Bus station

This shows the Capitol bus station in Siem Reap and is typical of the bus stations out here. They are very busy places. There are no trains in Cambodia and most Cambodians don't own a car.If you need to travel long distance out here you take the bus. There are a number of different bus companies so first you have to work out which one you want to use and where the ticket office is. Then you go to buy your ticket. There is no booking on line or over the phone. You have to go along yourself. Then you find out the time of the bus. It is unusual for buses to leave in the afternoons. I don't know why this is.It might be habit. As recently as 10 years ago it was very dangerous to travel in the dark and it get dark early here.. Armed robbery was common and not many people travelled then. It's still dangerous to travel at night but that's because very few vehicles have lights on them and break down frequently and animals are not fenced in and wander on the road.After that you choose your seat. This is done by pointing to the seats you want on a diagram of the bus. Then you pay.It's terrific value. A 7 hour journey costs $5. There are no return tickets and you can only book 24 hours in advance. At first this all seemed like a really long-winded way of doing things but now we are quite used to it. The bus stations are fascinating places to sit and people watch and the staff are all kind and friendly and good natured!