hours and it was easy to get the ticket once there.

All fingers, toes, legs and arms were crossed the morning I started my journey across this border.

You can catch the bus from Mo Chit bus Terminal in north Bangkok or Ekkamai bus station a little further south. There are buses leaving all through the day and night, taking different routes, so do some research about which one you’d prefer. I chose Mo Chit in the north due to me flying into Suvarnabhumi Airport and it being easy to get transport from there. Again, just do some pre-research, but both terminals will get you to the same point in Aranyaprathet.

The journey is 5-6 hours depending on the route, so keep that in mind also.

My 9 am bus from Mo Chit to Aranyaprathet only left 10 minutes late, even though it had been sat there since 8:30 am, and was actually pretty good. The driver stopped twice on the journey for toilet and snack breaks, which is worth mentioning because some don’t! I slept most of the way; the scenery wasn’t anything to write home about.

We ended up getting into Aran at 2:50 pm so only 50 minutes later than scheduled which is actually not that bad.

Now the fun part!

As soon as you get off the bus you will be swamped with people yelling tuk-tuk at you because you’re still not at the border. You are just at the bus terminal. Ignore all these tuk-tuk drivers and jump on a Songthaew. Most other passengers from my bus had jumped on one and beckoned me over when they saw me surrounded…haha It only cost 10 baht and it’s a short 3-minute drive to the actual immigration border.

Follow the signs to foreign passports and join the queue. I think due to it being low season and a Sunday there were only 5 others in front of me, so the whole process on the Thai side took 3 minutes max to queue, show my departure card and have my passport stamped.

Once out of the building follow the signs that literally say, “go to Cambodia”. You will walk across a bridge with the Cambodian flags swaying in the breeze and see a huge ornate gate that you need to pass through.

Now the next few steps are important. To save time and money APPLY FOR YOUR EVISA ONLINE before you enter the country. With this approved and in your hand, you can walk past the “visa on arrival” building and straight to the immigration checkpoint. You will have to make your way through the throngs of “helpful” men harassing you to let them help you with a visa, but just walk with conviction and they soon leave you alone.

I have heard stories that if you apply for a visa on arrival you will not only pay the $36usd for the visa but a little “something, something“ to go into the pocket of the officer who is approving the visa. I can’t substantiate this, as I had my pre-approved evisa, but something to keep in mind.

Once at the Cambodia Immigration Checkpoint you will need to fill in your entry card at the desk before joining the queue, again, only a handful of people in front of me. Show the officer your card and passport and you will have to scan your fingerprints and then you’re in. The total time in that building is 3 minutes again.

You will then have another battle with the tuk-tuk drivers and taxi drivers trying to harass you into their vehicles, ignore them all and walk to the free shuttle bus station. It’s essentially the next building after immigration on the right, look up for the sign and just wait there. You will continue to be harassed for rides until you get on the bus. The free bus you want is GREEN and will take you to the main bus terminal in Poi Pet where you can get your next bus onto where ever you are travelling.

If there are 2 or 3 of you travelling getting a taxi is actually a convenient and cheap option as you will only pay $5usd for your seat in the taxi to Siem Reap or Battambang, so actually very economical if you’re in a group or can wrangle some others together for the journey.

My bus to Battambang was $10 for the 3-hour journey.

So all in all from the bus terminal to the bus terminal including both immigration checkpoints, songthaew rides, walking the 1km across the border and waiting for the shuttle bus it was just on 1 hour for the entire process. Pretty stoked about that!

 

Facts

Cost

Bus from Bangkok to Aran – 203thb

Songthaew to the border – 10thb

Shuttle bus to Poi Pet Terminal – FREE

Bus from Poi Pet to Battambang $10usd (the shuttle bus takes you directly to the Poi Pet terminal and you purchase your ticket directly there)

Journey

Bangkok to Aran bus terminal – 5 hours

To border – 3-5 minutes

Shuttle bus to Terminal 3-5 minutes

Bus to Battambang – 2-3 hours

Visa

Australians do need a visa to enter Cambodia. You can now apply and purchase your Visa online before you go. Its called an E Visa, it cost $36usd and can be found on www.evisa.gov.kh

You can get “on arrival” visas at airports and land border crossings.

When visiting Siem Reap 2 years ago I got my visa on arrival at the airport and it was fairly straightforward, however, I would strongly recommend you get an evisa before entering a land border crossing. It will speed up the entire process.

Just be sure to check that an evisa is accepted at your nominated land border crossing, as some will not accept them.

Check the website for 100% certainty

There are also very clear instructions on how to print your evisa and how and when to use your visa

Company

I used Air Aran Pattana www.airaran.co.th to get from Bangkok to Aran. Worth noting I found it cheaper to purchase the ticket at the bus terminal rather than online, they add a few baht online. You are also provided with free water on this journey

Cambodia to Laos

I chose to do this border crossing via a flight because the research I had done suggested you would need at least a week to travel through the south of Laos from Cambodia and another week in the north if travelling by road. I only had 10 days in the country, so flying was really the only option to ensure I covered one region well. Further research suggested the North was the better region to explore.

With all that in mind, I flew from Phnom Penh straight into Vientiane. The flight was a couple of hours and via a propeller plane, so all relatively easy.

Laos is a Visa on arrival country for Australians, so I knew I would be doing all the paperwork once I had arrived and I knew I would need to be paying for the visa in US dollars so I had $50 available in cash ready to go (it ended up being $30usd, but is different for each nationality

On the plane, I was handed my entry and departure card which I filled in and had ready, and once off the plane, there was a couple of desks to the right in the immigration hall with the Visa on Arrival documents that needed to be filled in.

Once completed there was a specific line with 4 immigration officers ready to review the paperwork, take the fee and provide the visa.

You are required to have 2 blank pages in your passport, one for the Visa itself and the other for the entry stamp. The first officer checks the visa paperwork, your boarding pass (so do not throw this away) and your entry card. Have all filled in before you join the line for everyone’s sake. The second officer will put the visa into your passport, the third officer takes the fee and the final officer checks everyone’s work and provides the stamp.

It’s all very simple and pain-free. Again, just make sure you have the correct money and paperwork all filled in before joining the line. You’ll just annoy everyone if you’re not organised because the line won’t progress around you. Everyone has to wait until the person in front is finished.

We had a couple who had no money on them, they had to be escorted through immigration and security to an atm and back again. We all had to wait. Another man behind me hadn’t filled in his paperwork, so all the people behind him had to wait….not nice and not fun. Sort yourselves out first!!!

Once you are past immigration and border control exchange any money into Laos Kip before you leave into the arrival hall. There are no lines on this side of the counter. If you do pass into the arrival hall you can still exchange your money but everyone does it on the outside so you will have to wait in line.

There is also no taxi rank, where you can simply wave one down and be on your way.

There is a counter to the left as you exit into the arrival hall (Don’t leave the building). From this counter, you can organise a bus or a taxi into town. The staff there will call one for you, ask you to wait and the driver will come into the arrival hall to collect you. A taxi into the centre of Vientiane costs 60,000 Kip (approx. $7usd)

Facts

There are land border crossings. If you choose these please do some research prior to finding out exactly what is required regarding doing this sort of crossing.

Flying into Vientiane everything is completed in the airport

-entry/departure card provided on the flight

-visa on arrival document in the immigration hall

-dedicated line for VOA passengers

-$30usd for Australian Nationals

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